Catching up on some reading

Here are some recent headlines I have had the chance to look over.
["CBGB Made Hilly Kristal a Millionaire—His Ex Got Nothing"]
What a PR guy. With all that money, he probably could have saved CBGBs. In addition, think about all those times he short-changed bands claiming to be barely hanging on. Wow.
["Secret US air force team to perfect plan for Iran strike"]
Why am I not surprised by that?
["NASA spacecraft finds possible Mars cave"]
Very cool. All the more reason to get that manned mission to Mars up and running already!
["Rather: Government influencing newsrooms"]
This seems a stretch as the reason for his suit but whatever. We all know that his point is pretty dead-on.
["Alan Keyes Jumps In for the 2008 GOP Nomination"]
Oh yeah, this is just what the Republicans needed. Not that Alan can't run for the third time. There have been other three-timers. Some who I've even admired. But, was there really a "calling" for Keyes to get in? No, there wasn't.
["Why is Tony Snow's 401(k) empty?"]
The key section of the article is this one:

Snow conceded that he has been very lucky to have the government fund his health care. "I've been lucky I work at the White House, I've had the use of diagnostic care. I'd like to find ways to help those who, for whatever reason, … don't get diagnostic treatment, don't take care of themselves, may not have the resources that I've had at my disposal," he said. But that hasn't made him rethink his opposition to using federal resources to expand coverage for fellow cancer sufferers. "That does not mean that I'm going to be necessarily banging the tin cup for federal funding. It may be that I'll go out, try and raise some money myself to try to help people directly."

Oh yeah. One plan for me but not for thee.

Reported bin Ladin transcript released

Here it is: ["New OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control"]. I don't know how to take this. I'm really confused. Is he just hunkered down in a bunker somewhere, spewing out Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh talking points about the Democrats for the hell of it? Does he even really exist at this point? Can any of this be trusted? Why is he blathering about taxes?
Maybe this is a super-double-secret-distraction tactic on his part. He must be thinking, 'Hey, I will agree with the neo-cons' enemies on some things and this will create a reverse opinion shift in the minds of the American people to keep their war going so I can keep jihad going. This way, I can continue to perform chaotic hell on the unbelievers ... [add evil laugh here].'
Or, maybe he is putting out this tape after seeing the Saturday Night Live skit with Horatio Sanz playing Saddam and Jimmy Fallon playing Osama, where Saddam keeps saying, 'Shut up, Osama,' Because he doesn't want to be bombed into oblivion and Osama keeps talking about all the things they did together. Hilarious. Maybe bin Ladin saw that skit and thought, 'Hmm, this is a good idea, I will keep blathering about the economic collapse of the United States and then they have to accept Islam. Yeah, yeah, then I will prevail!! [add evil laugh here].'
Does anyone else have an explanation? I can't think of anything else. Can you? All I can say is that this whole thing is ridiculous.

Project Censored 2008
Wow, wow, wow. I'm amazed I got this press release. Although, these days, I'm getting a lot of interesting stuff. So, I shouldn't be that surprised. Check out Number 16, about the lack of evidence connecting Osama bin Ladin to Sept. 11:

PROJECT CENSORED

Sonoma State University

1801 E. Cotati Avenue

Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609

(707) 664-2500

e-mail: censored @sonoma.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 5, 2007

Contact: Project Censored 707-664-2500

Project Censored Releases Censored 2008 and its pick of the 25 most important under-covered news stories of 2006-07

Project Censored announces its selection of the Top Censored News Stories of the 2006-2007 cycle. Each year since 1976, hundreds of student researchers, faculty, and volunteer members come together to select the most important news stories that were under-covered, glossed over or ignored by the country’s major media outlets.

The 25 stories make up the first chapter of the Censored 2008 yearbook published by Seven Stories press. Following chapters provide updates on previous stories, review the growth of grass roots Media Democracy, the year’s Junk Food News, and Ten Signs of Hope that corporate media ignored. Censored 2008 also offers real news about internet freedom, images of the war, and the impact of Big Media on children.

With an introduction by Dennis Loo and the political cartoon commentary of John Jonik throughout, this year’s book covers some of the most critical issues facing the American people today. The Top 25 stories focus on issues such as civil rights, politics, economics, foreign policy, food and health, the environment, energy, domestic policy, and the military.

