CC: laamn@... rplatkin@...
RGRGP@... ekatz123@...
Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2001 18:31:09 -0800

>This is a fact sheet from the International Action
Center
2489 Mission St. Rm 30
San Francisco
415 821-6545
IAC-SF@...
>
>THE TRUTH BEHIND THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
>Please forward and distribute widely for educational
purposes.
>
>Question: Is the U.S. bombing campaign directed
against "terrorists"
>or the people of Afghanistan?
>
>Answer: A terrible crime was committed against
innocent civilians on
>September 11. But this is a war against the people of
Afghanistan.
>The U.S. and British are dropping thousands of bombs
and firing
>missiles on homes, schools, mosques, hospitals and
villages
>throughout the country.
>
>5,000-pound and 1,000-pound bombs are deliberately
targeting every
>major town and rural area. AC-130 planes filled with
70,000 pounds of
>ammunition are firing huge Gatling-guns on the
population in a steady
>stream of bullets.
>
>Wazir Akbarhan hospital in Kabul was bombed on the
first day and 13
>women were killed in the gynecology department. 200
people were
>killed in the hospital in Herat. Red Cross facilities
have been
>bombed twice.
>
>Cluster bombs--one of the most terrifying and deadly
of the U.S.
>weapons--are now being used as bombing intensifies.
Cluster bombs are
>prohibited by international law because of their
highly destructive
>nature against humans and other living things.
Hundreds of small
>bomblets packed with razor shrapnel are dispersed at
super-high
>velocity over a wide area, ripping into people with
devastating
>damage.
>
>A report from the Sydney Morning Herald quotes Dan
Kelly, head of UN
>mine clearing in Afghanistan: "These bomblets can
explode if the
>villagers so much as touch them. It is a very violent
death. You
>don't get arms and legs blown off like you do with
anti-personnel
>mines, you get killed." Another proof that civilians
are targeted is
>the U.S. method of repeat bombing to kill rescuers as
well. In
>Jalalabad, the Sultanpur mosque was bombed during
prayer. As
>neighbors dug out the 17 victims who were trapped,
the plane returned
>to bomb minutes later, killing 120 people.
>
>Cluster bombs, depleted uranium ammunition,
5,000-pound bombs, fuel-
>air explosives: this is the terror being unleashed by
the biggest
>military power in the world against one of the
poorest and most
>underdeveloped countries in existence.
>
>Question: What is the current state of the
>Afghan people?
>
>Answer: The average life expectancy in Afghanistan is
43 years. Per
>capita income is $180 per year. Only 13 percent of
the entire
>population has access to drinking water. Barely 12%
of the population
>has sanitation coverage. Literacy is about 20
percent. The infant-
>mortality rate is a shocking 247 deaths per 1,000
live births. On
>average, 16,000 mothers die in childbirth every year,
one out of
>every 17 births, the second worst maternal mortality
rate in the
>world.
>
>It's not just the bombs are killing people. The
dislocation and chaos
>of the war itself means huge numbers of Afghan people
will die from
>hunger, cold and disease. According to UNICEF
officials, more than
>100,000 Afghan children will likely die from
war-related causes by
>the end of winter.
>
>Question: Isn't the war in Afghanistan a defensive
reaction to the
>Sept. 11 attacks?
>
>Answer: After Sept. 11, the U.S. immediately targeted
all of
>Afghanistan and added to its "enemies" list any
country or
>organization that didn't fully support the U.S.
government on
>terrorism. Afghanistan agreed to negotiate but asked
for proof of the
>culpability of Osama bin Laden in the September 11
attack. The Bush
>administration responded that they wouldn't negotiate
and they
>refused to provide the evidence. Was it really
because the U.S.
>wanted to combat terrorism? Or is it because the U.S.
