Siegelman, Plame, the Six Fired US Attorneys & the Deep-Sixing of Justice in the USA; You Can't Heal a Wound Until You have Cleaned It

Many legal minds were shocked when federal judge Mark Fuller, at sentencing, sent Siegelman directly to prison without allowing the usual 45 days before reporting.
“He had him manacled around his legs like we do with crazed killers. And whisked off to prison just like that. Now what does that tell you? That tells you that this was personal. You would not do that to a former governor,” Woods says.
“Would you do that to any white collar criminal?” Pelley asks.
“No, I haven't seen it done,” Woods says.
“Help me understand something. You're blaming the Republican administration for this prosecution. You're saying it was a political prosecution. You are a Republican. How do I reconcile that?” Pelley asks.
“We're Americans first. And you got to call it as you see it. And you got to stand up for what's right in this country,” Woods says. ...
Don Siegelman has six years and eight months to go on his sentence. CBS, 2-21-08
Orson Wells' 1962 film version of Franz Kafka's The Trail


Siegelman, Plame, the Six Fired US Attorneys & the Deep-Sixing of Justice in the USA; You Can't Heal a Wound Until You have Cleaned It

by Richard Power

Here are two direct questions that both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton should be compelled to answer --

If you survive the gauntlet of hate and fear-mongering that stretches out before you from now until November, will you immediately, upon entering office, begin a personal review of the prosecution and imprisonment of Don Siegelman and pardon him post-haste once you verify that he was victim of a political show trial?

If you survive the gauntlet of hate and fear-mongering that stretches out before you from now until November, will you immediately, upon entering office, appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate the politicization and perversion of the US Department of Justice?

It is unlikely they will be asked these questions directly. And it is just as unlikely that, if asked, their answers will be affirmative and unequivocal.

That is most unfortunate.

Because the greatest lesson of all comes from the case of Don Siegelman, and that lesson is that no one is safe here anymore, not the innocent, not even the powerful.

If these wrongs are not righted, this scourge will only return, and next time it will not be turned back.

Yes, the Goddess Justice has been deep-sixed in the USA.

Justice disappeared:

Flagrant violations of the Geneva Accords and the Bill of Rights, such as institutionalizing torture and declaring habeas corpus optional.

Justice delayed:

The indictment of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) is just one of several more that would have occurred in 2006 or 2007 if the six US attorneys had not been fired.

Justice denied:

The betrayal of US secret agent Valerie Plame's covert identity is an instance in which several people should be in prison that are not.

Justice debased:

The Don Siegelman case is an instance of someone who is in prison that should not be.

The US Department of Justice was perverted and politicized in so many ways over the last eight years.

Yes, Gonzalez, Rove and numerous underlings have fled their jobs, but they are not fighting off indictment or sweating on the harsh light of congressional investigations?

Why? What is wrong?

Will the system reset itself in January 2009?

Will these wrongs be righted in the only way they can be, i.e., through investigation and prosecution of this abuse of power?

Or will the incoming President talk lamely about putting the past behind us and healing the wounds of the nation.

Listen, you can't heal a wound until its cleaned.

Here is the latest on Don Siegelman, including links to the transcript of the CBS 60 Minutes segment and a video clip of it:

Attorneys for imprisoned former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on Monday called for a special prosecutor after a key government witness claimed that he was forced to write out his testimony to get his story straight.
Vince Kilborn, an attorney for Siegelman who contends Republican politics was behind the Democrat's prosecution, said the defense was never told of any written notes by Nick Bailey, a former Siegelman aide whose testimony was crucial to the government. Associated Press, 2-25-08

CBS's 60 Minutes broadcast Sunday regarding the alleged political prosecution of Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman went dark in the northern third of Alabama last night. According to WHNT-TV, the local CBS affiliate, the issue was caused by a technical malfunction. ...
CBS News – which owns 60 Minutes – denied any problem on their end.
Scott Horton of Harper’s magazine reported late last night that CBS was directly pointing back at the local outlets as the cause of the problem.
"I contacted CBS News in New York and was told that 'there is no delicate way to put this: the WHNT claim is not true. There were no transmission difficulties. The problems were peculiar to Channel 19, which had the signal and had functioning transmitters.' I was told that the decision to blacken screens across Northern Alabama 'could only have been an editorial call.'" ... The White House has put pressure on CBS to kill the show, those close to the case say. Journalists covering the story have been attacked. The case's most prominent whistleblower, Dana Jill Simpson, recently testified to Congress, under oath, about Rove's involvement in politicizing the Bush Justice Department.
Her house mysteriously caught fire after she came forward.
WHNT in Huntsville Alabama was purchased by Oak Hill Capital Partners from the New York Times Company early last year. Oak Hill is owned by the Bass brothers, Bush fundraisers at the "Pioneer" level – raising over $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaigns in both 2000 and 2004. Lee Bass is perhaps the best known member of the Bass family for his role in George W. Bush’s failed energy venture called Spectrum 7 and later for his bailing out of Harken Energy. Raw Story, 2-25-08

Is Don Siegelman in prison because he’s a criminal or because he belonged to the wrong political party in Alabama? Siegelman is the former governor of Alabama, and he was the most successful Democrat in that Republican state. But while he was governor, the U.S. Justice Department launched multiple investigations that went on year after year until, finally, a jury convicted Siegelman of bribery.
Now, many Democrats and Republicans have become suspicious of the Justice Department’s motivations. As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, 52 former state attorneys-general have asked Congress to investigate whether the prosecution of Siegelman was pursued not because of a crime but because of politics. ...
“I haven't seen a case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice being done,” says Grant Woods, the former Republican attorney general of Arizona.
Woods is one of the 52 former state attorneys-general, of both parties, who’ve asked Congress to investigate the Siegelman case.
“I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square. This was a Republican state and he was the one Democrat they could never get rid of,” Woods says.
Now a Republican lawyer from Alabama, Jill Simpson, has come forward to claim that the Siegelman prosecution was part of a five-year secret campaign to ruin the governor. Simpson told 60 Minutes she did what’s called “opposition research” for the Republican party. She says during a meeting in 2001, Karl Rove, President Bush’s senior political advisor, asked her to try to catch Siegelman cheating on his wife.
"Karl Rove asked you to take pictures of Siegelman?" Pelley asks.
"Yes," Simpson replies.
"In a compromising, sexual position with one of his aides," Pelley clarifies.
"Yes, if I could," Simpson says.
She says she spied on Siegelman for months but saw nothing. Even though she was working as a Republican campaign operative, Simpson says she wanted to talk to 60 Minutes because Siegelman’s prison sentence bothers her conscience.
Simpson says she wasn’t surprised that Rove made this request. Asked why not, she tells Pelley, “I had had other requests for intelligence before.”
“From Karl Rove?” Pelley asks.
“Yes,” Simpson says. ...
“He’s indicted. He goes to trial. That's a pretty big deal to have your former governor on trial. Everybody's there. The government gives their opening argument. The judge says, ‘I want to see you in chambers because this case, there's no case here,’" Grant Woods says.
Woods says the judge threw the case out, without a witness testifying. “The case is so lame that he throws it out,” he says.
Vindicated, Siegelman focused on winning the 2006 election. And that’s when Jill Simpson says she heard the Justice Department was going to try again. She says she heard it from a former classmate and work associate Rob Riley, the son of the new Republican governor.
“Rob said that they had gotten wind that Don was going to run again,” she says. ... Asked how they were going to prevent that from happening, she says, “Well, they had to re-indict him, is what Rob said.” ... The prosecution was handled by the office of U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, whose husband Bill Canary had run the campaign of Siegelman’s opponent, Gov. Riley.
“Why would you do it that way?” Woods asks. “Why wouldn't you say, ‘You know what? We're going to bring in someone from another jurisdiction to do it. There's a lot of United States attorneys around the country. We'll have somebody come in and do this case.’ That's not what happened in Alabama. Every time they had the chance to go the extra mile to be independent and objective, they didn't do it.” ...
Many legal minds were shocked when federal judge Mark Fuller, at sentencing, sent Siegelman directly to prison without allowing the usual 45 days before reporting.
“He had him manacled around his legs like we do with crazed killers. And whisked off to prison just like that. Now what does that tell you? That tells you that this was personal. You would not do that to a former governor,” Woods says.
“Would you do that to any white collar criminal?” Pelley asks.
“No, I haven't seen it done,” Woods says.
“Help me understand something. You're blaming the Republican administration for this prosecution. You're saying it was a political prosecution. You are a Republican. How do I reconcile that?” Pelley asks.
“We're Americans first. And you got to call it as you see it. And you got to stand up for what's right in this country,” Woods says. ...
Don Siegelman has six years and eight months to go on his sentence. CBS, 2-21-08

Click here to watch the 60 Minutes segment.