“Corporate media in the United States are interested primarily in entertainment news to feed their bottom-line priorities,” states Peter Phillips, Director of the Project. “Some of the most important news stories that should reach the American public falls on the cutting room floor to be replaced by sex-scandals and celebrity updates.”

The Sonoma State University research group is composed of over 200 faculty, students and community experts who review hundreds of story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of sources and national significance. The top 25 stories are submitted to a panel of judges who then rank them in order of importance. Current and former judges include Michael Parenti, Cynthia McKinney, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, and 20 other national journalists, scholars and writers.

Censored 2008, now available in bookstores nationwide, can also be purchased on the project’s website at www.projectcensored.org.

Project Censored will host the award winning authors of the Censored 2008 stories at the second annual Media Accountability Conference October 26-27 at Sonoma State University. Conference Information on line at: http://www.projectcensored.org/conference/07MAConf.htm

Censored 2008 was edited by Peter Phillips and Andrew Roth professors of Sociology at Sonoma State University.

For on-air interviews contact publicist interns:

Margo Tyack: tyack@sonoma.edu

Gabrielle Robinson: GabrielleCMrobinson@hotmail.com

A statement on contemporary censorship in the US written by Peter Phillips follows below:

Top Censored Stories of 2006-2007

#1 No Habeas Corpus for “Any Person”

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) ushered in military commission law for US citizens and non-citizens alike. Text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” arbitrarily deemed to be an enemy of the state, regardless of American citizenship.

“Who Is 'Any Person' in Tribunal Law?” Robert Parry, Consortium, 10/19/2006

http://consortiumnews.com/2006/101906.html

“Still No Habeas Rights for You” Robert Parry, Consortium, 2/3/2007

http://consortiumnews.com/2007/020307.html

“Repeal the Military Commissions Act and Restore the Most American Human Right” Thom Hartmann, Commondreams, 2/12/2007

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0212-24.htm

#2 Bush Moves Toward Martial Law

The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to deploy military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities in order to "suppress public disorder.”

“Bush Moves Toward Martial Law” Frank Morales, Uruknet, 10/ 26/2006

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=27769

#3 AFRICOM: US Military Control of Africa’s Resources

In February 2007 the White House announced the formation of the US African Command (AFRICOM), a unified Pentagon command center in Africa. Presented as a humanitarian guard in the Global War on Terror, the real objective is procurement and control of Africa’s oil and its global delivery systems.

“Understanding AFRICOM” Parts 1-3, b real, MoonofAlabama.org 2/21/2007

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2007/02/understanding_a_1.html

#4 Frenzy of Increasingly Destructive Trade Agreements

The US and European Union (EU) are vigorously pursuing increasingly destructive trade and investment agreements outside the auspices of the WTO, resulting in unprecedented exploitation, loss of livelihood, displacement, and degradation of human rights and environments.

“Signing Away The Future” Emily Jones, Oxfam, 3/2007

http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/briefingpapers/bp101_regional_trade_agreements_0703

“Free Trade Enslaving Poor Countries” Sanjay Suri, IPS coverage of Oxfam Report, 3/20/2007 http://ipsnews.org/news.asp?idnews=37008

#5 Human Traffic Builds US Embassy in Iraq

The enduring monument to US liberation and democracy in Iraq is being built by forced labor. Contractors subcontracting to the US State Department are using bait-and-switch recruiting practices to smuggle Asian workers into brutal and inhumane labor camps—in the middle of the US-controlled Green Zone.

“A U.S. Fortress Rises in Baghdad: Asian Workers Trafficked to Build World's Largest Embassy” David Phinney, CorpWatch, 10/17/2006

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14173

#6 Operation FALCON Raids

Under Operation FALCON—Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally—more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. Over 960 state, local and federal agencies were directly involved. Only promotional coverage supplied by the DOJ was ever aired. We have yet to be told who these fugitives were and what became of them.

“Operation Falcon and the Looming Police State” Mike Whitney, Ukernet, 2/26/2007 http://uruknet.info/?p=m30971&s1=h1

“Operation Falcon” SourceWatch, Updated 11/18/2006

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Operation_FALCON

#7 Behind Blackwater Inc.