made a
>calculated decision to use the terrible Sept. 11
attack as
>justification for a Pentagon move to expand its
domination in the
>Middle East and South/Central Asia?
>
>The real motive for the 1991 U.S. war on Iraq and
continued sanctions
>against the Iraqi people is to maintain full control
of the
>Persian/Arabian Gulf oil. Two-thirds of the world's
known oil
>reserves lie in that region. The U.S. Gulf War
allowed the Pentagon
>to establish numerous military bases in Saudi Arabia,
United Arab
>Emirates and elsewhere.
>
>What is less known is the vast interests of U.S. oil,
banking and
>military corporations in South and Central Asia as
the next strategic
>region for oil and natural gas exploitation.
>
>The Caspian Region--made up of Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
>and Azerbaijan--has a potential value in oil and
natural gas of more
>than $5 trillion. These former Soviet states share a
border with
>Afghanistan, and are precisely the countries that the
U.S. military
>has now established bases and troops. The U.S.
militarization of the
>region began before September 11; now it is going
full-scale.
>A Unocal Oil Corp. spokesperson, Vice President John
J. Maresca
>testified to the House of Representatives Committee
on International
>Relations, February 12, 1998. He said, "the Caspian
region contains
>tremendous untapped hydrocarbon reserves .proven
natural gas reserves
>. equal more than 236 trillion cubic feet. . [oil
reserves] estimates
>are as high as 200 billion barrels."
>
>The CIA "set up a secret task force to monitor the
region's politics
>and gauge its wealth. Covert CIA officers, some
well-trained
>petroleum engineers had traveled through southern
Russia and the
>Caspian region to sniff out potential oil reserves.
When the policy
>makers heard the CIA report, [then Secretary of
State] Madeleine
>Albright concluded that 'working to mold the area's
future is one of
>the most exciting things we can do.'" (Time magazine,
May 1998).
>The Pentagon has been seeking to link the region's
governments into a
>military alliance connected to NATO's so-called
"Partnership for
>Peace." These former states of the Soviet Union
became open to
>unbridled exploitation for their oil and gas
resources by firms whose
>directors are ex-U.S. military and political leaders.
Former Reagan,
>Bush and Clinton advisers like Gen. Brent Scowcroft
and Zbigniew
>Brezezinski, former White House Chief of Staff John
N. Sununu; former
>Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, Secretary of State
James Baker,
>former Clinton treasury secretary, Lloyd Bentsen, all
have become oil
>and gas company executives involved in the Caspian
Region.
>(Washington Post, July 6, 1997)
>
>Question: Isn't the U.S. trying to stabilize the
region by
>eliminating a "network of terrorists"?
>
>Answer: This is the most dangerous myth of all. More
war, bombing and
>assassinations will only create more violence, death
and economic
>crisis. But the death of thousands in New York must
not be used to
>justify what the United States is doing in
Afghanistan and to hide
>what it has done and continues to do to the Iraqi and
Palestinian
>people.
>
>There is enormous anger in the Middle East that every
month, between
>8,000 and 12,000 people--5,000 of them children under
five--die in
>Iraq as a direct result of the U.S. sanctions. This
has gone on for
>11 years! This crime of genocide has been hidden from
the U.S. people
>but it is well known among the people of the Middle
East.
>Over 800 Palestinians have been killed and 16,000
seriously wounded
>since the second Intifada began in September 2000.
Their homes are
>bulldozed as they try to defend themselves against
the brutal and
>long-standing Israeli occupation of their land. Every
bullet, every
>helicopter, every F-15 and F-16 came from the United
States. Every
>year, the U.S. continues to fund Israel by $4
