Bulletin N°232
Subject : ON THE
GROWTH OF A 21st-CENTURY COUNTER CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES: FROM THE
CENTER FOR THE ADVANCED STUDY OF AMERICAN
INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, GRENOBLE,
FRANCE.
11 May 2006
Grenoble, France
Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,
The non-violent movement against war and the causes of war is growing
and despite massive efforts of denial and disinformation, individuals
and institutions are continuing to mobilize in opposition to the
political economy of war. Below, are descriptions of recent cultural
activities coming out of the United States, where a popular political
movement has evolved into a mainstream culture of resistance, despite
the forces of repression.
Item A. is an invitation
to our Friday night screening of the documentary film, The Corporation.
Item B. , from Professor
Judith Ezekiel, is the announcement of a new online scholarly
community: "The 'Second Wave' and Beyond".
Item C., sent to us by
Geroge Kenney, founder of Electronic Politics, is an interview with
with James Bissett, Canada's last Ambassador to Yugoslavia.
Item D. is an English
translation of Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadi-Najad's letter to
George Bush.
Item E. is an excerpt and
dramatic readings from Greg Palast's new book, Armed Madhouse.
Item F. is an on-line link
for free access to the new documentary film on Howard Zinn, You Can't
be Neutral on a Moving Train (1 hour 17 minutes).
Sincerely,
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies/
Director of Research
Université Stendhal - Grenoble 3
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/
_________________
A.
from Francis Feeley :
10 May 2006
LE
CENTRE DE RECHERCHE
CEIMSA-IN-EXILE
Center for the Advanced Study of
American Institutions and Social Movements
(temporarily located
at
The University of California)
VOUS PRESENTE :
"The
Corporation"
Mark Achbar, producer
LE VENDREDI, 12 MAI
à
17h30
Amphi 2
_____________________________________________
THE CORPORATION explores the
nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time.
Footage from pop culture, advertising, TV news, and corporate
propaganda, illuminates the corporation's grip on our lives. Taking its
legal status as a "person" to its logical conclusion, the film puts the
corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is
it?" Provoking, witty, sweepingly informative, The Corporation includes
forty interviews with corporate insiders and critics - including Milton Friedman, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Michael Moore - plus true
confessions, case studies and strategies for change.
Winner of 24 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS, 10 of them AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
including the AUDIENCE AWARD for DOCUMENTARY in WORLD CINEMA at the
2004 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL.
This film is based on the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit
of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan.
______________
B.
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 22:40:25 +0200
To: Francis FEELEY <francis.feeley@u-grenoble3.fr>
From: Judith Ezekiel <ezekiel@univ-tlse2.fr>
Francis,
Can you forward this to your
list?
thanks,
Judith
Announcing
"The 'Second Wave' and Beyond," a new online scholarly community
"The 'Second Wave' and Beyond," created and edited by Kimberly
Springer, Stephanie Gilmore, and Judith Ezekiel, is an online
"scholarly community" on the history of the U.S. women's movement since
1960. This innovative form of electronic communications and research
combines features of a discussion group, blog, and wikipedia
incorporated into a traditional website. It is a free feature of
Kathryn Kish Sklar and Tom Dublin's widely-praised Women and Social
Movements website and online journal, published by the State University
of New York at Binghamton and Alexander Street Press, a pioneer in
online publishing of academically rigorous and innovative scholarship.
"The 'Second Wave' and Beyond" will bring together feminist scholars,
activists, and thinkers to create a stimulating and supportive
environment in which to analyze compelling questions about feminist
activism and theories, define new directions for historical research on
this period, and provide a venue for publishing traditional articles.
It will also allow us to write and record this history in new ways made
possible by the medium.
Rather than be inundated with emails, you can log onto "The 'Second
Wave' and Beyond" at will and participate as much or as little as you
like. You can:
o start or join ongoing conversations;
o listen to or submit oral histories;
o use or create flexible archives of primary source documents
of varying sizes with text, photos, and clips;
o view or add to our extensive chronology of the women's movement;
o discuss new books and websites;
o contribute to teaching resources; and
o omment on current documents.
"The 'Second Wave' and Beyond" will study and document the myriad forms
of activism that have constituted one of the most important social
movements of the twentieth century, one that endures into the
twenty-first.