Blackwater, the most powerful mercenary firm in the world, is the company that most embodies the privatization of the military industrial complex. Bush’s contracts with Blackwater have allowed the creation of a private army of more than 20,000 soldiers, operating with almost no oversight or effective legal constraints, to deploy in nine countries and aggressively expand its presence inside US borders.

“Our Mercenaries in Iraq: Blackwater Inc and Bush's Undeclared Surge” Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! 1/26/07 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1559232

#8 KIA: The US Neoliberal Invasion of India

The Knowledge Initiative in Agriculture, quietly signed by Bush and India’s Prime Minister Singh, trades India’s agricultural sector for US nuclear technology. The KIA allows for the grab of India’s seed sector by Monsanto, its trade sector by giant agribusiness ADM and Cargill, and its retail sector by Wal-Mart.

“Vandana Shiva on Farmer Suicides, the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Wal-Mart in India” Democracy Now! 12/13/2006 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/13/1451229

“Genetically Modified Seeds: Women in India take on Monsanto” Arun Shrivastava, Global Research, 10/9/06

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ARU20061009&articleId=3427

“Sowing Trouble: India's ‘Second Green Revolution’” Suman Sahai, SciDev.Net, 5/9/06

http://www.scidev.net/content/opinions/eng/sowing-trouble-indias-second-green-revolution.cfm

#9 Privatization of America’s Infrastructure

More than 20 states have enacted legislation allowing public-private partnerships to build and run highways. We will soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers, and Spanish contractors for the privilege of driving on American roads.

“The Highwaymen” Daniel Schulman with James Ridgeway. Mother Jones, 2/2007

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/highwaymen.html

“Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway” Jerome R. Corsi, Human Events, 6/12/2006 http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15497

#10 Vulture Funds Threaten Debt Relief for Poor Nations

Vulture funds, as defined by the IMF, are companies that buy up the debt of poor nations cheaply, when it is about to be written off, and then sue for the full value of the debt plus interest—which might be ten times what they paid for it. Otherwise known as “distressed-debt investors,” these companies profit off plunging impoverished nations into crippling debt.

“Vulture Fund Threat to Third World” Greg Palast with Meirion Jones for BBC Newsnight, 02/14/2007

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17070.htm

#11 The Scam of “Reconstruction” in Afghanistan

Much of the US tax money earmarked to rebuild Afghanistan actually ends up going no further than the pockets of wealthy US corporations. Paychecks for overpriced, and often incompetent, American “experts” under contract to USAID go directly from the Agency to American bank accounts. Seventy percent of the aid that does make it to a recipient country is carefully “tied” to the donor nation for further fraud and exploitation.

“Why It's Not Working in Afghanistan” Ann Jones, Tomdispatch.com, 8/27/06

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=116512

“Afghanistan Inc: a CorpWatch Investigative Report” Fariba Nawa, CorpWatch, 10/6/06 http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13518

#12 Another Massacre in Haiti by UN Troops

On December 22, 2006 more than 30 unarmed Haitian civilians, including women and children, were killed by extensive and indiscriminate gunfire from UN “peacekeeping” forces, reportedly as collective punishment for a massive demonstration days earlier calling for the return of President Aristide.

“UN in Haiti: Accused of Second Massacre” Haiti Information Project, Haiti Action, 1/21/2007

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/1_21_7/1_21_7.html

“Haiti: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege” Wadner Pierre and Jeb Sprague, IPS, 2/28/07

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36772

#13 Immigrant Roundups to Gain Cheap Labor for US Corporate Giants

In the wake of 9/11, Immigration Customs Enforcement has conducted raids and roundups of “illegal” immigrants under the rubric of preventing terrorism and keeping our homeland safe. The real goal, however, is to replace the immigrant work force in the US with a tightly regulated, exploitive guest-worker program.

“Migrants: Globalization’s Junk Mail?” Laura Carlsen, Foreign Policy in Focus, 2/23/07 http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4022

“Which Side are You on?” David Bacon, Truthout, 1/29/07 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907L.shtml

“Workers, Not Guests” David Bacon, The Nation, 2/6/07 http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020607LB.shtml

#14 Impunity for US War Criminals

A last minute adjustment to the Military Commission Act of 2006 redefined torture, removed the harshest definition of war crimes, and exempts the perpetrators from prosecution for such offences dating back to November 1997. The source of this provision is, however, a mystery. The White House denies any involvement or knowledge regarding the insertion of such language into the MCA.