Some Related Posts

Unless there is some reckoning, the nightmare of the last eight years will never end, it will only seem to end

Hard Rain Journal 8-29-07: Signs & Portents -- Gonzalez Fled, Just as Rove Fled, But There is Still Great Danger

Hard Rain Journal 8-5-07: Lessons from Soviet-Style Show Trail of Don Siegelman -- Learned or Unlearned?

Hard Rain Journal 6-8-07: Will They Actually Get Away With It All? Will the USA Choose Reason or Madness? The Long, Hot Summer May Tell

Hard Rain Journal 5-25-07: Martial Law, Monica Goodling & the Funding of the Bush-Cheney Slaughterhouse -- Yes, It's Going to Be a Long, Hot Summer

Hard Rain Journal 4-24-07: DoJ Scandal Primer -- Your Guide to the Long Hot Summer; RFK, Jr. and Mike Papantonio Break It Down on Air America

Hard Rain Journal 3-25-07: DoJ Purge Update: Four Blockbusters that Have Not Hit -- YET

Hard Rain Journal 3-7-07: Justice Not Just Blindfolded, But Bound and Gagged?

Hard Rain Journal 1-17-07: They are Purging US DoJ, Privatizing US Intel, and Preparing for War with Iran -- Dreaming about 2008 is Irresponsible

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

DoJ, Karl Rove, Valerie Plame, Barack Obama, Siegelman, Alabama, Harper's, Jane Simpson, Scott Horton, Alberto Gonzalez, Cheney, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Bush, Richard Power, Words of Power

Hard Rain Late Night: Sinead O'Connor -- This is a Rebel Song (Live on French TV 1997)

Hard Rain Late Night: Sinead O'Connor -- This is a Rebel Song (Live on French TV)



Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive

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Darfur Crisis Update: Bush is AWOL on Darfur, But He is Not Alone; Most of Us are Ignoring a Genocide

For More Compelling Photos from Mia Farrow's Journeys, click here.

The international community seems unable to comprehend the overwhelming urgency of the security crisis for civilians and humanitarians north of el-Geneina in West Darfur. Over the past few days, the Khartoum regime has resumed the brutal campaign north of el-Geneina that began on February 8, 2008 ... Many tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced; more than 12,000 have been forced to flee to Chad, where efforts to provide humanitarian assistance are encountering a range of severe challenges. And ominously, there are several reports that many hundreds of children remain unaccounted for. The UN’s Integrated Regional Information Network reports: “There are an unknown number of children aged 12-18 who are missing, especially boys. Nobody knows what has happened to these children..." Eric Reeves, Sudan Research, Analysis and Advocacy, 2-19-08

Darfur Crisis Update: Bush is AWOL on Darfur, But He is Not Alone; Most of Us are Ignoring a Genocide

By Richard Power

Eric Reeves' report from the Sudan is unambiguous: the forces of Karthoum's thugocracy are on the offensive again, they are disappearing children, especially boys.

What is it that the mainstream news media, the political establishment and other major power centers within this society fail to understand about the crisis in Darfur?

Or is it that Darfur is simply another "inconvenient truth"?

What is certain is that all of the soul-searching, self-recrimination and declarations of resolve that world leaders (such as Bill Clinton) exhibited in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide was nothing more than showboating.

The great nations have chosen to do nothing of any significance, and they maintain a choke-hold on the UN Security Council; therefore, in Darfur, day after day, the unspeakable is allowed to accelerate toward the incomprehensible.

Unless there is a miracle of some kind, one day, sooner than later, it will be too late. You and I are the likeliest hope for such a miracle.

Recently, after much vocal and passionate urging from Mia Farrow and other Darfur activists, film maker Steven Spielberg answered the call of conscience and quit the Beijing Olympics:

I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur. STATEMENT FROM STEVEN SPIELBERG REGARDING BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND DARFUR

Subsequently, the issue of Spielberg's action was raised in a BBC interview with George W. Bush, but the "leader of the free world" persisted in his disingenuous posturing concerning the crisis in Darfur:

Bush boasted that the United States is the “only nation” to have called the situation in Darfur “genocide.” Yet later in the interview, Bush was asked if he would “applaud” Steven Speilberg’s recent decision to withdraw as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics because China is not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur. “That’s up to him,” Bush said dismissively, adding, “I’m going to the Olympics. I view the Olympics as a sporting event.” Think Progress, 2-16-08

That's right. In the space of a few moments, Bush acknowledged that what is happening in Darfur is indeed a genocide, and then proceeded to insist that attending the Olympics as "a sporting event" was somehow more important.

Unfortunately, Spielberg's act of simple decency was ballyhooed as some great victory, as if the aim of Darfur activism was just to convince one Hollywood mogul to stand up to the Chinese and demand that they squeeze their surrogates in Karthoum until the thugs ease up on the people of Darfur.

No, that is not aim of this activism.

The aim of this activism is to get a whole society, a whole economy, a whole body politic to stand up not only to the Chinese, and to our own government, but to those individuals who choose to think of themselves as being corporations instead of collection of human beings connected to all other human beings. What is demanded of us all is direct, unyielding engagement as well as dire consequences for those responsible for perpetrating crimes against humanity.

What would it cost a cable news network to commit even a few minutes of each broadcast day to news of the genocide in Darfur? Chump change.

What would would it cost an NFL or NBA team to wear arm bands for an entire season to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur? Chump change.

What does it say about us as a culture when such simple but powerful acts are not even remote possibilities?

Recently, in yet another eloquent post, Mia Farrow named names:

We need to push harder on China. Let's boycott the Olympic Sponsors. Let's boycott the opening ceremonies of the games. Let's boycott Chinese goods. And let's not forget Tibet and Burma and those Chinese citizens whose human rights have been abused or denied.
Lets not go to McDonalds -- it's Burger king for me. There ARE alternatives to supporting this unacceptable situation:
Don't drink Coca Cola, give Pepsi a try -- or drink water!
Don't use Kodak film, think about buying Fuji film.
Don't eat at McDonald's, stop by Burger King for a while.
Don't make your purchases with Visa, try Mastercard or American Express.
Don't wear Adidas, slip on some Reeboks.
Don't drink Budweiser from Anheuser-Busch, try Heinekin.
Don't wear a Swatch, try Timex for a change.
Don't shop at Staples, try Office Max.
Don't use GE light bulbs, buy a generic brand.
Don't drive a Volkswagen, put a Darfur bumper sticker on your car.
Don't use Johnson and Johnson products, buy the drug store brand Don't use Microsoft, send an email to all corporate sponsors, including: Atos Origin, BHP Billiton, Samsung, Panasonic, UPS, Manulife, and Lenovo.
And feel better Mia Farrow, 2-21-08

I encourage you to follow events in Darfur on Mia Farrow's site, it is the real-time journal of a humanitarian at work; the content is compelling, insightful and fiercely independent.

