contributions

by John Hooper in Rome
Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, yesterday confirmed that he would start pulling his country’s troops out of Iraq within two months.
Speaking at the G8 Gleneagles summit, Mr Berlusconi said the withdrawal of the first of Italy’s 3,000 troops would start in September.
"We will begin withdrawing 300 men in September," he said, adding that the decision would depend on the security situation on the ground.
He said he had discussed the plan with allies and (…)

Statue of Liberty

The G8 must seize the opportunity to address the wider issues at the root of such atrocities
by Robin Cook
I have rarely seen the Commons so full and so silent as when it met yesterday to hear of the London bombings. A forum that often is raucous and rowdy was solemn and grave. A chamber that normally is a bear pit of partisan emotions was united in shock and sorrow. Even Ian Paisley made a humane plea to the press not to repeat the offence that occurred in Northern Ireland when (…)

Submitted by two readers.
Last night on CNN I heard them making a connection between the London bombings and an “Islamic terrorist” website called alneda.com. I tried to view the website but it’s been taken offline. I did find the following three year old reference to alneda.com on CNN:
From: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/06/24/binladen.video/
"These statements and others from al Qaeda have been appearing from time to time on a Web site called www.alneda.com.
"In (…)

The Downing Street Minutes Demand Action
(- ; mp3 Cliff Notes to teach your neighbors :o)
The "Downing Street Memo" is actually the minutes from a top secret meeting, but there is much more to it than that.
Downing Street
Memo Audio
(mp3s: rt-click -> save as) 1. McGovern - We now Know 2. Why? O.I.L. 3. Rep. Hinchey - Critical 4. Bonifaz: The Source 5. House Cleaning 6. Should we stay or go? 7. Congressional Coverup 8. It’s Over for G.W. Bush
Please get (…)

Sample Application and information for the Conscientious Objector
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY C TROOP 1ST SQUADRON, 1ST UNITED STATES CAVALRY REGIMENT MEMORANDUM FOR THE COMMANDER, C-TROOP 1-1 CAVALRY
SUBJECT: Request for status as Conscientious Objector (1-0).
1. I have become a conscientious objector. It is against my moral and religious beliefs to take human life under any circumstances; I am opposed to war in any form. As long as I live, I will never attempt to kill another living (…)

Terrorism expert Tommy Preston of Preston Global in Frankfort, Kentucky, said sources in the intelligence community reported that at least one person in London, England was warned of Thursday morning’s terrorist attacks moments before the initial blast.
Preston, citing sources in the intelligence community, said former Israeli Prime Minister and current Finance Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was in London this morning for an economic forum. "Just before the first blast, Netanyahu got a (…)

IN HIS INITIAL reaction yesterday to the London transit bombings, President Bush decried ’’people killing innocent people." He said: ’’The contrast couldn’t be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty and those who kill — those who have got such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks."
This came a week and a half after Bush invoked the innocent in his Fort Bragg, N.C., speech in an attempt (…)

Dear America: I am longing to reach you — crossing this river of indifference and consumption and denial. I am trying to find you, reaching out through the desperate limitations of words and descriptions, swimming through the rhetoric of terror and God.
I need you to wake up. The house is on fire and you are still sleeping, lulled by the intoxication of smoke and mirrors. I need you to wake up and I know that shaking you, scaring you will only make you cling to your sleep and sleep more. (…)

ABOUT BUSH MANIA
By Peter Fredson
July 9, 2005
After watching George Bush for the past 5 years, I concluded that he suffers from some form of mental illness. I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist nor medical specialist, but I believe that G.W. suffers from some form of bipolar disorder.
This disorder is manifested by alternating periods of intense emotional activity and periods of depression.
For the past few months G.W. has publicly shown euphoria in which he attempts to (…)