“A Senate mystery keeps torture alive, and its practitioners free” Jeff Stein, Congressional Quarterly, 11/ 22/06

http://public.cq.com/public/20061122_homeland.html

#15 Toxic Exposure Can Be Genetically Transmitted to Future Generations

Research suggests that our behavior and our environmental conditions may program sections of our children’s DNA. New evidence about how genes interact with the environment suggests that many industrial chemicals may be more ominously dangerous than previously thought. One researcher points to a revolution in medicine: “You aren't eating and exercising just for yourself, but for your lineage.”

“Some Chemicals are More Harmful Than Anyone Ever Suspected” Peter Montague, Rachel's Democracy & Health News #876, 10/12/06 http://www.precaution.org/lib/06/ht061012.htm

#16 No Hard Evidence Connecting Bin Laden to 9/11

Osama bin Ladin’s role in the events of September 11, 2001 is not mentioned on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” notice. Six years later the FBI spokesperson explains, “The reason 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11…”

“FBI says, ‘No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11’” Ed Haas, Muckraker Report, 6/6/06

http://www.teamliberty.net/id267.html

#17 Drinking Water Contaminated by Military and Corporations

Corporations, municipalities, and the US military are using America’s waters as their dumping ground —often with little or no accountability. The average major facility discharges pollutants in excess of its permitted limit by over 275 percent, nearly four times the legal limit, while more than 40 percent of US waterways are already unsafe for swimming and fishing,

“Factories, Cities Across USA Exceed Water Pollution Limits” Sunny Lewis, Environment News Service 3/24/2006

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2006/2006-03-24-05.asp

“Military Waste In Our Drinking Water” Sunaura Taylor and Astra Taylor,

AlterNet, 8/4/2006 http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/39723/

#18 Mexico’s Stolen Election

US interests were significantly invested in the outcome of Mexico’s 2006 presidential election in which overwhelming evidence reveals massive fraud.

“Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in México,” Chuck Collins and Joshua Holland, AlterNet, 8/2/2006 http://www.alternet.org/story/39763

“Mexico: The Political Volcano Rumbles” Revolution, 9/10/06 http://revcom.us/a/060/mexico-volcano-en.html

#19 People’s Movement Challenges Neo-Liberal Agenda

In Latin America, massive opposition to US economic domination has demanded that populist leaders and parties take control of national governments, building powerful alternatives to neo-liberal exploitation.

“Is the US Free Trade Model Losing Steam?” American Friends Service Committee, Trade Matters, 5/3/06

http://www.afsc.org/trade-matters/trade-agreements/LosingSteam.htm

“Economic Policy Changes With New Latin American Leaders” Mark Weisbrot, International Herold Tribune, 12/28/06 http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=45

“Is Hugo Chaves a Threat to Stability? No.” Mark Weisbrot, International Affairs Forum, 3/31/07

http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1102&Itemid=45

#20 Terror Act Against Animal Activists

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act of 2006 expanded the definition of “terrorism” to include acts that interfere, or promote interference, with the operation of an animal enterprise. Over 160 groups opposed this Act on grounds that its terminology is dangerously vague and poses major conflict to the US Constitution.

“The AETA is Invidiously Detrimental to the Animal Rights Movement (and Unconstitutional as Well)” David Hoch and Odette Wilkens, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 3/9/07

http://www.vjel.org/editorials/2007S/Hoch.Wilkens.Editorial.htm

“US House Passes Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act With Little Discussion or Dissent” Will Potter, Green is the New Red, 11/14/06 http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/2006/11/13/aeta-passes-house-recap/

“22 Years for Free-Speech Advocates: Six Animal Rights Activists Given Lengthy Prison Sentences for Running Website” Budgerigar, Earth First! Journal, 11/06 http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/article.php?id=6

#21 US Seeks WTO Immunity for Illegal Farm Payments

The July 2006 Doha round of WTO negotiations broke down over the contentious issue of farm trade and the unrestricted opening of markets to agricultural products. In a last-minute proposal, one not included on the original agenda, the US insisted that all trade agreements include a special “Peace Clause” that would make its use of illegal farm subsidies immune from prosecution by the countries affected.