billion. This is
>unabashed terrorism, and more and more people in the
world are
>calling for an end to U.S.-Israeli oppression of the
Palestinian
>people.
>
>Question: Why does the anti-war movement say that
there is also a war
>at home?
>
>Answer: Thousands of Arab people, South Asian people
and Muslims have
>been violently attacked inside the United States.
Homes, mosques and
>stores have been defaced. People of Arab and South
Asian descent have
>been put off airplanes. Main media outlets, like the
Wall Street
>Journal, have called for legitimizing racial
profiling. This is
>racism pure and simple. After Timothy McVeigh blew up
the Oklahoma
>City Federal building in 1995, killing 168 people,
there was no
>campaign to take white males off of airplanes because
people
>felt "uncomfortable in their presence." White men
were not rounded up
>and held without charges. Since September 11,
however, more than 800
>people, mostly of Middle East origin, have been
detained for up to
>five weeks, many without charges.
>
>Under the rubric of anti-terrorism, ultra-racist
Attorney General
>John Ashcroft has pushed through the so-called
anti-terrorism bill,
>labeled USA Patriots Bill. Only Senator Russell D.
Feingold, Democrat
>of Wisconsin, voted against this bill in the Senate,
arguing that it
>allows unconstitutional searches and punishes
individuals for vaguely
>defined associations with "possible terrorists." This
bill legalizes
>racial profiling, eliminates due process for arrested
people, allows
>the government to vastly expand the definition of
terrorist to
>potentially include millions of people who might want
to protest.
>U.S. government policy, and allows the government to
detain
>immigrants without charges. In addition, it
eliminates basic privacy
>rights, allowing the government to have nearly
limitless authority to
>carry out electronic surveillance and wire taps of
anyone it
>deems "suspicious."
>
>Question: Is it true that the U.S. is considering
legalizing torture
>against suspects in detention?
>
>Answer: Shocking, but true. The FBI and the Justice
Department under
>John Ashcroft are considering using torture as an
approved policy of
>the United States against those in detention who
assert their legal
>rights to remain silent. According to the Washington
Post, the U.S.
>government is discussing using "pressure tactics,
such as those
>employed occasionally by Israeli interrogators to
extract
>information." (See www.justiceonline.org for more
information.)
>Israeli-style pressure tactics is just a euphemism
for torture.
>According to a 1998 report by B'Tselem, an
Israeli-based human rights
>organization, interrogation tactics include a
combination of sleep
>deprivation, isolation, psychological torment and
direct physical
>force, including beatings, violent shaking, painful
shackling and use
>of objects designed or used to inflict extreme pain.
A prisoner may
>be shackled to a specially modified chair (to cause
pain) with his or
>her head covered with a filthy sack that has an
overwhelming stench
>of vomit or human refuse. Interrogations routinely
span months, with
>constant intermittent periods of interrogation and
force lasting for
>days without interruption.
>
>Question: Is the Pentagon censoring the news?
>
>Answer: Almost all news presented on television and
in the mass media
>is only the information the Pentagon wants you to
know. The Pentagon
>is well aware that during the Vietnam War when the
people learned the
>truth about the war and that the government was lying
to them (1970
>Pentagon Papers, etc.), people turned against the
war. The U.S.
>government's National Mapping and Imaging Agency has
signed a
>contract giving it exclusive control over all
satellite imaging of
>the war in Afghanistan. They bought the commercial
rights to all
>satellites on October 7, the day the bombing of
Afghanistan began.

