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About The North Coast times-eagle. (Wheeler, Oregon) 1971-2007 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2002)
PAGE 4 OILS WELL THAT ENDS WELL BY THE TROLL UNDER THE BRIDGE ROBERTARNESON NEW NUCLEAR MADNESS BY SUSAN SKINNER “Prevention of nuclear war is not a radical idea or a Democratic issue. It is a concern that embraces all people of all beliefs, political persuasions, colors, creeds, and races. In fact, it could be said that nuclear war is a Republican issue because it is bad for business It also could be acknowledged that prevention of nuclear war is the ultimate pathotic act." -HELEN CALDICOTT Just when we thought the Cold War was over, the Bush administration abrogated the Antiballistic Missile Treaty in December 2001 and started wildly testing the outrageous “Missile Shield" which, at best, will line the pockets of global weapons manufacturers and degrade large portions of the Pacific Ocean and its tropical islands, and at worst, will transform earth and space into a battlefield of monstrous proportions. The Bush administration has recently announced its Nuclear Posture Review’, which targets seven countries by name for possible nuclear attack and directs the military to begin developing tactical nuclear weapons — small, more easily concealable and thus “more versatile” implements of destruction which will be marketed by the likes of Lockheed- Martin and Boeing to thugs all around the world. The war drums are beating and blood rage is on the rise. Our time to act against these atrocities is short The people of the Earth must speak out, and we must speak now. Fortunately, we have some help in making our voices heard. Internationally acclaimed antinuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott, physician, mother and world citizen, will visit Astoria on April 13 to speak about THE NEW NUCLEAR DANGER and the expansion of the international Military-Industrial Complex. Dr. Caldicott is a dedicated leader in the movement to educate the people of the world about our responsibility to protect the planet from the dangers of nuclear arms, nuclear power and the proliferation of nuclear waste. She cofounded Physicians for Social Responsibility and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. She herself was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1987. She is the author of Nuclear Madness (1978/1994), Missile Envy (1984), and If You Love This Planet (1992). Her new book, The New Nuclear Danger: G.W. Bush's Industrial Psychosis will be published April 1. Dr. Caldicott’s presentation will be held at the Clatsop County Community College Performing Arts Center (16th & Exchange) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students, and are available through Lucy’s Books in Astoria, Cannon Beach Book Company in Cannon Beach, Mother Nature’s Foods in Manzanita, and at the door. A book signing will be held at Lucy’s Books from 3-5, and at the PAC following the talk and discussion. ENDLESS WAR Donald Rumsfeld’s vision of the future is pretty bleak According to his most recent speech, most of our productive capacity will need to be mobilized for armed defense against a progressively hostile world for the indefinite future We might find a little rest under the umbrella of space lasers and world wide projection of air and ground power, but no place in America is really safe — never can be —and no person really trustworthy — under the apparent benign exterior of your neighbor may lurk a murderous terrorist. We worked so hard as a nation to defeat the evil of Hitler and Stalin through hot and cold war, that we have paid little attention to the cancerous growth of Evil within ourselves. Prudent watchfulness is a no-brainer But paranoid existence in an armed camp is no life at all. Evil has been with us human beings since creation. No rational person can deny it, or claim to understand it, or fully protect against it. It cannot be eliminated from the world; only love and understanding can trump it. The multiplication of Evil by returning evil in greater measure than it was received will only increase the misery of the world. (This is not an original thought!) President Bush asked the question himself — “Why do they hate us?" But he has never answered it, nor given any impression that he is interested in an answer. If it is “our free doms" that they hate; well, we are quickly eliminating those — so the threat of terrorism should diminish If it is our material wealth they hate, then we could even things up a bit by giving back (at little cost to ourselves) some of the wealth the Euro American empire has collected as tribute from the Third world ” This wouldn’t eliminate envy, and wouldn't make a dent in the quantity of Evil, but it could help diminish tension in a world in which a diminishing proportion of people claim an increasing share of the world's bounty, and might therefore decrease the likelihood of terrorist attacks. People aren’t so likely to strike outside their own domain when there is something at home to protect. Odd to find polar opposites — the Bush administration ^)and Janis Joplin — in the same philosophical dead space: “Freedom’s just another word / for nothing to lose." 218 WEST MARINE DRIVE ASTORIA, OREGON 97103 (503) 325-8708 -THOMAS S DUNCAN Future portends of Enron, Cheney reaction, Marshall law and ‘theater’ neutron bombings. Past speaks of Teapot Dome, Tammany Hall and Three Mile Island, except almost every