“Canada launches WTO case on US subsidies” Eoin Callan, Financial Times, 1/9/2007

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5debac74-9f9b-11db-9e2e-0000779e2340.html

“US seeks “get-out clause” for illegal farm payments” Oxfam, 6/29/2006

http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/pressreleases2006/pr060629_wto_geneva

#22 North Invades Mexico

The number of North Americans living in Mexico has soared from 200,000 to 1 million (one-quarter of all US expatriates) in the past decade. With more than 70 million American baby-boomers expected to retire in the next two decades, experts predict “a tidal wave” of migration. The land rush is sending up property values to the detriment of locals whose children are consequently driven into slums or forced to emigrate north.

“Border Invaders: The Perfect Swarm Heads South” Mike Davis, TomDispatch.com, 9/19/2006

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=122537

#23 Feinstein’s Conflict of Interest in Iraq

Dianne Feinstein is involved in monumental conflicts of interest as she promotes and exploits the Global War on Terror. As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions of dollars to her husband's military construction firms, while consistently voting to fund US military proliferation.

“Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict” Peter Byrne, Bohemian, 1/24/2007 http://www.bohemian.com/metro/01.24.07/dianne-feinstein-0704.html

#24 Media Misquotes Threat From Iran’s President

A mistranslated quotation attributed to Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, which threatened that, “Israel must be wiped off the map,” has been spread around the world. Ahmadinejad’s actual statements, however, were significantly less threatening.

“‘Wiped Off The Map’ - The Rumor of the Century” Arash Norouzi, MohammadMossadegh.com, Global Research, 1/20/2007 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=NOR20070120&articleId=4527

“Full Text: The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush” Translated by Le Monde, Information Clearing House, 05/09/06 http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12984.htm

#25 Who Will Profit From Native Energy?

The US government and energy industry intend to market a shift away from dependence on foreign energy by deregulating and stepping up their exploitation (“development”) of wind and solar resources located on Native American reservations.

“Native Energy Futures” Brian Awehali, Lip Magazine, 6/5/06 http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featawehali_nativefutures.htm

Statement by Project Censored Director Peter Phillips Regarding the Importance of the 2008 Censored Stories and the Nature of Censorship Today.

We need to broaden our understanding of censorship in the US. No longer is the dictionary definition of direct government control of news adequate. The private corporate media in the US significantly undercover and/or deliberately censor numerous important news stories every year.

The systemic erosion of human rights and civil liberties, in the US, is the common theme of many of the most censored stories of 2006-07.

The corporate media last year ignored that habeas corpus can now be suspended for anyone by order of the President. With the approval of Congress, the Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006, signed by Bush on October 17, 2006, allows for the suspension of habeas corpus for US citizens and non-citizens alike. While media, including a lead editorial in the New York Times October 19, 2006, have given false comfort that American citizens will not be the victims of the measures legalized by this Act, the law is quite clear that ‘any person’ can be targeted. The text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” regardless of American citizenship. The MCA effectively does away with habeas corpus rights for all people living in the US deemed by the President to be enemy combatants.

Laws enacted last year allowing the government to more easily institute martial law is another civil liberties story ignored by the corporate media in 2006-07. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to station military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder." The law in effect repealed the Posse Comitatus Act, which had placed strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement in the US since just after the Civil War.

Additionally, under the code-name Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) three federally coordinated mass arrests occurred between April 2005 and October 2006. In an unprecedented move, more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. The operations, coordinated by the Justice Department and Homeland Security, directly involved over 960 agencies (state, local and federal) and are the first time in US history that all of the domestic police agencies have been put under the direct control of the federal government.

Finally, the term “terrorism” has been dangerously expanded to include any acts that interfere, or promote interference with the operations of animal enterprises. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), signed into law on November 27, 2006 expands the definition of an “animal enterprise” to any business that “uses or sells animals or animal products.” The law essentially makes many protesters, boycotters or picketers of businesses in the US potential terrorists.