To join us, go to:
http://scholar.alexanderstreet.com/x/9wM
and click on "sign up" in the upper right hand corner. Fill out the
form that pops up including information about your interests, expertise
and/or experience in this field. The membership will be validated
within a week.
_________________
C.
from George Kenney :
8 May 2006
http://www.electricpolitics.com/faq.html
From: George Kenney <georgekenney@earthlink.net>
Subject: Podcast interview with Ambassador Joe Bissett
Francis,
Just fyi, I thought you might be
interested in this interview
which I posted Friday, with Canada's last Ambassador to Yugoslavia,
James Bissett.
Cheers,
George
_________________
D.
from Iran :
9 May 2006
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12984.htm
Translated by Le
Monde
Full Text : The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush
Mr George Bush,
President of the United States of America
For sometime now I have been thinking, how one can justify the
undeniable contradictions that exist in the international arena --
which are being constantly debated, specially in political forums and
amongst university students. Many questions remain unanswered. These
have prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions and questions,
in the hopes that it might bring about an opportunity to redress them.
Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of
God,
Feel obliged to respect human rights, Present liberalism as a
civilization model, Announce one’s opposition to the proliferation of
nuclear weapons and WMDs,
Make “War and Terror” his slogan, And finally, Work towards the
establishment of a unified international community – a community which
Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern, But at the
same time, Have countries attacked; The lives, reputations and
possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the … of a
… criminals in a village city, or convoy for example the entire
village, city or convey set ablaze.
Or because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country,
it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water
sources, agriculture and industry destroyed,close to 180,000 foreign
troops put on the ground, sanctity of private homes of citizens broken,
and the country pushed back perhaps fifty years. At what price?
Hundreds of billions of dollars spent from the treasury of one country
and certain other countries and tens of thousands of young men and
women – as occupation troops – put in harms way, taken away from family
and love ones, their hands stained with the blood of others, subjected
to so much psychological pressure that everyday some commit suicide ant
those returning home suffer depression, become sickly and grapple with
all sorts of aliments; while some are killed and
their bodies handed of their families.
On the pretext of the existence of WMDs, this great tragedy came to
engulf both the peoples of the occupied and the occupying country.
Later it was revealed that no WMDs existed to begin with.
Of course Saddam was a murderous dictator. But the war was not waged to
topple him, the announced goal of the war was to find and destroy
weapons of mass destruction. He was toppled along the way towards
another goal, nevertheless the people of the region are happy about it.
I point out that throughout the many years of the … war on Iran Saddam
was supported by the West.
Mr President,
You might know that I am a teacher. My students ask me how can theses
actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this
letter and duty to the tradition ofJesus Christ (PBUH), the Messenger
of peace and forgiveness.
There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay that have not been tried, have no
legal representation, their families cannot see them and are obviously
kept in a strange land outside their own country. There is no
international monitoring of their conditions and fate. No one knows
whether they are prisoners, POWs, accused or criminals.
European investigators have confirmed the existence of secret prisons
in Europe too. I could not correlate the abduction of a person, and him
or her being kept in secret prisons, with the provisions of any
judicial system. For that matter, I fail to understand how such actions
correspond to the values outlined in the beginning of this letter, i.e.
the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH), human rights and liberal values.
Young people, university students and ordinary people have many
questions about the phenomenon of Israel. I am sure you are familiar
with some of them.
Throughout history many countries have been occupied, but I think the
establishment of a new country with a new people, is a new phenomenon
that is exclusive to our times.
Students are saying that sixty years ago such a country did no exist.
The show old documents and globes and say try as we have, we have not
been able to find a country named Israel.
I tell them to study the history of WWI and II. One of my students told
me that during WWII, which more than tens of millions of people
perished in, news about the war, was quickly disseminated by the
warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most recent
battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war, they claimed that
six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that were surely
related to at least two million families.
Again let us assume that these events are true. Does that logically
translate into the establishment of the state of Israel in the Middle
East or support for such a state? How can this phenomenon be
rationalised or explained?
Mr President,
I am sure you know how – and at what cost – Israel was established:
- Many thousands were killed in the process.