Click here to sign the TURN OFF/TUNE IN Pledge.

For a Words of Power Archive of posts on the Crisis in Darfur, click here.

Here are other sites of importance:

Dream for Darfur

Enough: The Project to End Genocide and Mass Atrocities

Genocide Intervention Network

Divest for Darfur.

Save Darfur!

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

Darfur, Olympics, Divestment, Chad, Bush, UN, Genocide, Steven Spielberg, Eric Reeves, Mia Farrow, Dream for Darfur, China, Sudan, Investors Against Genocide, Richard Power, Words of Power

Sustainability Update: Rainwater Saves Lives; Maybe Even Your Own Some Day

See The Eleventh Hour and Spread the Message to Your Friends and Colleagues


The world is facing a looming water crisis and actions must be taken now to better manage this scarce resource, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said...
"The challenge of securing safe and plentiful water for all is one of the most daunting challenges faced by the world today," Ban told a session of the World Economic Forum annual meeting. ...
According to the UN chief, population growth will make the problem of water scarcity worse, so will climate change.
"As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just over the horizon," he warned.
Water scarcity is a problem for all countries, poor or rich, he said, calling for innovative and global approaches to tackle the problem.
UN statistics show that about 1.2 billion people, or 20 percent of the world population, now live in water stressed areas with the figure expected to reach 3 billion by 2025. Xinhua, 1-25-08

Sustainability Update: Rainwater Saves Lives; Maybe Even Your Own Some Day

By Richard Power

Even without the drastic climate changes that global warming has triggered, we were due for a global water crisis, simply because we have not come to grips with our delusional concepts of what "growth" and "development" mean, or faced the wastefulness of our diet, or dealt with the recklessness in our lack of population control.

But with the climate crisis factored in, water has become perhaps our greatest single sustainability issue.

Malteser International is the relief agency of the the Sovereign Order of Malta. The group has already built two thousand rainwater harvesting tanks for families in Sri Lanka.

Rainwater can save lives - this is the conclusion of the British water engineer Suzanna Lipscombe. She is working in Sri Lanka, where Malteser International especially engages for clean drinking water. Many regions of the country are not yet connected to the public water supply and the wells are often miles away from the villages. That is why Malteser International, together with the affected families, is building rainwater harvesting tanks. "The rainwater is collected on the roofs and then - through a filter - runs into a tank," Suzanna Lipscombe explains. ...
With its Lent Campaign, Malteser International calls for putting aside one Euro a day during Lent season. This way, 40 Euros can be saved up until Easter. With these 40 Euros, the or-ganisation can procure the cement for the construction of one five cubic meters water tank for one family. Malteser International, 2-20-08

Contributing to this worthy project (one tank costs 40 euros) is a powerful, life-affirming action.

And while you are at it, you should build one of your own somewhere within your own sphere of influence.

Rainwater can save lives; maybe even your own someday.

Water and sanitation engineer Suzanna Lipscome reports from Sri Lanka on a weekly bases, for her most recent report click here

To participate in the Lent Campaign (i.e., one Euro for every day of the forty days of Lent), transfer 40 Euros to the following account:

Donation Account 120 120 120
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, Wörthstr. 15 - 17, D-50668 Köln
Sort Code : 370 205 00
IBAN : DE49 3702 0500 0001 0258 01
BIC: BFSWDE33XXX
Reference : "Malteser International Lent Campaign 2008"

Here are excerpts from three recent global water crisis stories, with links to the full texts:

The past is no longer a reliable base on which to plan the future of water management. So says a new perspectives piece written by a prominent group of hydrologists and climatologists, published in Science magazine, that calls for fundamental changes to the science behind water planning and policy. ...
Global spending on water infrastructure is currently more than $500 billion per year. Until now, managers at municipal water boards, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other federal, state and local agencies have operated on the premise that historical patterns could be counted on to continue. The assumption was that variability from year to year occurred within stationary, unchanging patterns.
But human-induced changes to Earth's climate have begun to shift the averages and the extremes for rainfall, snowfall, evaporation and stream flows, the authors write. These are crucial factors when planning for floods or droughts, choosing the size of water reservoirs or deciding how much water to allocate for residential, industrial and agricultural uses. Terra Daily, 2-11-08

We are on the verge of a water crisis. As world economy and population continue to grow, we are becoming a much thirstier world. It is important to realize just how much water we need to make every aspect of our economy work. Every liter of petrol requires up to 2.5 liters of water to produce it. On average, crops grown for their bioenergy need at least 1,000 liters of water to make one liter of biofuel. It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton T-shirt, up to 4,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of wheat and up to 16,000 liters to produce a kilo of beef. The statistics are equally surprising for hundreds of other consumer products that we all take for granted like milk, juice, coffee, fruit, pizza, detergents, carpets, paint, electrical appliances, cosmetics and so on. On average wealthier people “consume” upward of 3,000 liters of water every day. Even to produce the much more basic things our economy needs like cement, steel, chemicals, mining or power generation takes literally tons of water. ...
The International Water Management Institute has 500 scientists who examine the water we use for agriculture. Their report took 5 years. They found that we would not have enough water to supply global demand for food over the next few decades unless urgent and substantial reforms in water and agriculture are undertaken.
Climate change will make this situation happen more quickly and to a worse degree. The latest IPCC report says that if global average temperature rises by 3°C, hundreds of millions of people will be exposed to increased water stress.
Klaus Schwab (World Economic Forum), Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (Nestlé), Arab News, 2-11-08

Businesses are doing too little to tackle a looming water crisis, Ban Ki-Moon warned the World Economic Forum .. describing their response to a UN water sustainability initiative as “a drop in the bucket”. ... A handful of corporate leaders called for more engagement from governments and business, after Mr Ban complained that only a fraction of the 1,000 companies represented in Davos had joined the UN’s CEO Water Mandate, launched six months ago.
Ignoring investment in carbon reduction because of fears about an adverse short-term economic impact would risk much greater damage to economies in the future ...
“Our goal is to get net zero water usage. We want to have a closed system where we’re not parasites on the earth,” Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo, told the FT. Such progress would happen only if companies appointed an individual to take responsibility for their sustainable water policies, she said. Financial Times, 1-25-08

RECENT RELATED POSTS:

Sustainability Update 11-17-07: The Distance from Southern California to the Azawak Valley? Near & Getting Nearer with Every Drop of Water.

Sustainability Update 8-14-07: Water, Water

Sustainability Update 7-29-07: Geopolitics & Sustainability have Taken Over Your Future -- Whether You Choose to Acknowledge It or Not

GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-19-07: In Darfur and Japan -- The Earth is Singing A Promise & A Warning, But Who is Listening?

Hard Rain Journal 4-19-07: Sustainability Update -- Simple Truths

Hard Rain Journal 1-13-07: UN Millennium Goals and Sustainability Update -- Does Burkina-Faso Offer a Glimpse into Our Urban Future?

Hard Rain Journal 11-10-06: Sustainability and Climate Change Update -- Water, Its Unhealthiness and Its Increasing Scarcity, Demands Urgent Attention

Hard Rain Journal 9-29-06: Sustainability Update -- Freedom to Flourish and Water to Survive, Both are Vanishing...What Will You Do?