Most people in the US believe in our Bill of Rights and value personal freedoms. Yet, our corporate media in the past year failed to inform us about serious changes in our civil rights and liberties. Despite our busy lives we want to be informed about serious decisions made by the powerful and rely on the corporate media to keep us abreast of important changes. When a media fails to cover these issues, what else can we call it but censorship?

A broader definition of censorship in America today needs to include any interference, deliberate or not, with the free flow of vital news information to the American people. With the size of the major media giants in the US, there is no excuse for consistently missing major news stories that affect all our lives.

Did Rove quit over upcoming Iran attack?
That is what former CIA Agent Ray McGovern is suggestion: ["Are Bush & Co. Gearing Up to Attack Iran?"].

Lightning
Guest Perspective/Roy Morrison
Sam's on the mound. I'm catching. He's 14 now. Taller than me. Torquing his body, showing me his back as he winds up. His four-seamer hits the catcher's mitt with a resonant baseball snap. The way it's supposed to be.
In Babe Ruth League, we try to do things with class—as best we can. During late afternoon games this year, there was almost always thunderstorms gathering, or threatening, or exploding over the field.
Umpiring, or sitting in the stands, at the first flash of lightning—hopefully still miles away and we haven't waited too long— I'd jump up and yell lightning and stop the game. A dad protecting my son and everybody's kid. Our job is to say the truth. Not sit on our hands.
Isn't it time that dads stand up and demand the insane Iraq war stops now? The lightning flashes and the dangers to our kids are all too clear.
Any parent can do this. But now I'm saying it's time for the dads.
My son-in-law Ryan is a captain in the Air Force. He's served one tour in Iraq. If George Bush and his Congressional collaborators aren't stopped he'll be back there. And then, before you know it, it'll be Sam's turn.
It's time for fathers to shout lightning and stop this madness. It's time for us to demand this war stop before another one of our kids gets maimed or killed.
Lightning. It's not in the distance. It's all around us.
Roy Morrison is Director of the Office of Sustainability at Southern New Hampshire University.His latest book, "Markets, Democracy & Survival," is forthcoming in 2007. "Markets, Democracy & Survival" available now for download in PDF from: www.RMAenergy.net.

Padilla Convicted, Bill of Rights Overturned
Gust Perspective/Ralph Lopez

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads:

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."

The conviction of Jose Padilla means the administration has now enshrined the authority to pick you up off the street at any time, put you in a military prison, do anything they want to you, including torture, for 3 1/2 years, then release you if they feel like it to a civilian court, psychologically helpless to assist in your own defense, as long as the charge is "suspected of terrorism." According to AP Padilla did not look surprised. Why should he? His lawyer said he did not trust anyone and fully expected this would be another part of the long charade in which interrogators posed as lawyers, he was told he would never be released, and in general messed with his mind in ways that made him emerge not the same man.
This could now happen to you, to me, anybody. This is way bigger than the Iraq War. It is for the freedoms for which the Iraq War is supposedly being fought. George Bush has overturned the U.S. Constitution.
The only remedy now is impeachment on grounds that Bush violated his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, the Law of the Land, legislation in Congress stating that previous precedents for the "enemy combatant" designation cannot apply to American citizens in a war that has no end, and the immediate release of Jose Padilla for grievous violation of his constitutional rights. If he "assisted" in terrorism, and he probably did not, as we can see from the government's incredibly weak case, so be it. Killers are released all the time because police did not read them their Miranda rights. The blame is on the government for blowing the case. It has been held in law that dismissal of a case is the only remedy which would instill proper respect by the authorities for the Law of the Land.
If the Padilla case stands, and GWB leaves office without being impeached, it will be as if the American Revolution had never been fought, as if the thousands of men who died at Normandy died for nothing. All officers of the U.S. government are hereby reminded of their duty to the oath they took to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution, and are ordered by We the People to effect the immediate arrest of the traitor George W. Bush.
From May 8th, the date Jose Padilla was arrested.
Ralph Lopez is a former state Rep. and state Senate candidate from Cambridge, Mass. and the author of "American Dream." He also writes his own blog, http://ralphlopezworld.com.