- Millions of indigenous people were made refugees.
- Hundred of thousands of hectares of farmland, olive plantations,
towns and villages were destroyed.
This tragedy is not exclusive to the time of establishment;
unfortunately it has been ongoing for sixty years now.
A regime has been established which does not show mercy even to kids,
destroys houses while the occupants are still in them, announces
beforehand its list and plans to assassinate Palestinian figures and
keeps thousands of Palestinians in prison. Such a phenomenon is unique
– or at the very least extremely rare – in recent memory.
Another big question asked by people is why is this regime being
supported? Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of
Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH)
or liberal values?
Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these
lands – inside and outside Palestine – whether they are Christian,
Muslim or Jew, to determine their fate, runs contrary to principles of
democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is
there so much opposition to a referendum?
The newly elected Palestinian administration recently took office. All
independent observes have confirmed that this government represents the
electorate. Unbelievingly, they have put the elected government under
pressure and have advised it to recognise the Israeli regime, abandon
the struggle and follow the programs of the previous government.
If the current Palestinian government had run on the above platform,
would the Palestinian people have voted for it? Again, can such
position taken in opposition to the Palestinian government be
reconciled with the values outlined earlier? The people are also saying
“why are all UNSC resolutions in condemnation of Israel vetoed?”
Mr President,
As you are well aware, I live amongst the people and am in constant
contact with them --many people from around the Middle East manage to
contact me as well. They dot not have faith in these dubious policies
either. There is evidence that the people of the region are becoming
increasingly angry with such policies.
It is not my intention to pose to many questions, but I need to refer
to other points as well. Why is it that any technological and
scientific achievement reached in the Middle East regions is translated
into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific
R&D one of the basic rights of nations.
You are familiar with history. Aside from the Middle Ages, in what
other point in history has scientific and technical progress been a
crime? Can the possibility of scientific achievements being utilised
for military purposes be reason enough to oppose science and technology
altogether? If such a supposition is true, then all scientific
disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine,
engineering, etc. must be opposed.
Lies were told in the Iraqi matter. What was the result? I have no
doubt that telling lies is reprehensible in any culture, and you do not
like to be lied to.
Mr President,
Don’t Latin Americans have the right to ask, why their elected
governments are being opposed and coup leaders supported? Or, why must
they constantly be threatened and live in fear?
The people of Africa are hardworking, creative and talented. They can
play an important and valuable role in providing for the needs of
humanity and contribute to its material and spiritual progress. Poverty
and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from
happening. Don’t they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth –
including minerals – is being looted, despite the fact that they need
it more than others?
Again, do such actions correspond to the teachings of Christ and the
tenets of human rights?
The brave and faithful people of Iran too have many questions and
grievances, including: the coup d’etat of 1953 and the subsequent
toppling of the legal government of the day, opposition to the Islamic
revolution, transformation of an Embassy into a headquarters
supporting, the activities of those opposing the Islamic Republic (many
thousands of pages of documents corroborates this claim), support for
Saddam in the war waged against Iran, the shooting down of the Iranian
passenger plane, freezing the assets of the Iranian nation, increasing
threats, anger and displeasure vis-à-vis the scientific and
nuclear progress of the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are
jubilant and collaborating their country’s progress), and many other
grievances that I will not refer to in this letter.
Mr President,
September Eleven was a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is
deplorable and appalling in any part of the world. Our government
immediately declared its disgust with the perpetrators and offered its
condolences to the bereaved and expressed its sympathies.
All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good
standing of their citizens. Reportedly your government employs
extensive security, protection and intelligence systems – and even
hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple
operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with
intelligence and security services – or their extensive infiltration?
Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects
of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their
responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty
parties identified and put on trial?
All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for
their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and
neighbours of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After
9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the
survivors and the American people – who had been immensely traumatised
by the attacks –some Western media only intensified the climates of
fear and insecurity – some constantly talked about the possibility of
new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the
American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from
fear and panic?
American citizen lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could
come at any moment and in any place. They felt insecure in the streets,
in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this
situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of
security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a feeling of
insecurity?
Some believe that the hype paved the way – and was the justification –
for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I need to refer to the role of
media.