Hard Rain Journal 9-18-06: Update on Sustainability -- There is Peril Ahead, Whether Water is Privatized, Militarized or Simply Ignored for Too Long

Hard Rain Journal 8-18-06: Water, Water Nowhere, & Only A Few Drops to Sell --- An Update on the Water Aspect of the Global Sustainability Crisis

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

Global Warming, Sri Lanka Water Wars Water Crisis Sustainability Rivers UN Millennium Goal, Climate Change Environmental Security, Davos, Ban Ki-Moon, World Economic Forum, International Water Management Institute, Malthesar International, Drought, Words of Power

Hard Rain Late Night: Patti Smith -- Dancing Barefoot

Hard Rain Late Night: Patti Smith -- Dancing Barefoot



Patti Smith,You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power

Campaign '08: Two Key Factors -- Unity and Forcing McCain to Choose Between His Captors and the Truth

The Candidate, A Film by Robert Redford (1972)


Announcing the suspension of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney suggested he was bowing out to help strengthen Republican chances at winning in November. He said that mattered, in part, because, “Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat, declare defeat.” Think Progress, 2-9-08

Campaign '08: Two Key Factors -- Unity and Forcing McCain to Choose Between His Captors and the Truth

By Richard Power

The 2008 presidential election is of profound importance.

There are two key factors.

First, the Democrats must not tear themselves apart in the process of choosing their nominee.

Second, the Democrats must make John McCain choose between embracing or repudiating the record of the Bush-Cheney regime as well as that of its Republican enablers and protectors in the US Senate.

Obama vs. Clinton

No, I am not going to weigh in on Clinton versus Obama.

But I urge you to read the four powerful pieces from four worthy individuals excerpted here. Each argues one side or the other of Obama vs. Clinton. Taken together, they constitute an inspiring, insightful debate.

Joe Wilson writes:

I have spent the past four years fighting a concerted character assassination campaign orchestrated by the George W. Bush White House. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the few who fully understood the stakes in that battle. Time and again, she reached out to my wife -- outed CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson -- and me to remind us that as painful as the attacks were, we simply could not allow ourselves to be driven from the public square by bullying. To do so would validate the radical right's thesis that the way to win debates is to demonize opponents, taking full advantage of the natural desire to avoid confrontation, even if it means yielding on substantive issues. Hillary knew this from experience, having spent the better part of the past 20 years fighting the Republican attack machine. She is a fighter. Joe Wilson, Huffington Post, 2/13/08

Gary Hart writes:

Through some miracle of timing, luck, and good fortune Barack Obama has seized the moment. His mantra of "change" has been largely co-opted by lesser figures. He is in fact an agent of transformation. He is not operating on the same plane as ordinary politicians, and this makes him seem elusive to the conventional press and the traditional politicians. His instinct for the moment and the times is orders of magnitude more powerful than the experience claimed by others. Experience in the old ways is irrelevant experience. ... I see Barack Obama as a leader for this transcendent moment, the agent of transformation in an age of revolution, as a figure uniquely qualified to open the door to the 21st century and to convert threat to great new opportunity. Gary Hart, Huffington Post, 2-13-08

Erica Jong writes:

Unfortunately the Hillary-Haters are in charge. They monopolize the networks, the newspapers, the talk shows -- both radio and TV. They are crossing their legs for fear of castration. They are wearing the body armor our troops never got. Or got too late to matter. They are determined that a woman will not prove herself competent as Commander in Chief. ... Ho hum. We've seen this all before in the United States of Amnesia (Gore Vidal's brilliant phrase). Remember Geraldine Ferraro -- tarred with the brush of her Italian-American husband, whom they claimed was a mafioso? Remember Bella Abzug, attacked for her hats (which covered too large a brain)? Remember Eleanor Roosevelt, attacked for her teeth? Remember Victoria Woodhull (the first woman to run for president) "hanged" as a whore? Remember Emma Goldman rode out of town on a rail -- for being Jewish, liking to dance and supporting the rights of the working classes? Perhaps you know the history. Most likely you don't. They'd rather you didn't know it. Hence trillions for guns and pennies for education. Erica Jong, Huffington Post, 2/13/08

Addressing Sen. Obama directly, Toni Morrison writes:

I have admired Senator Clinton for years. Her knowledge always seemed to me exhaustive; her negotiation of politics expert. However I am more compelled by the quality of mind (as far as I can measure it) of a candidate. ... In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. ... Toni Morrison Toni Morrison, New York Observer, 1-28-08

I could argue the pros and cons either way.

What is most important is that there is unity once there is a nominee. (And, of course, such unity cannot be achieved if the nomination is obtained unfairly.)

How to Turn McCain on Himself

The Democrats must strike early and define John McCain (R-AZ), the presumptive Republican candidate, as a once great maverick who tragically sacrificed his soul to become the nominee of his party.

The electorate must be reminded that after he and his family were smeared and slimed in the 2000 campaign, McCain spent the next eight years of his life ingratiating himself to the man who had it done; not to mention wrapping himself in the bloody banner of the neo-con cult and pandering to the American Taliban on the religious right. In short, McCain has betrayed his values and himself.

The 2008 election must be framed as a referendum on the record of the Bush-Cheney administration and its enablers in the Congressional branch, in particular the Republican members of the US Senate, who scuttled all oversight while they controlled the body, and then used the filibuster to stall almost all meaningful legislation after they lost control in 2006.

Whether the issue is national security or economic security, the record is both appallingly clear and clearly appalling.

McCain's first line of defense in his attempt to hold the White House for the Republican Party is going to be "national security," of course, i.e., the war IN, OF, BY and FOR terrorism.

Here are some suggestions on how to deal with him on this issue --

Stop referring to it as "the war in Iraq," it is not a war, as Thom Hartmann reminds us day in and day out, it is an occupation. The US military won the war, and removed Saddam Hussein from power.

It is the occupation that is the problem. And the problem is not just that the occupation isn't going well, the problem is also that the occupation is not meant to end.

Establishing permanent bases was always the intent. (And everyone who voted for the initial authorization knew it way back then.)

Debate the occupation. Debate the cost of it -- both in lives and treasure. Debate its efficacy, not its morality.

Demand accountability on Bin Laden and Zawahiri.

Demand accountability on Tora Bora and Waziristan.

Why are Bin Laden and Zawahiri still alive and at large?

(And if one or the other of them is indeed dead, well, then there is even more explaining to do, isn't there?)

Demand accountability on the decision to invade and occupy the secular Iraq of Saddam Hussein, a sworn enemy of Al Qaeda, instead of focusing on Afghanistan and tightening the screws on Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Demand this accountability from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

Force him to either embrace or rebuke Bush.

Do not let him hide behind his criticism of the fallen Rumsfeld. It was too little too late. Do not let him hide behind the false idol of Petraeus. (Memorize Juan Cole's "Top Ten Myths about the Iraq 2007" and share them with everyone you know.)

Meanwhile, there is even more disturbing news on Bush's "strong allies" in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan:

Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed ..
Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence. ... . Guardian 2-15-08

In an audio recording obtained by Human Rights Watch, Pakistan's Attorney General Malik Qayyum stated that upcoming parliamentary elections will be "massively rigged," Human Rights Watch said ...
In the recording, Qayyum appears to be advising an unidentified person on what political party the person should approach to become a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election, now scheduled for February 18, 2008. Human Rights Watch, 2-15-08

The day after Human Rights Watch released that statement ...

A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed as many as 45 people and left dozens injured near the election office of the late Benazir Bhutto's People's Party in Parachinar, Pakistan, ahead of elections in two days. ... A series of bomb attacks in the past month have targeted anti-Taliban candidates in Pakistan's Pashtun northwest and in the southern city of Karachi. Bloomberg, 2/16/08

Prince Bandar, the man who delivered the threat to the British government, is often referred to as "Bandar Bush" because of his closeness to the Bush family.

