The use of the word "victory" fifteen times in President Bush's brief address in Annapolis, Maryland on November 30th was due to the influence of his NSC special advisor "Dr. Weaver," a scientist whose research on public opinion about the Iraq War has established that Americans will support such a war with mounting casualties on condition they believe it will ultimately succeed.
In Washington he's been referred to as a "narco-terrorist" and a "threat to stability". In Bolivia he's simply called "Evo." For many in the Andean country, Presidential candidate Evo Morales represents a way out of poverty and marginalization. He has pledged to nationalize the country's natural gas reserves, reject any US-backed free trade agreement and join the growing ranks of Latin America's left-of-center governments. He makes the Bush administration nervous and corporate investors cringe. Yet when Bolivians head to the polls Morales is expected to win a majority. However, the range of scenarios that could result from the election suggests that the show may be far from over by the end of Election Day on December 18th.Morales and supporters, ©jeremybigwood.net
It began as a far-reaching war against a vague enemy. Any questions about the war were considered unpatriotic and dissenters risked being violently repressed by the government. The government helped the economic elite profit at the expense of the poor. When the regime was losing its grip on power, it turned to a conventional military war that became a disaster. This synopsis describes the Dirty War of 1976-1983 in Argentina
and the current US "War on Terror." Boy walks past anti-repression graffiti, Buenos Aires
The Dirty War in Argentina is a complex story that can be viewed through a variety of lenses. During the six months I recently spent in Argentina, I found that the more I learned about the Dirty War, the more I was learning about the "War on Terror." To say that the current state of repression in the US is exactly like the Dirty War would be an insult to the 30,000 people who were disappeared and tortured in Argentina. The similarities between the two "wars," however, can indicate in what direction the US may be headed and how progressives can steer the country in another direction.
WASHINGTON – Does the United States operate secret prisons where detainees suspected of involvement in terrorism are taken and tortured? U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attempted to deflect this nagging question during a Dec. 5 press conference by defending “rendition” – the practice of transporting suspects to third countries for interrogation – while stating that, "the United States does not transport, and has not transported, detainees from one country to another for the purpose of interrogation using torture.”
STANFORD, CA - Although members of Congress from both major political parties have begun to call for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, anti-war demonstrations, which were common at Stanford University in 2003, have yet to be seen on campus this year, according to the Stanford Daily.
Senior Tanya Haj-Hassan, president of the Coalition for Justice in the
"Many who had initially taken an anti-war stance and who are still against the war fear that withdrawing the troops at this point in time may increase the instability that the war created and only worsen the situation," she said.
At least 30 Stanford students were arrested during protests in March 2003. Less than 12 hours after President George W. Bush announced the first strikes against
Haj-Hassen argued that "people are still very interested in what is going on in the region," but are expressing their concern and discontent "through different means."
Junior Omar Shakir, president of the Muslim Student Awareness Network, agreed. "I think that student activism regarding
He drew a distinction between present student activity and past protests. "Our group usually does not organize rallies or protests because we have found that students on campus are generally not receptive to that kind of approach," he said. "Awareness and advocacy are critical and ultimately more effective at Stanford."
PALM BEACH, FL – Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh took his personal war with liberals to a new level last week, telling a caller to his nationally syndicated show that “part of me likes” the fact that four Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) activists were kidnapped by an Iraqi insurgent group. “Here’s why I like it,” he explained, “I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality."
Addressing the kidnapped activists, Limbaugh said, "[Y]ou’ve met the bad guys, and you tried your technique on them, and now you’re blindfolded in a room with guns pointed at you and knives at your throat. I don’t like that," according to a transcript of the show. Then he added, "But any time a bunch of people that walk around with the head in the sand practicing a bunch of irresponsible, idiotic theory confront reality, I’m kind of happy about it, because I’m eager for people to see reality, change their minds, if necessary, and have things sized up."
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