|
EcoMole
Bush's Campaign Stunt Endangers 180,000 Lives, Republican Rival Calls for Bush's Impeachment, News from The-Edge: Bush Propaganda Revelations Reprinted Worldwide, Project Censored 2004: The-Edge Covers the Best Censored Stories, John Ashcroft Seizes the E
February 27, 2004
 | | With the Atlantic Ocean on one side and a wooded golf course on the other, Air Force One's showy visit to the Daytona Speedway would have made a tempting target for a Stinger missile. Apparently, George W. Bush doesn't take the "terrorism threat" very seriously -- at least not when it comes to scoring campaign photo-ops. |
Bush's Campaign Stunt Endangers 180,000 Lives
Security around the Daytona International Speedway was described as the tightest in the road race's 46-year history. Ticket holders were frisked, bags were inspected, the undersides of cars were checked with mirrors, reporters' computers and tape-recorders were subjected to scrutiny, federal sharpshooters took up rifle positions above the stands and bomb-sniffing dogs prowled the premises. Security was tight... on the ground.
Some 40 minutes before the start of the race, George W. Bush made what the Washington Post called a "surprise visit" to the Daytona 500. The arrival of Air Force One was hardly a surprise, however. As Florida's News-Journal reported, at exactly 10:45 a.m., "Air Force One appeared on the horizon -- on schedule -- and circled low over the Speedway."
The unprecedented spectacle of the 231-foot long Boeing VC-25A circling the Speedway would have been remarkable under any circumstances. But, given that this country is supposed to be in a high state of alert as America conducts Mr. Bush's "War on Terrorism," the over-flight was nothing short of inexplicable.
With a wingspan of nearly 200-feet, Air Force One could make an exceedingly tempting target for any terrorist equipped with a shoulder-mounted surface to air rocket. The decision to announce that Air Force One would be appearing "on schedule" in the skies over Daytona could have been an open invitation to disaster. Adding to the risk, the plane was required to land at the adjacent Daytona Beach International Airport, sit on the tarmac for two hours, and lumber back into the skies with the Bushes, their guests and a crew of 26 aboard.
Fully loaded, Air Force One weighs 379-tons and much of that weight (170 tons or more) is highly explosive aviation fuel. To picture the devastation a crashing 747 can cause, one only needs to recall the events of September 11.
The image of Air Force One looming over the heads of spectators in the Speedway grandstands was posted on the Internet, where it elicited a number of concerned comments about how close the plane came to the spectators.
"You can pee off the top rail of the speedway and hit the runway of the airport," a fellow named Lurker noted. "The two are less than a 1/4-mile apart." A lady named Emily fantasized the following news story: "President Bush's re-election campaign faltered today when he inadvertently crashed Air Force One -- which he was piloting as a special treat -- into thousands of demographically significant NASCAR dads. Film at 11."
The White House called Mr. Bush's latest photo-op stunt "non-political," meaning Bush's lavishly endowed campaign didn't have to pay a single dime -- the costs were paid by American taxpayers.
If the White House is really believes the country is under threat from terrorists, how could it justify such a provocative, risky and costly escapade? The message Mr. Bush has sent is: the "War on Terror" is nothing more than a political fiction that we rely on only when it's convenient.
Republican Rival Calls for Bush's Impeachment
During the New Hampshire primary in late January, Republican Presidential Challenger John Buchanan called for the impeachment of George W. Bush for "subversion of the constitution." Buchanan, an investigative journalist whose 33-year career has been unblemished by scandal, made journalistic history when he uncovered the so-called "Bush-Nazi files" at the National Archives and Library of Congress and reported his findings in the New Hampshire Gazette, the country's oldest newspaper. [See "The Republican Who Would Challenge Bush," The-Edge. January 31, 2004.]
During the primary campaign, Buchanan, who is running as a Republican on the Truth Party ticket, revealed that the respected military journal, Jane's Intelligence Digest had reported that US bombers were being readied to attack the Bekaa Valley and, even more troubling, that US troops had already crossed the border into Syria "without apparent knowledge by the Congress."