Malik Qayyum, the Attorney General caught on tape talking about "massively rigged" elections, was also secretly taped while he was the judge in the "corruption" trial of Benazir Bhutto years ago:

In February 2001, the Sunday Times, a British newspaper, published a report based on transcripts of 32 audio tapes, which revealed that Qayyum convicted Bhutto and Zardari for political reasons. The transcripts of the recordings reproduced by the newspaper showed that Qayyum asked then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's anti-corruption chief, Saifur Rehman, for advice on the sentence: "Now you tell me how much punishment do you want me to give her?" Human Rights Watch, 2-15-08

Will these people be McCain's "strong allies" too?

None of this should surprise you.

As Naomi Wolf remarks,"Musharraf’s Playbook is the Same as the Bush Administration’s."

At a broad level, both Bush and Musharraf have consistently magnified real threats to security in their public communications in order to promote fear and intimidate political opponents. In America, fear of another catastrophic attack in the wake of 9/11 was used to justify the round-ups of material witnesses, domestic spying and the PATRIOT Act. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the threat of armed fundamentalists was cited as the reason to sack the Supreme Court and restrict the press. ...
Both Bush and Musharraf have largely ignored the real security threats they use to promote fear. Bush started a war in Afghanistan only to then grow distracted by an Iraq conflict whose only relation to terrorism was to encourage more of it. Musharraf has ignored his regime’s ongoing support for militants despite the threat they pose to his own government, instead spending U.S. money on high-tech force structure (such as F-16s) for a hypothetical war with India. Huffington Post, 2-15-08

The question is will Sen. John McCain embrace such ugliness?

Bush says the answer is yes.

On Fox News today, Time’s Mark Halperin said, “The President behind the scenes has told people for months that he thought McCain would be the nominee. Even during some of those dark periods he still thought he could win. And also that McCain would be the best to carry forth his agenda.” Think Progress, 2-8-08

If McCain embraces the Bush not-so-hidden agenda, the US electorate will reject him; if McCain repudiates it, much of his Kool-Aid base will desert him. Either way, he will lose.

But he must be forced to choose.

The same is true on other vital issues, e.g., the economy, the war on science being waged by Christian fundamentalists, etc. -- force McCain to chose. Either way, he loses.

Sticking to a course that will drive him into this political cul-de-sac will require both skill and courage on the part of the Democratic nominee.

Such skill and courage will inspire a huge voter turnout in November. It will be needed. If the race is too close, it could be stolen -- again.

The US mainstream news media will not be of any assistance in this effort.

Therefore, it must injected into the psyche of the nation through progressive talk radio and the blogosphere, but it is a story-line that must also be drawn on by the candidate directly.

If he or she does, McCain will snap.

First, he will lose it, and then he will lose.

For an archive of Words of Power posts on Campaign '08, click here.

For an archive of Words of Power posts on 9/11, Terrorism, etc., click here.

Some Related Posts

Words of Power Interviews Erica Jong: "We think that history will proceed in a straight line. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Unless there is some reckoning, the nightmare of the last eight years will never end, it will only seem to end

Campaign '08 Update: Open Letter to Sen. Barack Obama -- This is Not a "Food Fight." This is a *Civil* War

"Live Free or Die" has New Meaning: Stolen Elections? Not Just 2000 and 2004, But Also 2002

Hard Rain Journal 9-17-07: An Open Letter to Al Gore -- The List, & What Will Happen to the USA & the Planet if We Don't Address It In 2008

Campaign '08 Update 8-12-07: Open Letter to Democratic Primary & Caucus Voters -- Turn This Race Upside Down!

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

Sen. Hillary Clinton,, Sen. Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Wilson, Toni Morrison, Erica Jong, Gary Hart, 2008 Presidential Campaign, Richard Power, Words of Power


Human Rights Update: UN General Secretary Reports that the Number of Entities Using Child Soldiers has Increased

Image: Child Soldier in Democratic Republic of Congo, BBC

Fifty-eight armed groups in 13 countries, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal, still recruit and use child soldiers, whose plight is "grave and entirely unacceptable", the UN has said.
Undersecretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy told the UN Security Council yesterday that in many of countries, there have also been incidents of killing or maiming children, attacking schools or hospitals, raping girls, abducting children and denying humanitarian groups access to youngsters.
She noted that there were 16 "persistent violators" who have been on the un list for five years, and urged the Security Council to "move from words toward effective action" by taking concrete and targeted measures against these offenders. Zee News (India), 2-13-08

Human Rights Update: UN General Secretary Reports that the Number of Entities Using Child Soldiers has Increased

By Richard Power

The use of child soldiers is a crime against humanity, and those leaders who engage in this savagery must be vigorously pursued and prosecuted under international law.

Of course, as I have already noted, the oft-quoted "conventional wisdom" that there are 250,000-300,000 child soldiers globally does not take into account the millions of children dragooned into armed gangs in the world's mega-slums. Nor does this figure of 57 "armed groups or forces identified as using child soldiers" factor in the tens of thousands of armed gangs.

Either way, the numbers are tragic and the impact on the lives of the children is horrific. When will the great nations and major corporations cease arming and underwriting those surrogates who resort to such evil?

According to the new Secretary General’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, the number of armed groups and forces identified as using children has climbed from 40 in 2006 to 57 in 2007.
This increase hides a complex reality. On the one hand it indicates better monitoring and reporting of violations and an improved ability to identify parties responsible for recruiting children. ...
On the other hand it also reflects a deterioration of the situations in Chad and Sudan, as well as renewed fighting in Afghanistan and Central African Republic, where children are now being recruited.
The rise in the number of groups identified as using child soldiers has reinforced the importance of the Optional Protocol and having international legal instruments and improved monitoring and reporting mechanisms in place to combat this scourge.
But the news is not all bad. Over the past six years, there have been a number of positive developments in addressing this situation. There are now 119 States parties to the Optional Protocol. Furthermore, since February 2007, 66 Governments have subscribed to the Paris Commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups. UNICEF, 2-12-08

For more on the international dimension of this problem, here are some resources:

Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

Amnesty International - Child Soldiers

Human Rights Watch -- Child Soldiers

For more on the domestic US dimension of this problem (e.g., South Central), drive across town.

Some Related Posts

Child Soldiers: Planetary Problem Persists, Burma Now Worst Case; Meanwhile, in the World's Mega-Slums, Millions More Go Uncounted & Unacknowledged

Human Rights Update (6-26-07) -- A Victory for Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone, But What About the Child Soldiers in the Streets of the USA?

UN Millennium Goals Update 5-30-07: In the Struggle to Empower Women & Children -- Very Good News, Very Bad News, & A Dose of Reality

Hard Rain Journal 4-21-07: Human Rights Update -- In War and Poverty, Children Forsaken on a Planetary Scale

Hard Rain Journal 12-4-06: Human Rights Update -- Unless You Protect Women, Children and Indigenous Peoples, You Cannot Achieve Real Security

Words of Power #17: Harry Potter and the Night Commuters

Words of Power #3: Gangstas = Child Soldiers Without A Country

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

UN, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Humanitarian Crisis, Afghanistan, Chad, UNICEF, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Child+Soldiers+Coalition, Refugees, Child Abuse, Human Rights, Youth Gangs

Hard Rain Late Night: Donovan -- Catch the Wind (1965)

Hard Rain Late Night: Donovan -- Catch the Wind (1965)



Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive

Donovan,You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power

Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: Green Economy? Yes. Bio-Fuels? No, Not Really.