>Question: If Bush's bombing war is not the answer,
what is the answer?
>Answer: The tens of thousands of troops that occupy
Saudi Arabia and
>the Persian Arabian Gulf should be removed. The
people of the region
>perceive the U.S. as an occupying, colonial-type
force. The U.S. must
>immediately end the policy of economic sanctions on
Iraq. It must
>stop providing Israel $4 billion a year to occupy
Palestine. Instead
>of destroying pharmaceutical factories, like the Al
Shifa factory in
>Sudan that it destroyed with 17 cruise missiles in
1998, the U.S.
>should lift its economic sanctions against Sudan and
the other
>countries of the region. If there is to be peace, the
people of
>Palestine and the people who suffer U.S. military
occupation in the
>region must enjoy genuine self-determination and
justice.
>
>(If you would like a formatted copy of this factsheet
or more info
>about available anti-war educational resources,
please call the IAC
>at 415-821-6545 or reply to this email. Also, check
our national website at

http://www.iacenter.org

...and this has to do with space exploration... how...?

(moderator, this is the second piece of off topic spam from this
individual in the last week.)

king_rodent (putting the eek in geek)

--- In ssi_list@... Bill Butler
>
> CC: laamn@... rplatkin@...
> RGRGP@... ekatz123@...
> Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2001 18:31:09 -0800
>
> >This is a fact sheet from the International Action
> Center
> 2489 Mission St. Rm 30
> San Francisco
> 415 821-6545
> IAC-SF@...
> >
> >THE TRUTH BEHIND THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
> >Please forward and distribute widely for educational
> purposes.
> >
> >Question: Is the U.S. bombing campaign directed
> against "terrorists"
> >or the people of Afghanistan?
> >
> >Answer: A terrible crime was committed against
> innocent civilians on
> >September 11. But this is a war against the people of
> Afghanistan.
> >The U.S. and British are dropping thousands of bombs
> and firing
> >missiles on homes, schools, mosques, hospitals and
> villages
> >throughout the country.
> >
> >5,000-pound and 1,000-pound bombs are deliberately
> targeting every
> >major town and rural area. AC-130 planes filled with
> 70,000 pounds of
> >ammunition are firing huge Gatling-guns on the
> population in a steady
> >stream of bullets.
> >
> >Wazir Akbarhan hospital in Kabul was bombed on the
> first day and 13
> >women were killed in the gynecology department. 200
> people were
> >killed in the hospital in Herat. Red Cross facilities
> have been
> >bombed twice.
> >
> >Cluster bombs--one of the most terrifying and deadly
> of the U.S.
> >weapons--are now being used as bombing intensifies.
> Cluster bombs are
> >prohibited by international law because of their
> highly destructive
> >nature against humans and other living things.
> Hundreds of small
> >bomblets packed with razor shrapnel are dispersed at
> super-high
> >velocity over a wide area, ripping into people with
> devastating
> >damage.
> >
> >A report from the Sydney Morning Herald quotes Dan
> Kelly, head of UN
> >mine clearing in Afghanistan: "These bomblets can
> explode if the
> >villagers so much as touch them. It is a very violent
> death. You
> >don't get arms and legs blown off like you do with
> anti-personnel
> >mines, you get killed." Another proof that civilians
> are targeted is
> >the U.S. method of repeat bombing to kill rescuers as
> well. In
> >Jalalabad, the Sultanpur mosque was bombed during
> prayer. As
> >neighbors dug out the 17 victims who were trapped,
> the plane returned
> >to bomb minutes later, killing 120 people.
> >
> >Cluster bombs, depleted uranium ammunition,
> 5,000-pound bombs, fuel-
> >air explosives: this is the terror being unleashed by
> the biggest
> >military power in the world against one of the
> poorest and most
> >underdeveloped countries in existence.
> >
> >Question: What is the current state of the
> >Afghan people?
> >
> >Answer: The average life expectancy in Afghanistan is
> 43 years. Per
> >capita income is $180 per year. Only 13 percent of
> the entire
> >population has access to drinking water. Barely 12%
> of the population
> >has sanitation coverage. Literacy is about 20
> percent. The infant-
> >mortality rate is a shocking 247 deaths per 1,000
> live births. On
> >average, 16,000 mothers die in childbirth every year,
> one out of
> >every 17 births, the second worst maternal mortality
> rate in the
> >world.
> >
> >It's not just the bombs are killing people. The
> dislocation and chaos
> >of the war itself means huge numbers of Afghan people
> will die from
> >hunger, cold and disease. According to UNICEF
> officials, more than
> >100,000 Afghan children will likely die from
> war-related causes by
> >the end of winter.
> >
> >Question: Isn't the war in Afghanistan a defensive
> reaction to the
> >Sept. 11 attacks?
> >
> >Answer: After Sept. 11, the U.S. immediately targeted
> all of
> >Afghanistan and added to its "enemies" list any
> country or
> >organization that didn't fully support the U.S.
> government on