Buchanan characterized the Bush-Cheney administration as a group of "flagrant liars and war criminals unfit for office" and called for their impeachment for treason for leading the nation into war "based on a campaign of lies, deceit and propaganda."
Buchanan complained that "Karl Rove and the New Hampshire GOP have tried to sabotage my campaign, including the filing of a false police report." Despite the campaign challenges of Buchanan and former New Hampshire mayor Richard Bosa, much of the US Media, led by CNN and Fox News, continued to report that Bush was running "unopposed" in New Hampshire.
If GWB was "unopposed," why were all those GOP heavy hitters dispatched to NH to talk up the President-Select? The last-minute Bush Brigade consisted of John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki, Mitt Romney, Ed Roscoe (Bush/Cheney US Campaign Chair) and Republican National Committee Chair Ed Gillespie. When asked why all the muscle for an "unopposed" campaign, an NH GOP Committee spokesperson said, "Well, there are other names on the ballot."
 | | The-Edge's 8,000-word expose makes the cover Down Under. |
News from The-Edge:
Bush Propaganda Revelations Reprinted Worldwide
The-Edge's 8,000-word expose of the Bush Administration's Ministry of Propaganda was reposted on websites and reprinted around the world shortly after it appeared on-line last November. Edge editor Gar Smith was invited to speak on a number of political talk shows.
Recently, the article appeared as the lead cover story in the January issue of Astrailia's New Dawn magazine. The excerpt published in New Dawn ran eight pages.
The article has also been published on numerous websites, including -- the World News Stand, the School for Cooperative Individualism, Islam America, the Hastings (Law School) Independent, American Patriot Friends Network, Nuclear.com, 911Review, The Crisis Papers, Nortre Dame Archives, the University of Birmingham (Britain), Etrend (Sweden), Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (Britain), Bainbridge Neighbors for Peace (Canada), AgitProp.org (Australia) and Serendipity.
The-Edge extends its thanks to Col. Sam Gardiner for undertaking the research that identified 50 "stories of strategic influence" (i.e. propaganda) that White House operatives concocted to "market" the invasion of Iraq. The-Edge also thanks Col. Gardiner for his collaboration in the production of the article that ultimately appeared on The-Edge, in New Dawn and on websites around the globe.
The four-part installment is available on-line at:
www.earthisland.org/project/newsPage2.cfm?newsID=491&pageID=177&subSiteID=44
Project Censored 2004:
The-Edge Covers the Best Censored Stories
The-Edge is carrying on the investigative tradition of Earth Island Journal. We are proud to report that The-Edge published nine of the Top Censored Stories of 2003 -- including the top three exposes.
#1: The Neoconservative Plan for Global Dominance
The Attack on Iraq Was Planned Before the 2000 Elections
#2: Homeland Security Threatens Civil Liberty
Profiles in Courage: The Rush to War Endangers the US Constitution
#3: US Illegally Removes Pages from Iraq UN Report
Who Supplied Saddams Weapons? George H. W. Bush Did!
#7: Treaty Busting by the United States
The International Criminal Court: How Bush Courts Disaster
#8: US/British Forces Continue Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons despite Massive Evidence of Negative Health Effects
The Children of Iraq Are Living a Nuclear Nightmare
#11: US Implicated in Taliban Massacre
Did US Troops Commit War Crimes in Afghanistan?
#15: US Military's War on the Earth
'Environmentalists Against War' Calls for Peace
#19: US Dollar vs. the Euro: Another Reason for the Invasion of Iraq
'Vampirialism': George W. Explores the Dark New World beyond 'Voodoo Economics'
#24: Aid to Israel Fuels Repressive Occupation in Palestine
The Murder of Rachel Corrie: An Eyewittness Account (one of a half dozen reports)
John Ashcroft Seizes the Eco-Moles Computer!
Admittedly, it was only a "virtual seizure" but it was chilling, nonetheless. Here's what transpired.