Yeah, but is he John Doe#2?
After years and years of being held in prison, it looks like the federal government finally figured out a way to jam up Jose Padilla on some pretty flimsy terrorist charges: ["Padilla Convicted of Terror Support"]. What happened to the "dirty nuclear bomb" charge? I also find it interesting that somehow his defense of wanting to go and learn more about Islam would get twisted around to being membership in Al-Qaida. It doesn't make any sense, not unlike everything about this case.
But here is my question: Is he John Doe#2? Because, he sure looks like he is: ["Is Jose Padilla John Doe Number 2 at the Oklahoma City Bombing?"]. It seems to me that there is more suspicion that he is John Doe #2 than a pal of Osbama bin Ladin.

Philadelphia Emergency Anti-War Convention, July 4
Earlier this afternoon, I received an email about this rally that will be taking place next week at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia. In the email, there were radio spots featuring Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore advocating a new 9-11 investigation. Sheehan is also calling for voters to exit the Democratic Party and start something else.
The rally is being put together by a number of anti-war groups, Green Party affiliates, and others. The email was actually forwarded to me by Aaron Russo, the former Libertarian presidential candidate and documentary filmmaker.
Included in the email was a call for a Second American Revolution [this actually should be considered a third, since Jerry Brown's 1992 presidential campaign was also considered a Second American Revolution, although we lost that one] and a draft version of a Declaration of Intent, included here:

DECLARATION OF INTENT
(A Draft)

Our nation is in crisis. Our Constitution has been shredded. The peace movement has run aground, and impeachment is “off the table.” The war machine continues to trample the will of the people and crush any opposition in its murderous drive toward global domination.

The Democratic Party has betrayed its mandate to end the Iraq War and bring the troops home, exposing the two-party system for the elite corporate tool it is.

We no longer have a free press. Our major media are owned and controlled by the same few corporations that manufacture arms and feed off billion-dollar contracts handed to them by Bush appointees.

Where are the checks and balances?

Where is Government by the People?

Where is the public outrage?

It’s time to demand truth and accountability from our elected representatives. It's time to insist that they answer to the people, not corporate lobbyists or well-funded ideological fanatics.

It's time to eliminate election fraud and ensure that the sanctity of the voting process is never again compromised.

It's time to bring our troops home and stop funding pre-emptive wars of aggression.

It's time to support our soldier's rights when refusing to obey unlawful orders.

It's time to resist the curtailment of our civil liberties based on color-coded fear, and to reclaim the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.

It's time to impeach the President and Vice President, based on overwhelming evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors.

It's time to challenge the official account of 9/11 as scientifically and logically implausible, and to demand a new, fully independent investigation of the foundational event for the war on terror, that if exposed, would awaken Americans out of a collective trance of complacency and fear.

It's time to examine the historical, political, social, and psychological roots of September 11—and all false flag terrorism—repeatedly invoked to justify an endless war on terror and virtual dictatorship by the Executive Branch.

We call on all activists and concerned citizens across America to come to Philadelphia on July 4th and present a United Front to reclaim our Government.

We will send a message that will once again crack the Liberty Bell as it resonates across America, in the spirit of freedom, with truth, peace and justice as our honorable goals. We will launch a campaign to stop these wars at their source. And we will prevail.

This is the time for action, not apathy; for union, not division.

This is the start of the Second American Revolution—a new beginning for hope on the planet.

We Are All Jose Padilla
Guest Perspective/Ralph Lopez

Dear Americans,
I write this to you in outrage as an American. It has just been released that Jose Padilla, an American-born
citizen with the same rights as you or I, who was never charged with a crime, given a jury trial, or any other of his birthrights under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, has been tortured to insanity during his time of detention, most of it incommunicado by order of George W. Bush, president of the United States.
As the government has declared the prerogative of doing this to any American, it is nothing less than my duty to declare my resistance, and to declare that I have not relinquished my Bill of Rights, be it for the War on Terror or any other war. In the event of an arrest in which I am guaranteed the rights that are mine by birth as an American, I will go peacefully. In the event of an arrest in which it is intended that I be declared "enemy combatant" by the federal government, I am bound, by the blood of all those who died on soil bearing names like Omaha Beach, Utah Beach and Juno, to resist with all the force at my disposal.
I will not fail the courage of forefathers who died fighting forms of government which claimed the same prerogative which George Bush now openly and arrogantly claims. I know full well my country's glorious history of loving freedom, and my generation will not fail in its turn.
The politicians will make light of this momentous revelation on Padilla, and feign ignorance of the import. But We the People understand full well the meaning. Now we are all Jose Padilla. The press has belittled the importance of the historic Padilla case and feigned ignorance of the import as well. But our rights will not be made a mockery of.
I am granted great privilege by history and coincidence of birth to be alive and an American at this time of greatest peril to this Constitution, which embodies the greatest hope against darkness and tyranny that the world has ever seen. It is a privilege to be alive to participate in her defense with all the blood and treasure that are mine to command. No president has attempted what George Bush has attempted, unlimited authority not only to detain, but to torture to insanity as well, without trial, without charge. In the words of our great forefathers, don't tread on me.