> >terrorism. Afghanistan agreed to negotiate but asked
> for proof of the
> >culpability of Osama bin Laden in the September 11
> attack. The Bush
> >administration responded that they wouldn't negotiate
> and they
> >refused to provide the evidence. Was it really
> because the U.S.
> >wanted to combat terrorism? Or is it because the U.S.
> made a
> >calculated decision to use the terrible Sept. 11
> attack as
> >justification for a Pentagon move to expand its
> domination in the
> >Middle East and South/Central Asia?
> >
> >The real motive for the 1991 U.S. war on Iraq and
> continued sanctions
> >against the Iraqi people is to maintain full control
> of the
> >Persian/Arabian Gulf oil. Two-thirds of the world's
> known oil
> >reserves lie in that region. The U.S. Gulf War
> allowed the Pentagon
> >to establish numerous military bases in Saudi Arabia,
> United Arab
> >Emirates and elsewhere.
> >
> >What is less known is the vast interests of U.S. oil,
> banking and
> >military corporations in South and Central Asia as
> the next strategic
> >region for oil and natural gas exploitation.
> >
> >The Caspian Region--made up of Tajikistan,
> Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
> >and Azerbaijan--has a potential value in oil and
> natural gas of more
> >than $5 trillion. These former Soviet states share a
> border with
> >Afghanistan, and are precisely the countries that the
> U.S. military
> >has now established bases and troops. The U.S.
> militarization of the
> >region began before September 11; now it is going
> full-scale.
> >A Unocal Oil Corp. spokesperson, Vice President John
> J. Maresca
> >testified to the House of Representatives Committee
> on International
> >Relations, February 12, 1998. He said, "the Caspian
> region contains
> >tremendous untapped hydrocarbon reserves .proven
> natural gas reserves
> >. equal more than 236 trillion cubic feet. . [oil
> reserves] estimates
> >are as high as 200 billion barrels."
> >
> >The CIA "set up a secret task force to monitor the
> region's politics
> >and gauge its wealth. Covert CIA officers, some
> well-trained
> >petroleum engineers had traveled through southern
> Russia and the
> >Caspian region to sniff out potential oil reserves.
> When the policy
> >makers heard the CIA report, [then Secretary of
> State] Madeleine
> >Albright concluded that 'working to mold the area's
> future is one of
> >the most exciting things we can do.'" (Time magazine,
> May 1998).
> >The Pentagon has been seeking to link the region's
> governments into a
> >military alliance connected to NATO's so-called
> "Partnership for
> >Peace." These former states of the Soviet Union
> became open to
> >unbridled exploitation for their oil and gas
> resources by firms whose
> >directors are ex-U.S. military and political leaders.
> Former Reagan,
> >Bush and Clinton advisers like Gen. Brent Scowcroft
> and Zbigniew
> >Brezezinski, former White House Chief of Staff John
> N. Sununu; former
> >Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, Secretary of State
> James Baker,
> >former Clinton treasury secretary, Lloyd Bentsen, all
> have become oil
> >and gas company executives involved in the Caspian
> Region.
> >(Washington Post, July 6, 1997)
> >
> >Question: Isn't the U.S. trying to stabilize the
> region by
> >eliminating a "network of terrorists"?
> >
> >Answer: This is the most dangerous myth of all. More
> war, bombing and
> >assassinations will only create more violence, death
> and economic
> >crisis. But the death of thousands in New York must
> not be used to
> >justify what the United States is doing in
> Afghanistan and to hide
> >what it has done and continues to do to the Iraqi and
> Palestinian
> >people.
> >
> >There is enormous anger in the Middle East that every
> month, between
> >8,000 and 12,000 people--5,000 of them children under
> five--die in
> >Iraq as a direct result of the U.S. sanctions. This
> has gone on for
> >11 years! This crime of genocide has been hidden from
> the U.S. people
> >but it is well known among the people of the Middle
> East.
> >Over 800 Palestinians have been killed and 16,000
> seriously wounded
> >since the second Intifada began in September 2000.
> Their homes are
> >bulldozed as they try to defend themselves against
> the brutal and
> >long-standing Israeli occupation of their land. Every
> bullet, every
> >helicopter, every F-15 and F-16 came from the United
> States. Every
> >year, the U.S. continues to fund Israel by $4
> billion. This is
> >unabashed terrorism, and more and more people in the
> world are
> >calling for an end to U.S.-Israeli oppression of the
> Palestinian
> >people.
> >
> >Question: Why does the anti-war movement say that
> there is also a war
> >at home?
> >
> >Answer: Thousands of Arab people, South Asian people
> and Muslims have
> >been violently attacked inside the United States.
> Homes, mosques and
> >stores have been defaced. People of Arab and South
> Asian descent have
> >been put off airplanes. Main media outlets, like the
> Wall Street
> >Journal, have called for legitimizing racial
> profiling. This is