Image: Variations of the Earth's surface temperature: year 1000 to year 2100, IPCC


"We're now on the threshold of another (transformation) -- the age of green economics," Ban said. Reuters, 2-7-08

Apart from used chip fat, there is no such thing as a sustainable biofuel.
All these convoluted solutions are designed to avoid a simpler one: reducing the consumption of transport fuel. But that requires the use of a different commodity. Global supplies of political courage appear, unfortunately, to have peaked some time ago. George Monbiot, Guardian, 2-12-08

“Human rights - including the right to water, to health, the right to work, cultural rights and the right to be protected from ill-treatment and arbitrary arrest - are being denied in some communities. “If palm oil is to be produced sustainably, the damaging effects of unjust policies and practices in the Indonesian plantation sector must be addressed,” the report said. Guardian, 2-11-08

Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: Green Economy? Yes. Bio-Fuels? No, Not Really

By Richard Power

Our greatest challenge is our greatest opportunity.

Yes, creating a "green economy" is a life or death imperative for this civilization, but it is also a chance to grow businesses and reap profit in dynamic, new ways.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said ... the world is on the cusp of "the age of green economics" and called on nations to cooperate to fight global warming and promote the transformation.
"With the right financial incentives and a global framework, we can steer economic growth in a low-carbon direction," Ban said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Chicago business group. ...
Ban said global investment in green energy is projected to hit $1.9 trillion by 2020, an indication of an economic shift that will rival the industrial revolution and the technology revolution of the past two centuries. ... Reuters, 2-7-08

However, if you assume that "bio-fuels" will drive this new "green economy" than you are wasting time and actually making the situation worse. They should have only a limited role.

The widespread use of ethanol from corn could result in nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the gasoline it would replace because of expected land-use changes, researchers concluded ... The study challenges the rush to biofuels as a response to global warming.
The researchers said that past studies showing the benefits of ethanol in combating climate change have not taken into account almost certain changes in land use worldwide if ethanol from corn — and in the future from other feedstocks such as switchgrass — become a prized commodity. Associated Press, 2-7-08

Many people believe there’s a way of avoiding these problems: by making biofuels not from the crops themselves but from crop wastes - if transport fuel can be manufactured from straw or grass or wood chips, there are no implications for land use, and no danger of spreading hunger. Until recently I believed this myself.
Unfortunately most agricultural “waste” is nothing of the kind. It is the organic material that maintains the soil’s structure, nutrients and store of carbon. A paper commissioned by the US government proposes that, to help meet its biofuel targets, 75% of annual crop residues should be harvested. According to a letter published in Science last year, removing crop residues can increase the rate of soil erosion a hundredfold. Our addiction to the car, in other words, could lead to peak soil as well as peak oil. George Monbiot, Guardian, 2-12-08

Not only does mismanaged bio-fuel production contribute to the very problems it is supposed to elevate, it also brings bad juju with it.

In the 21st Century, just as security and sustainability have become interdependent, sustainability and human rights have also become interdependent.

EU politicians should reject targets for expanding the use of biofuels because the demand for palm oil is leading to human rights abuses in Indonesia, a coalition of international environmental groups claimed ...
A new report, published by Friends of the Earth and indigenous rights groups LifeMosaic and Sawit Watch, said that increasing demands for palm oil for food and biofuels was causing millions of hectares of forests to be cleared for plantations and destroying the livelihoods of indigenous peoples.
The report, Losing Ground, said many of the 60-90 million people in Indonesia who depend on the forests are losing their land to the palm oil companies.
Pollution from pesticides, fertilisers and the pressing process is also leaving some villages without clean water.
“The unsustainable expansion of Indonesia’s palm oil industry is leaving many indigenous communities without land, water or adequate livelihoods. Previously self-sufficient communities find themselves in debt or struggling to afford education and food. Traditional customs and culture are being damaged alongside Indonesia’s forests and wildlife,” the report reads.
It claims that oil palm companies often use violent tactics as they move in to convert the land to plantations. Guardian, 2-11-08

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

For the Words of Power Climate Crisis Updates Archive, click here.

Click here for access to great promotional tools available on The Eleventh Hour action page.

To sign the Live Earth Pledge, click here.

For analysis of the US mainstream news media's failure to treat global warming and climate change with accuracy or appropriae urgency, click here for Media Matters' compilation of "Myths and Falsehoods about Global Warming".

Want to participate in the effort to mitigate the impact of global warming? Download "Ten Things You Can Do"

Want to join hundreds of thousands of people on the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now? Click here.

Center for American Progress Action Fund's Mic Check Radio has released a witty and compelling compilation on the Top 100 Effects of Global Warming, organized into sections like "Global Warming Wrecks All the Fun" (e.g., "Goodbye to Pinot Noir," "Goodbye to Baseball," "Goodbye to Salmon Dinners," "Goodbye to Ski Vacations," etc.), "Global Warming Kills the Animals" (e.g., "Death March of the Penguins," "Dying Grey Whales," "Farewell to Frogs," etc.) and yes, "Global Warming Threatens Our National Security" (e.g., "Famine," "Drought," "Large-Scale Migrations," "The World's Checkbook," etc.) I urge you to utilize Top 100 Effects of Global Warming in your dialogues with friends, family and colleagues.

Ban Ki-moon, Friends of the Earth, Indonesia, Deforestation,
Global Warming, Energy Security, Environmental Security, Alternate Energy, Sustainability, Green Power, Renewable Resources, Climate Change, Human Rights, Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth,Laurie David, Stop Global Warming!,Institute for Policy Studies The Eleventh Hour, Bio-Fuels, Richard Power, Words of Power

In Darfur, the Worst May Be On Its Way; Meanwhile, in the West, Courage Among Olympic Athletes & Cravenness in High Places

"This mother's three children were burned alive." -- For More Compelling Photos from Mia Farrow's Journeys, click here.


A major assault by the Sudanese army and allied militia has left two Darfur towns badly damaged by fire, sources close to a U.N. reconnaissance mission to the region said ... The news came as the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed one of its staff members had been killed in the offensive. Aid group MSF Switzerland said a small number of its staff had gone missing after the attacks. Reuters, 2-12-08

In Darfur, the Worst May Be On Its Way; Meanwhile, in the West, Courage Among Olympic Athletes & Cravenness in High Places

By Richard Power

As I type this Darfur Crisis Update, I hear the heart-wrenching refrain of a powerful African-American spiritual in my mind: "Ain't no hiding place down here, ain't no hiding place down here."

The facts on the ground are spinning out of control. The worst may be on its way.

The Prime Minister, Nouradine Delwa Kassire Coumakoye, said the influx of refugees into eastern Chad risked becoming a "bone of contention" between the two countries and said that if the international community did not relocate them, it would do so.
Tensions are already high between N'Djamena and Khartoum after an assault on the Chadian capital a week ago by Chadian rebels based in Darfur. Chad accuses Sudan of backing the rebels, a charge it denies.
"Chad can no longer support something so harmful to it," Mr Coumakoye said. "Refugees bring insecurity. Today, Chad is under attack from Sudan because of these refugees. We ask quite simply that they be moved. If not, we will do so. Their presence is causing us problems. We have had enough. We will move them in the superior interest of our country. We can no longer continue to sacrifice our people." Independent, 2-12-08

Meanwhile, in the West, we are witness to an astounding contrast --

Exemplary courage among British Olympic athletes:

Two British Olympians have revealed their membership of a pressure group aiming to embarrass China about its tacit support of human rights abuses in Africa.
Richard Vaughan, the country’s top badminton player, and Shelley Rudman, Britain’s only medal winner at the last Winter Olympics, have publicly signed up to Team Darfur, a group urging China to use its leverage with Sudan to hasten an end to the Darfur crisis.
A further eight British athletes, as yet unidentified, are members of the 205-strong group which hopes to use press conferences and possible podium appearances in Beijing this summer to protest about China’s engagement with the regime in Khartoum.
But the athletes’ involvement with such a politically sensitive issue has raised concerns that their Olympic ambitions may be jeopardised. Vaughan, who represented Britain at the last two Olympics, said last night that he feared he would miss out on selection because of his involvement. Times (London), 2-12-08

Utter cravenness in the Oval Office:

Lawmakers and human rights activists sharply criticized President Bush yesterday for issuing a signing statement that they said has undermined congressional efforts to pressure the Sudanese government to crack down on rebels responsible for the genocide in Darfur.
At a House Financial Services Committee hearing, members of both parties denounced a signing statement that Bush issued Dec. 31.
The statement challenged the constitutionality of the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act, which makes it easier for states and municipalities to divest their pension funds from companies that do business with Sudan.