In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest
reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret
about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these
principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of
WMDs. This was repeated incessantly – for the public to, finally,
believe – and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.
Will the truth not be lost in a contrive and deceptive climate?
Again, if the truth is allowed to be lost, how can that be reconciled
with the earlier mentioned values?
Is the truth known to the Almighty lost as well?
Mr President,
In countries around the world, citizens provide for the expenses of
governments so that their governments in turn are able to serve them.
The question here is “what has the hundreds of billions of dollars,
spent every year to pay for the Iraqi campaign, produced for the
citizens?”
As your Excellency is aware, in some states of your country, people are
living in poverty. Many thousands are homeless and unemployment is a
huge problem. Of course these problems exist – to a larger or lesser
extent – in other countries as well. With these conditions in mind, can
the gargantuan expenses of the campaign – paid from the public treasury
– be explained and be consistent with the aforementioned principles?
What has been said, are some of the grievances of the people around the
world, in our region and in your country. But my main contention –
which I am hoping you will agree to some of it – is:
Those in power have specific time in office, and do not rule
indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be
constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures. The people will
scrutinize our presidencies.
Did we manage to bring peace, security and prosperity for the people or
insecurity and unemployment?
Did we intend to establish justice, or just supported especial interest
groups, and by forcing many people to live in poverty and hardship,
made a few people rich and powerful – thus trading the approval of the
people and the Almighty with theirs’?
Did we defend the rights of the underprivileged or ignore them?
Did we defend the rights of all people around the world or imposed wars
on them, interfered illegally in their affairs, established hellish
prisons and incarcerated some of them?
Did we bring the world peace and security or raised the specter of
intimidation and threats?
Did we tell the truth to our nation and others around the world or
presented an inverted version of it?
Were we on the side of people or the occupiers and oppressors?
Did our administration set out to promote rational behaviour, logic,
ethics, peace, fulfilling obligations, justice, service to the people,
prosperity, progress and respect for human dignity or the force of guns.
Intimidation, insecurity, disregard for the people, delaying the
progress and excellence of other nations, and trample on people’s
rights?
And finally, they will judge us on whether we remained true to our oath
of office – to serve the people, which is our main task, and the
traditions of the prophets – or not?
Mr President,
How much longer can the world tolerate this situation?
Where will this trend lead the world to?
How long must the people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions
of some rulers?
How much longer will the specter of insecurity – raised from the
stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction – hunt the people of the
world?
How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children
be spilled on the streets, and people’s houses destroyed over their
heads?
Are you pleased with the current condition of the world?
Do you think present policies can continue?
If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop
movement were instead spent on investment and assistance for poor
countries, promotion of health, combating different diseases, education
and improvement of mental and physical fitness, assistance to the
victims of natural disasters, creation of employment opportunities and
production, development projects and poverty alleviation, establishment
of peace, mediation between disputing states and distinguishing the
flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts were would the world be
today? Would not your government, and people be justifiably proud?
Would not your administration’s political and economic standing have
been stronger? And I am most sorry to say, would there have been an
ever increasing global hatred of the American governments?
Mr President, it is not my intention to distress anyone.
If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ
(PBUH) were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour?
Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice
will become universal and Jesus Christ (PBUH) will be present? Will
they even accept us?
My basic question is this: Is there no better way to interact with the
rest of the world? Today there are hundreds of millions of Christians,
hundreds of millions of Moslems and millions of people who follow the
teachings of Moses (PBUH). All divine religions share and respect on
word and that is “monotheism” or belief in a single God and no other in
the world.
The holy Koran stresses this common word and calls on an followers of
divine religions and says: [3.64] Say: O followers of the Book! Come to
an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any
but Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught. With Him and (that)
some of us shall not take others for lords besides Allah, but if they
turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims. (The Family of
Imran).
Mr President,
According to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one
God and follow the teachings of divine prophets.
“To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all
He pleases.” “The Lord which knows that which is hidden and visible,
the past and the future, knows what goes on in the Hearts of His
servants and records their deeds.”