> >racism pure and simple. After Timothy McVeigh blew up
> the Oklahoma
> >City Federal building in 1995, killing 168 people,
> there was no
> >campaign to take white males off of airplanes because
> people
> >felt "uncomfortable in their presence." White men
> were not rounded up
> >and held without charges. Since September 11,
> however, more than 800
> >people, mostly of Middle East origin, have been
> detained for up to
> >five weeks, many without charges.
> >
> >Under the rubric of anti-terrorism, ultra-racist
> Attorney General
> >John Ashcroft has pushed through the so-called
> anti-terrorism bill,
> >labeled USA Patriots Bill. Only Senator Russell D.
> Feingold, Democrat
> >of Wisconsin, voted against this bill in the Senate,
> arguing that it
> >allows unconstitutional searches and punishes
> individuals for vaguely
> >defined associations with "possible terrorists." This
> bill legalizes
> >racial profiling, eliminates due process for arrested
> people, allows
> >the government to vastly expand the definition of
> terrorist to
> >potentially include millions of people who might want
> to protest.
> >U.S. government policy, and allows the government to
> detain
> >immigrants without charges. In addition, it
> eliminates basic privacy
> >rights, allowing the government to have nearly
> limitless authority to
> >carry out electronic surveillance and wire taps of
> anyone it
> >deems "suspicious."
> >
> >Question: Is it true that the U.S. is considering
> legalizing torture
> >against suspects in detention?
> >
> >Answer: Shocking, but true. The FBI and the Justice
> Department under
> >John Ashcroft are considering using torture as an
> approved policy of
> >the United States against those in detention who
> assert their legal
> >rights to remain silent. According to the Washington
> Post, the U.S.
> >government is discussing using "pressure tactics,
> such as those
> >employed occasionally by Israeli interrogators to
> extract
> >information." (See www.justiceonline.org for more
> information.)
> >Israeli-style pressure tactics is just a euphemism
> for torture.
> >According to a 1998 report by B'Tselem, an
> Israeli-based human rights
> >organization, interrogation tactics include a
> combination of sleep
> >deprivation, isolation, psychological torment and
> direct physical
> >force, including beatings, violent shaking, painful
> shackling and use
> >of objects designed or used to inflict extreme pain.
> A prisoner may
> >be shackled to a specially modified chair (to cause
> pain) with his or
> >her head covered with a filthy sack that has an
> overwhelming stench
> >of vomit or human refuse. Interrogations routinely
> span months, with
> >constant intermittent periods of interrogation and
> force lasting for
> >days without interruption.
> >
> >Question: Is the Pentagon censoring the news?
> >
> >Answer: Almost all news presented on television and
> in the mass media
> >is only the information the Pentagon wants you to
> know. The Pentagon
> >is well aware that during the Vietnam War when the
> people learned the
> >truth about the war and that the government was lying
> to them (1970
> >Pentagon Papers, etc.), people turned against the
> war. The U.S.
> >government's National Mapping and Imaging Agency has
> signed a
> >contract giving it exclusive control over all
> satellite imaging of
> >the war in Afghanistan. They bought the commercial
> rights to all
> >satellites on October 7, the day the bombing of
> Afghanistan began.
>
> >Question: If Bush's bombing war is not the answer,
> what is the answer?
> >Answer: The tens of thousands of troops that occupy
> Saudi Arabia and
> >the Persian Arabian Gulf should be removed. The
> people of the region
> >perceive the U.S. as an occupying, colonial-type
> force. The U.S. must
> >immediately end the policy of economic sanctions on
> Iraq. It must
> >stop providing Israel $4 billion a year to occupy
> Palestine. Instead
> >of destroying pharmaceutical factories, like the Al
> Shifa factory in
> >Sudan that it destroyed with 17 cruise missiles in
> 1998, the U.S.
> >should lift its economic sanctions against Sudan and
> the other
> >countries of the region. If there is to be peace, the
> people of
> >Palestine and the people who suffer U.S. military
> occupation in the
> >region must enjoy genuine self-determination and
> justice.
> >
> >(If you would like a formatted copy of this factsheet
> or more info
> >about available anti-war educational resources,
> please call the IAC
> >at 415-821-6545 or reply to this email. Also, check
> our national website at
>
> http://www.iacenter.org
>
$8.95/month.

...and this has to do with space exploration... how...?

(moderator, this is the second piece of off topic spam from this
individual in the last week.) I suspect Bill chose the period after Thanksgiving and before Monday to post off-topic hoping that both moderators would be away from the list. Thatwas certainly the case with myself. Looks likethe other moderator has already changed Bill's status to"moderated". Only on-topicpostings from Bill will go to the list henceforth.

Regards,

Mike Combs