Yes, that's right, George W. Bush felt compelled to issue a signing statement undermining the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act.

What could he be doing instead?

If he had the compassion, the conscience or the courage of a British badminton player, he could endorse and act upon the Joint Statement of Save Darfur Coalition, the ENOUGH Project, and the Genocide Intervention Network:

The outcome of the crisis in Chad remains uncertain, but the peril for civilians in Chad and Darfur is enormous. A low-intensity, festering civil conflict between the Chadian government and a disparate group of rebels exploded into violent confrontation in the capital N'Djamena. Thousands of refugees fled the city, and the threat of renewed violence continues. The Sudanese government, which is responsible for genocide in Darfur, supports the rebels trying to overthrow Chad's government because it wants to block the deployment of European Union peacekeepers to Eastern Chad. Sudan's ruling party not only threatens its own citizens, which it has destroyed in great numbers, it is a menace to the entire region. It will remain a menace until the rest of the world makes the cost of doing so too steep.
Policy Recommendations:
1. The U.S., France and UK should work with China and Russia to introduce immediately a UN Security Council resolution authorizing targeted sanctions on senior Sudanese officials responsible for supporting the overthrow of a neighboring sovereign government, for obstructing the deployment of international protection forces in Chad and Darfur, and for continuing to promote violence in Darfur.
2. The U.S., UK, France, and China, as leading members of the UN Security Council, and in coordination with the UN, the AU, and the broader international community, should work together to ensure that the UNAMID peacekeeping mission in Darfur and the EUFOR and MINURCAT peacekeeping missions in Chad/CAR are immediately and fully deployed.
3. The U.S., France, UK and China should use this opportunity to form an international "Quartet" to work with the UN and AU to promote an end to the interconnected conflicts in Chad and Sudan. Joint Statement on the Crisis in Chad, 2-8-08

I encourage you to follow events in Darfur on Mia Farrow's site, it is the real-time journal of a humanitarian at work; the content is compelling, insightful and fiercely independent.

Click here to sign the TURN OFF/TUNE IN Pledge.

For a Words of Power Archive of posts on the Crisis in Darfur, click here.

Here are other sites of importance:

Dream for Darfur

Enough: The Project to End Genocide and Mass Atrocities

Genocide Intervention Network

Divest for Darfur.

Save Darfur!

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

Darfur, Olympics, Divestment, Chad, Bush, UN, Genocide, Mia Farrow, Dream for Darfur, China, Sudan, Investors Against Genocide, Richard Power, Words of Power

Hard Rain Light Night: Jimi Hendrix -- Hey Joe (Belgium, 1967)

Hard Rain Late Night: Jimi Hendrix -- Hey Joe (Belgium)



Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive

Jimi Hendrix,You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power

UNIFEM Asks You to Take a Stand in the Global Fight to End Violence Against Women; It Will Cost You Nothing But the Time to Type Your Name

Nicole Kidman, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador


Human Rights Update: Take a Stand in the Global Fight to End Violence Against Women -- Your Simple Signature Will Help Raise $100,000 for UNIFEM; It Will Cost You Nothing But the Time to Type Your Name

By Richard Power

Protecting and empowering women, children and indigenous people is one of Words of Power's major areas of focus, and the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is one of Words of Power's main story lines.

UN goodwill ambassador Nicole Kidman, who serves as UNIFEM's spokesperson, is calling for concerned global citizens to put their names on the line to help thwart violence against women:

The “Say NO to Violence against Women” campaign counts on each of us to speak out by signing up. Now, the United Nations Foundation is counting too. It has issued a challenge: for each of the first 100,000 signatures to the campaign, the UN Foundation will donate $1 to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. We need everyone’s help to get 100,000 people to sign on to the UNIFEM campaign so that $100,000 will be contributed to the Trust Fund for local initiatives working to prevent human trafficking, assisting survivors of domestic violence or helping implement laws against rape. ... Let’s show the world that there is an ever-growing movement of people who say “NO” to violence against women.

To sign up, click here.

Say NO to Violence against Women


Some Related Posts

Human Rights Update: Most Basic Rights of Women Under Attack in Iran, the Congo & Even in Evo Morales' New Bolivia

Human Rights Update: Ending Violence Against Women is a Global Imperative; UNIFEM Launches Campaign

In This Century of Crisis, Empowering Women is Vital if the Human Race is to Prevail, i.e., Evolve

Global Campaign Against Poverty 10-17-07: Stand Up & Speak Out -- Raise Women Up, Defend Them Against Violence & Oppression, Put Them in Power

Human Rights Update 9-6-07: In the 21st Century, Sane Men are Feminists -- UNIFEM Works to Dismantle the Edifice of Dysfunction

Hard Rain Journal 2-17-07: UN Millennium Goals and Human Rights Update -- Healing Balm for the World? Feed Children, Empower Women

To download the full text of UNIFEM Annual Report (2006-2007) in English, Spanish or French, click here.

For a directory of Words of Power Human Rights Updates, click here.

UN, UNFEM, Human Rights, Feminism, Nicole Kidman, Violence Against Women

Unless there is some reckoning, the nightmare of the last eight years will never end, it will only seem to end

Image: Salvador Dali, Premonition of Civil War


Unless there is some reckoning, the nightmare of the last eight years will never end, it will only seem to end

By Richard Power

There have been record-breaking turn-outs for Democratic Party primaries and caucuses. The two remaining contenders for the nomination promise change and renewal. The American people desperately want to put the last eight years behind them.

But unless there is some reckoning (and I mean through sustained congressional investigations, and in criminal and civil courts, not just in the political arena); then the last eight years will never end, they will only seem to end. They will only get repeated with better production values, a more plausible script and a new leader with a more benign facade.

In recent days, three stories have appeared that relate directly to long-running Words of Power themes, I would be remiss if I did not weave them into to the ongoing timeline which this site constitutes.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any of them will become issues in the upcoming Presidential campaign. If the Democratic ticket do not make these and related scandals into serious campaign issues in the fall, they will not only fail to fulfill a moral obligation, they will fail to seize a political opportunity.

The Republican candidate should be made to either repudiate or embrace the Bush-Cheney record -- either way he would suffer for it. The Republican Party must be held accountable, in this election cycle, for its complicity in the debacles and excesses of the Bush-Cheney regime; otherwise, it will never return to its worthy roots.

In "Hard Rain Journal 8-5-07: Lessons from Soviet-Style Show Trail of Don Siegelman -- Learned or Unlearned?", I drew your attention to the plight of former Governor Don Siegelman with a transcription of an Air America Ring of Fire interview with Harper's Scott Horton; subsequently an excellent series of articles by Raw Story's indomitable Larisa Alexandrovna offered an in-depth exploration of Siegelman's prosecution and imprisonment.

Many of us in the Blogosphere were surprised and encouraged to learn that CBS 60 Minutes was preparing an explosive piece on the Siegelman case.