elected official has accepted tainted contributions — Whitewater pales beside this but the media are too Bush friendly. Who has the intestinal fortitude to reform military driven disposable economics, corporate welfare and campaign financing? Dead issues? The very constitutionality of the executive coup should be challenged and George II impeached, as well as every paid for politician who accepted enron.com money. (PGE must be converted into a citizens’ utility.) Corporate welfare, not universal healthcare, may yet drive us to extinction. It isn't just politics. It is the worship of greed above kind ness. Corporate aspiration vs. the needs of ordinary people. We confuse democracy with economic opportunity, as if they were interchangeable. It is abandonment. Who could blame those who wish to get back at us? The pity is, the same forces hurt our own citizens. This new war is an undeclared, unconstitutional war, an unspecified police action with no end in sight. People get just as killed in declared wars, yet the undeclared war in (and upon) Vietnam drained the nation of its treasure (billions of public dollars disappearing into corporate pockets) and the greater cost of nearly 60 thousand American lives (for a war that depended on body count there will never be an accurate accounting of the millions of Southeast Asian lives lost) for a decade. Market tip: invest in munitions. We must invoke the impeachment of Bush II. Not only is he an apologist for the failed policies of his progenitor, nor is he simply a sophomoric, narrow-minded multinational corporate puppet, he is a major real and symbolic threat to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Because he has such a high approval rating, it means that he is doing poorly Blame it on an ignorant electorate and slanted poll-taking. It helped to have your brother pull the tabs in Florida and to have the Supreme Court stop the recount for the sake of old political appointments. (Impeach them too!) Ever since the insubordinate fools at the Alamo failed to blow up the place and withdraw to the San Jacinto River with General Houston, Texas has been a major embarrassment. It is where President Kennedy was shot and Armalite Corp, got a pork-barrel contract for M16 ammo for Vietnam). A facetious suggestion is that the first thing to do in a revolution would be to kick Texas our of the Union and invade. Every voter who thinks there is a difference between D’s & R’s is Troll food. Go Green. * Apologies to the Bard of Avon Tom Duncan is a medical physician in Astoria 325 9722*1052 COMMERCIAL* ASTORIA 97103 I Bush The First was the head of the CIA when Noriega, Saddam, Osama, the Shah of Iran, and Muamahr, were all our cherished, free-market, hand-picked, and deniable Tyrants. (The Israelis and English have been strange bedfellows, for that matter; Cold War buddies.) Short range market projections dictated our mercurial alliances. Their fealty to democratic principles were the least of our overt concerns. It was a simpler time (as if no one else could read The Wall Street Journal). You think the Saudis like us either? How soon we forget. We found the oil and built the pumps, but it's basically their oil, not ours. No wonder they hate us, generally. It's not as much a matter of individual liberty as it is our collective corporate gluttony that creates more enemies for us. If we were more sufficient we would not have to expend 70% of the world’s natural resources. Might this explain the attacks (including the first on the subterranean parking lot) of the World Trade Center, U.S. Marine barracks (in a hotel) in Lebanon, embassies in Africa, troops in Somalia, the L/SS Cole, the Pentagon? These opera tives were recruited, and abandoned, by the CIA. Hundreds of “sleepers” may be planned to actuate as we exercise the Pax America from outer space in order to dominate Earth and the near Universe. Most of our deadly enemies are past surrogates of George the First, King of the CIA & Insider President. What we have here is a bad case of plausible deniability. Democracy suffers for the sake of the elevation of the Republic, Deregulation and MultiNational Empire. We offend our conscripted and voluntary military patriots who swear to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, only to receive conflicting and deadly orders — the President may request a declaration of war but only Congress can truly declare and finance a war. No declared war: we don’t know who our real enemies are but we kill anyway. Another police action—die and withdraw. Bomb refugees and livestock by remote control, often referred to as ‘collateral damage’ even if dumb weapons are 90% accurate: 100 bombs = 5 dead refugees + 5 dead livestock = more new enemies for us. Politicians keep the Army on a short leash. No win scenario. Gunboat diplomacy. Congress is getting great consul tation. We have to recruit expatriate mercenaries. Renege on pollution agreement. Local taxpayers subsidize international corporations for lost money for not polluting. Import wage slaves while local citizens denied decent job opportunities. Allies hold our coat. The coup d’etat b by executive and “shadow” governments. (Is this the old shadow that killed the young President 39 years ago?) The putsch of Washington, D.C. by the electoral college, Florida, Texas and the Supreme Court. Now we are informed of a shadow government; the arrogation of executive power beyond oversight. Supply-Side economics do not “trickle down” (r.e. Enron).