A few weeks ago Eco-Mole Jr. asked The-Mole to log on to a website and download a Hollywood movie. "I believe that is illegal," The Mole remarked. "Go ahead, dad," the Junior Mole replied. "It's not a problem."
The first time I logged onto www.suprnova.net, I quickly found and selected the requested film (The Matrix: Reloaded) and began downloading. But the process proved so slow that I terminated the connection and returned to my work. An hour later, I logged on again. But this time the screen looked entirely different.
The URL that I'd typed in was still visible in the address box but, instead of the familiar first page of the Suprnova download site, there was a scowling photo of John Ashcroft staring back at me. My computer had been taken-over by www.cybercrime.gov, the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section!
The DOJ's Cybercrime webpage invites visitors to click on a video to see and hear John Ashcroft read the riot act about "Computer Crime (e.g., hacking)." There is no explanation or apology from the DOJ to explain why its has suddenly invaded and occupied a citizen's computer space.
Ironically, the lead article on the Cybercrime webpage was an essay entitled: "Dispelling the Myths about the USA PATRIOT Act." But this hardly seemed like the best time to reassure citizens that the PATRIOT Act was a harmless exercise that would never intrude on the civil liberties of the average American.
Nor was it reassuring that a link on the Cybercrime webpage lead to an 87-page document called "Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations."
When I notified my ISP representatives at SBC about this uninvited government take-over of my computer, they expressed shock and alarm. They claimed that they were completely unaware of such goings-on.
Down the Memory Hole: How to Crash a Computer
On another occasion, The Eco-mole attempted to download unpublished photos of US soldiers killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. The photos were stored on a website called "The Memory Hole." The attempt to link to this site not only crashed the Mole's computer, it erased the connection with the ISP carrier.
All subsequent attempts to reconnect to the Internet proved useless. At one point, however, something very strange occurred. The computer suddenly began to connect to the Internet on its own, linking a URL that was unknown to anyone in the office.
Still without an Internet connection, the Mole contacted SBC. While waiting for Customer Service, we were invited to check the available dial-in numbers for our locality. Out of curiousity, The Mole punched that option and listened as a recorded voice recited a list of "nearby" towns that were totally unfamiliar -- until the auto-secretary read out the name "Lubbock."
Apparently, it now appeared as if The Mole's computer was no longer located in the San Francisco Bay Area: It now appeared to be sited somewhere in the heart of Texas.
We recounted the experience to SBC's Customer Service rep and asked if she could account for such an oddity. She replied: "It sounds like it could be the government. But I'm not supposed to talk about that. I could get in trouble."
Since the call was probably recorded "for quality assurance," The Mole assumes this helpful soul has already been severely spanked, if not booted out the back door.
What's Happening in Venezuela?
Don't Ask Us: Our Computer Froze!
Within the past week, the Eco-Mole attempted to secure a copy of a Venezuelan government videotape that allegedly records US CIA agents plotting a coup with members of the anti-government business community. When we attempted to log onto the website of Vheadlines.com, an independent news agency located in Venezuela, our screen froze and the computer crashed.
Subsequent efforts to link to Vheadlines.com inevitably crash the Mole's computer. In hopes of circumventing the interference, we used a different machine and signed up for the Vheadlines news by email. Alas, that effort was wasted since any attempt to select an email from Vheadlines now freezes Outlook Express. AND causes the computer to crash.
None of these problems occur on computers located outside of the Mole's office.
Given these interventions, we cranked up our Virus protection a couple of notches. The virus warning now flashes continually and we have been alerted that "someone has attempted to install spy software, acpStelth.cih/ver.2.018 through port 443."
All of this, needless to say, is most disconcerting. But perhaps the most unsettling moment of all occurred late one night when The Mole was trolling through several arcane government-related websites. Suddenly, the computer stopped in mid-search and the speakers began blaring a weird, other-worldly electronic version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky."
Anyone who has had similar on-line experiences is welcomed to share them with The Mole.
For more information contact:
|
|
|