Well, that did surprise me, but this update from Larisa's does not:

Well folks, seems that 60 Minutes is postponing (read "killing") its Siegelman story. The excuse I am told for this lapse in ethics is that the network needs more time to vet the whistle-blower, Dana Jill Simpson. You see, the reason the network suddenly needs more time to vet Simpson is that the White House has launched a direct campaign inside CBS to discredit her and just to make sure the dirt sticks, they have called in some favors too. I am told that Senator Jeff Sessions has been instructed to help the White House discredit Simpson as part of his "Senatorial" duties. Nice system of government we have here, eh? Larisa Alexandrovna, 2/5/08

Meanwhile, in the struggle to bring accountability to Beltwayistan before numerous "high crimes and misdemeanors" are swept under the rug ...

CREW sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey today, asking that he appoint a special council to investigate “whether the White House violated federal record-keeping laws by knowingly failing to preserve and restore millions of emails.” CREW executive director Melanie Sloan stated:
“The importance and historical significance of the missing emails makes it imperative that an impartial special counsel be appointed without delay to investigate the disappearance of these records. […] The missing emails do not belong to the Bush administration, but to the American people. The Attorney General should take action to protect the right of future generations to look back and understand the role of White House officials in critical events.” Think Progress, 2-4-08

But even more disturbing are some revelations contained in Philip Shenon's The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation (Buy it from Buzzflash!).

In The Commission, Shenon, a New York Times reporter, explores “failure at the highest levels of the United States government":

Shenon singles out Condoleezza Rice as inept, more interested in being President Bush’s buddy than securing the nation. Newsweek editor Evan Thomas writes a preview of the book:
The official ineptitude uncovered by the commission is shocking. Dubbed “Kinda-Lies-a-Lot” by the Jersey Girls, Ms. Rice comes across as almost clueless about the terrorist threat. “Whatever her job title, Rice seemed uninterested in actually advising the president,” Mr. Shenon writes. “Instead, she wanted to be his closest confidante — specifically on foreign policy — and to simply translate his words into action.”
An example of this incompetence is the fact that on July 10, 2001 — two months before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — then-CIA director George Tenet met with Rice and warned her about a threat from al Qaeda that “literally made [his] hair stand on end.” Rice was polite, but gave them the “brushoff.”
The 9/11 commission, however, heard about this meeting only after it completed its report. Shenon reveals that commission executive director Philip Zelikow, a close friend of Rice, stopped staffers from submitting a report depicting Rice’s performance prior to 9/11 as “amount[ing] to incompetence.” Think Progress, 2-4-08

What Shenon corroborates is something many of us have long insisted, that the 9/11 Commission pulled its punches in regard to the pre-9/11 failures of the Bush-Cheney national insecurity team.

Here is another powerful statement from Patty Casazza, Monica Gabrielle, Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken, all of whom lost loved ones in the slaughter of innocents on 9/11 (See also Hard Rain Journal 10-6-06: 911 Widows Speak Out on Woodward Revelation of the Bush-Cheney Insecurity Team's Failure to Heed Warnings):

September 11th Advocates Comment on the Impending Release of Philip Shenons Book -- The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation February 4, 2008
... One of the most egregious revelations put forth by Mr. Shenon is the fact that Philip Zelikow was hired as the Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, despite his direct ties to the Bush Administration. In 2000-2001 he served as a member of Condoleezza Rices National Security Council (NSC) transition team, where he was allegedly the architect of the decision to demote Richard Clarke and his counter terrorism team within the NSC. Furthermore he was a member of the Presidents Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) from 2001-2003, where* *Zelikow drafted most of the 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States, creating the pre-emptive Iraq war strategy. These areas were within the scope of the Commissions mandate and as such were of critical importance to determine what, if any, impact they had on the governments ability to prevent the 9/11 attacks.
As the Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, Philip Zelikow was given the responsibility for choosing the entire direction of the Commissions investigation. Essentially, Mr. Zelikow determined who was or was not interviewed as a witness, and which information was or was not looked at. He also influenced which documents would be requested from the various agencies. It seemed to us, that allowing an individual with this much involvement in the Bush administration to run the investigation, might give the appearance of impropriety and could ultimately taint the Commissions findings.
In a statement issued by the Family Steering Committee of March 20, 2004 we wrote:
"It is apparent that Dr. Zelikow should never have been permitted to be Executive Staff Director of the Commission. As Executive Staff Director, his job has been to steer the direction of the Commissions investigation, an investigation whose mandate includes understanding why the Bush Administration failed to prioritize the Al Qaeda threat. "
In the same statement we also called for:
"Zelikows immediate resignation; Zelikows testimony in public and under oath; and the subpoena of Zelikow's notes from the intelligence briefings he attended with Richard Clarke. "
Commission Chairman Tom Kean and Vice-Chair Lee Hamilton instead chose to have Mr. Zelikow recuse himself from the areas of the investigation that dealt with the transition period. However, they allowed Mr. Zelikow to be one of only two people (Ms. Gorelick was the other) to review the Presidential Daily Briefings (PDBs), reports that went to the heart of what the White House and its National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, knew prior to 9/11. While investigating the events that led up to the September 11th attacks, Philip Zelikow was called as a witness by the 9/11 Commission though transcripts of his testimony were never made public.
Despite our vehement objections, Mr. Zelikow was allowed to remain in his position as what seemed to be the gatekeeper of the 9/11 Commission. Mr. Shenons book illustrates just how deeply and insidiously the Commission's basic fact-finding work was compromised by Zelikows conflicts. He recounts that even after his recusal, Mr. Zelikow continued to insert himself into the work of "Team 3," of the Commission. This team was responsible for examining the White House, and therefore, the conduct of Condoleeza Rice and Richard Clarke during the months prior to 9/11.
According to the author, Team 3 staffers would come to believe that Mr. Zelikow prevented them from submitting a report that would have depicted Ms. Rice's performance as "amount to incompetence, or something not far from it."
Evidence of the possible duplicitous nature of Mr. Zelikows role on the 9/11 Commission was further exemplified by his numerous conversations with Karl Rove, President Bushs Senior Political Advisor. When questioned about his contact with Rove, Zelikows response was to tell his secretary to stop logging his calls.
Contrary to former Commissioner John Lehmans recent comment on MSNBC that Zelikows conversations with Rove are a red herring, these contacts with Rove should have been /a red flag/. Negotiating for or procuring of White House documents for the Commission should have been done through the Office of White House Counsel NOT the Presidents political advisor. Consequently, knowing how this would appear, one must ask why Zelikow was speaking with Rove?
It is abundantly clear that Philip Zelikow should have immediately been replaced when the first rumblings of his impropriety and conflicts of interest surfaced. When all of this information became clear, the Commissioners and the press should have called for Zelikows resignation. We did. Shamefully, most were silent. ...
We believe that author Phil Shenon has revealed information which only scratches the surface as to what went on behind the scenes of this investigation.
Why, when this Congressionally mandated Commission could have done much to fix the fatal flaws in our in government by conducting a real investigation and making vital recommendations, would they instead allow it to become a sham. This investigation was meant to fix the loopholes that allowed our Country to be so vulnerable. Why would they choose instead, to succumb to political machinations? What would we find out if a real investigation into September 11, 2001 were ever done?
The bottom line is that the most deadly attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor remains dangerously unexamined. This can only be remedied with an investigation guided by the facts and conducted outside the reach of those with a vested interest in suppressing the truth.
*Patty Casazza*
*Monica Gabrielle *
*Mindy Kleinberg *
*Lorie Van Auken *
To read the full statement, September 11th Advocates Comment on the Impending Release of Philip Shenons Book -- The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation, 2-4-08, click here.

For an archive of Words of Power posts on 9/11, Terrorism, etc., click here.

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

Philip Zelikow, Don Siegelman,CREW, Bush, 9/11, CBS, Patty Cazaza, Mindy Kleinberg, Lorie Van Auken, Monica Gabrielle, Larisa Alexandrovna Richard Power, Words of Power