“The Lord who is the possessor of the heavens and the earth and all
universe is His court” “planning for the universe is done by His hands,
and gives His servants the glad tidings of mercy and forgiveness of
sins”. “He is the companion of the oppressed and the enemy of
oppressors”. “He is the Compassionate, the Merciful”. “He is the
recourse of the faithful and guides them towards the light from
darkness”. “He is witness to the actions of His servants”, “He calls on
servants to be faithful and do good deeds, and asks them to stay on the
path of righteousness and remain steadfast”. “Calls on servants to heed
His prophets and He is a witness to their deeds.” “A bad ending belongs
only to those who have chosen the life of this world and disobey Him
and oppress His servants”. And “A good and eternal paradise belong to
those servants who fear His majesty and do not follow their lascivious
selves.”
We believe a return to the teachings of the divine prophets is the only
road leading to salvations. I have been told that Your Excellency
follows the teachings of Jesus (PBUH), and believes in the divine
promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth.
We also believe that Jesus Christ (PBUH) was one of the great prophets
of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran. Jesus
(PBUH) has been quoted in Koran as well; [19,36] And surely Allah is my
Lord and your Lord, therefore serves Him; this is the right path,
Marium.
Service to and obedience of the Almighty is the credo of all divine
messengers. The God of all people in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, the
Pacific and the rest of the world
is one. He is the Almighty who wants to guide and give dignity to all
His servants. He has given greatness to Humans.
We again read in the Holy Book: “The Almighty God sent His prophets
with miracles and clear signs to guide the people and show them divine
signs and purity them from sins and pollutions. And He sent the Book
and the balance so that the people display justice and avoid the
rebellious.”
All of the above verses can be seen, one way or the other, in the Good
Book as well. Divine prophets have promised:
The day will come when all humans will congregate before the court of
the Almighty, so that their deeds are examined. The good will be
directed towards Haven and evildoers will meet divine retribution. I
trust both of us believe in such a day, but it will not be easy to
calculate the actions of rulers, because we must be answerable to our
nations and all others whose lives have been directly or indirectly
effected by our actions.
All prophets, speak of peace and tranquillity for man – based on
monotheism, justice and respect for human dignity.
Do you not think that if all of us come to believe in and abide by
these principles, that is, monotheism, worship of God, justice, respect
for the dignity of man, belief in the Last Day, we can overcome the
present problems of the world – that are the result of disobedience to
the Almighty and the teachings of prophets – and improve our
performance?
Do you not think that belief in these principles promotes and
guarantees peace, friendship and justice?
Do you not think that the aforementioned written or unwritten
principles are universally respected?
Will you not accept this invitation? That is, a genuine return to the
teachings of prophets, to monotheism and justice, to preserve human
dignity and obedience to the Almighty and His prophets?
Mr President,
History tells us that repressive and cruel governments do not survive.
God has entrusted The fate of man to them. The Almighty has not left
the universe and humanity to their own devices. Many things have
happened contrary to the wishes and plans of governments. These tell us
that there is a higher power at work and all events are determined by
Him.
Can one deny the signs of change in the world today?
Is this situation of the world today comparable to that of ten years
ago? Changes happen fast and come at a furious pace.
The people of the world are not happy with the status quo and pay
little heed to the promises and comments made by a number of
influential world leaders. Many people around the wolrd feel insecure
and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not approve of
and accept dubious policies.
The people are protesting the increasing gap between the haves and the
have-nots and the rich and poor countries.
The people are disgusted with increasing corruption.
The people of many countries are angry about the attacks on their
cultural foundations and the disintegration of families. They are
equally dismayed with the fading of care and compassion. The people of
the world have no faith in international organisations, because their
rights are not advocated by these organisations.
Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help
realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed.
Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and
fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems.
We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a
main focal point –that is the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith
in God and the teachings of the prophets, the people will conquer their
problems. My question for you is: “Do you not want to join them?”
Mr President,
Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in
the Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all
things.
Vasalam Ala Man Ataba’al hoda,
Mahmood Ahmadi-Najad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
____________
E.
from Greg Palast :
10 May 2006
Subject: Larry David: Crazies say Bush lost in 2004
CRANKS AND KOOKS: KERRY WON IN '04 ... HEAR ONE OF THEM--LARRY
DAVID--TELL YOU THE STONE-COLD EVIDENCE THAT, YEP, GEORGE BUSH STOLE IT
IN 2004. AGAIN.
