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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).