From Armed Madhouse, the new book by Greg Palast
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Hear Larry David, auteur of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and principal
writer of the "Seinfeld" series reading Palast's new book, Armed
Madhouse, Chapter 4: The Con-Kerry Won at www.GregPalast.com
Read the excerpt here:
THE CON
Kerry Won. Now Get Over It . . .
...because they're putting '08 in their pocket. Republicans just seem
to have that winning spirit. They also have caging lists, felons of the
future, rotting ballots, snuffed canaries, and a lock on the votes of
Kissinger-Americans and the undead.
WARNING! There are cranks and kooks and crazies out there on the
Internet who say that George Bush lost the 2004 election, like one
titled, "Kerry Won" published on the TomPaine.com web site two days
after the election. I wrote it.
On November 11, a week after TomPaine.com published it, I received an
e-mail from The New York Times Washington Bureau. Hot on the
investigation of the veracity of the vote, The Times reporter asked me
pointed questions:
Question #1: Are you a "sore loser"?
Question #2: Are you a "conspiracy nut"?
There was no third question. Investigation of the vote was, for The
Times at any rate, complete. The next day, the paper's thorough
analysis of the evidence yielded this front-page story, "VOTE FRAUD
THEORIES, SPREAD BY BLOGS, ARE QUICKLY BURIED."
As America's self-proclaimed Paper of Record had no space for the
facts, I thought I'd share some with you here.
"Kerry Won" was not a two-day inquiry à la Times. It was
the latest in a series of investigative reports coming out of a
four-year team examination, begun for BBC Television's Newsnight,
Britain's Guardian papers and Harper's Magazine, dissecting that greasy
sausage called American electoral democracy.
And, by the way, the answer to Question #1: I didn't lose, so I'm not
sore. This investigation isn't about John Kerry. As a journalist, I
don't give a toss which rich white kid won the game. But I'm not so
blasé that I don't care about the disappearance of
American democracy. And I really wanted to know how the Bushes
swallowed the sausage.
How'd they do it? Again. And how will they do it in '08? The answer
arrived just after midnight on October 8, 2004, three weeks before the
official voting, in a series of extraordinary e-mails. The e-mails were
intended for the chieftains of the President's re-election campaign in
Washington. Strangely enough, they were misaddressed and ended up in my
mailbox. Such things happen.
NIGHT OF THE UNCOUNTED:
How to Disappear Three Million Votes
But the e-mails and their technical attachments won't mean a thing
unless you understand some arcane facts about elections American-style.
First, consider CNN's Ohio exit polls broadcast just after midnight
after the voting ended on Election Day. They show John Kerry defeated
George Bush among women voters by 53% to 47%. And among men voters,
Kerry defeated Bush 51% to 49%.
So here's your question, class: What third sex put George Bush over the
top in Ohio and gave him the White House?
Answer: The Uncounted.
In Ohio, there were 153,237 ballots simply thrown away, more than the
Bush "victory" margin. In New Mexico the uncounted vote was fives times
the Bush alleged victory margin of 5,988. In Iowa, Bush's triumph of
13,498 was overwhelmed by 36,811 votes rejected. In all, over three
million votes were cast but never counted in the 2004 presidential
election. The official number is bad enough-1,855,827 ballots cast not
counted, reported to the federal government's Election's Assistance
Commission. But the feds are missing data from several cities and
entire states too embarrassed to report the votes they failed to count.
Correcting for the under-reporting of the undercount, the number of
ballots cast but never counted goes to 3,600,380. And there are
certainly more we couldn't locate to tote up.
Why doesn't your government tell you this? Hey, they do. It's right
there in black-and-white on a U.S. Census Bureau announcement released
seven months after the election -- in a footnote to the report on voter
turn -- out. The Census tabulation of voters voting "differs," from
ballots tallied by the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the
2004 presidential race by 3.4 million votes.
This is the hidden presidential count which, excepting the Census'
whispered footnote, has not been reported.
Unfortunately, that's not all. In addition to the 3 million ballots
uncounted due to technical "glitches," millions more were lost because
the voters were prevented from casting their ballots in the first
place. This group of un-votes includes voters illegally denied
registration or wrongly purged from the registries.
In the voting biz, most of these lost votes are called "spoilage."
Spoilage, not the voters, picked our president for us.
Joe Stalin, the story goes, said, "It's not the people who vote that
count; it's the people who count the votes." That may have been true in
the old Soviet Union, but in the U.S.A, the game is much, much subtler:
He who makes sure votes don't get counted decides our winners.
In the lead-up to the 2004 race, millions of Americans were, not
unreasonably, panicked about computer voting machines, "black boxes,"
that could flip your vote from John Kerry to George Bush. Images
abounded of an evil hacker-genius in Dick Cheney's bunker rewriting
code and zapping the totals. But that's not how it went down. The
computer scare was the McGuffin, the fake detail used by magicians to
keep your eye off their hands. The new black boxes played their role,
albeit minor, but the principal means of the election heist-voiding
ballots, overwhelmingly of the poor and Black-went unexposed,
unreported and most importantly, uncorrected and ready to roll out on a
grander scale in 2008.
I went to sleep election night with the exit polls showing Kerry ahead
in swing states. But between 1:05 am and 6:41 am the next morning,
goblins went to work. By dawn, the network's exit poll for Ohio showed
Kerry dead even with Bush among women, and down by five percentage
points among men.
What happened? Were thousands of Bush voters locked in the voting
booths, released at 2am, then queried about their choices? Not quite.
The network's polling company applied a fancy "algorithm," a
mathematical magic wand, to slowly transform the exit polls to match
the official count.
And that's bad. By deliberately contaminating the exit polls, the
networks snuffed the canary that would signal that something was deeply
wrong about the vote count.
Hunting for a Democrat to defend the Twilight Zone between the exit
polls and the "official" polls, media grabbed on Dick Morris, Bill
Clinton's old advisor. An expert at walking that fine line between
minor criminality and psychopathic ambition, Morris knows which way his
next client's wind blows.
Morris said:
"Exit polls are almost never wrong. So reliable are the surveys that
actually tap voters as they leave the polling places that they're used
as guides to the relative honesty of elections in Third World
Countries. To screw up one exit poll is unheard of. To miss six of them
is incredible."
His opening was promising, but then he switches into full Morris:
"It boggles the imagination how pollsters could be that incompetent and
invites speculation that more than honest error was at play here."
So, Dick, you're telling us there was an evil cabal among six
pollsters, competitors who don't even like each other, conspiring one
dark night to make George Bush look like a vote thief.
There's another explanation: Kerry won.
We've got the body (the wounded elections), we've got the bullet holes
(the missing votes), now where are the smoking guns? How does the GOP
disappear the vote? And why do Democratic ballots spoil so much more
readily than Republican ballots? How's it done?
But that little Bill O'Reilly in your head is screaming, Get over it;
let's move on already. What they tested in 2000 and practiced in
2004, they are preparing to roll out in 2008 big time.
----
Get the rest of the nasty truth about the election of 2004 and the
program to steal '08 -- from Republican "caging lists," the
"disappearing Democrats of Area 51," 50 illustrations and even weirder
stuff in ARMED MADHOUSE: WHOSE AFRAID OF OSAMA WOLF?, CHINA FLOATS BUSH
SINKS, THE SCHEME TO STEAL 2008, NO CHILD'S BEHIND LEFT AND OTHER
DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF THE CLASS WAR, Greg Palast's newest
exposé of war, oil, elections and class.
Or get the 5 CD ARMED MADHOUSE audio book: Read by Larry David, Randi
Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo, Randy Credico, Brad Friedman, Mark Crispin
Miller, Jerry Quickley , Amy Goodman, Ed Asner, Brod Bagert, Medea
Benjamin, Kevin Danaher, Jim Hightower, and Shiva Rose.
"No one has uncovered more about the Bush Dynasty than Greg Palast ...
and lived to write about it." - Baltimore Chronicle
________________
F.
from Tom Feeley :
11 May 2006
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
Please see new video tape on the life of Howard Zinn:
"They say that we are
disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them
is that we are disturbing the war": Howard Zinn
Tom
*********************
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies/
Director of Research
Université de Grenoble-3
Grenoble, France
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/