Ralph Lopez, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Yale Class of '82
http://ralphlopezworld.com/

The Lite-Brite Jihad

I'm truly amazed about this Turner Broadcasting prank to promote one of its Cartoon Network programs totally going out of control and the reaction to all of it. But, unlike all the government officials who are outraged by the promotional stunt - and the media excitedly covering the incidents - I'm actually a tad surprised by law enforcement.
It is clear that in the wake of 9/11, government officials have lost all common sense when it comes to these types of things and we clearly have to look at this as a policy and as a people. How anyone - a passerby, a police officer, a homeland security or government official - could confuse Lite Brite boards as a terrorist attack is beyond words. It is one thing to be safe. It is quite another thing to be foolishly safe, holding up traffic throughout Boston to the Lite Brite Jihad, which was clearly a prank or a promotional stunt.
Are we really that scared? Do we have to now force companies like Turner Broadcasting to contact all law enforcement entities to let them know when a publicity stunt or promotional event is going to occur? And why are these guys involved in the marketing of these things being arrested? They were doing a job. Are they the only ones to be arrested, for a promotional gimmick? Will someone at corporate be punished for this or will it just be the freelance marketeers?
Over at the BostonRadio.org list, a debate has been raging about FCC licenses and other things related to punishing the network for this prank. Since they are a cable network - and not a broadcast entity - the FCC is going to have some difficulties with that. But, it was an interesting discussion. One person did note, after I questioned the dragnet, that "Someone called WBZ radio tonight and said IEDs have four parts: power, switch, low density explosive, and high density explosive (something like that). These devices had the first two, at least. Supposedly one of the devices looked very convincing." Others likened this to the "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast.
One good thing which has come out of all of this is the fact that homeland security and law enforcement officials quickly moved to prepare everything for what seemed to be a legit concern. Congratulations to them. In some ways, we can all be thankful that all of these preparations have proven to work. But I just wonder if this is actually the way we want to go in America.

A Reason Why
Guest Perspective: Roy Morrison

My son Sam's Kearsarge Middle School basketball team is full of all stars. OK. They don't pass well. It just must be bad luck that they don't win often.

The U.S. Iraq misadventure must be under a similar unlucky star. But still, we must do something to help the Iraqi people. Blockading their country, bombing their country, invading their country, imposing U.S. designs upon their country leading to the death of many tens of thousands of innocents wasn't enough. We must do more. More war. It's our moral responsibility.

Is George W. Bush simply a moron tilting at windmills? Is Richard Cheney just a bumbling Rasputin? Or is U.S. policy toward Iraq, and now Iran, a logical and hardheaded expression of U.S. interest and purpose?

Central to an understanding of U.S. policy is not terrorism, not weapons of mass destruction, but the control of cheap oil. At stake is the combined oil reserves of Kuwait, remember Gulf War I, Iraq, third largest proven reserves, Iran, second largest - and by implication neighboring Saudi Arabia, the biggest prize of all.

Together, if kept under U.S. influence, these oil fields represent the maintenance of U.S. influence and control not only of Europe, but also of China and India, the emerging industrial challengers to the U.S.

If the United States was concerned about terrorism, why invade a country that had no role in 9/11? If terror was the game, why ignore the involvement of Saudis in 9/11 as participants, organizers and financiers? Why ignore the Pakistani madrassas that are spawning grounds for the Taliban, and the use of western Pakistani tribal territories as jihadist redoubt? If the United States was concerned about weapons of mass destruction in Islamic hands, why did the United States ignore the Pakistani nuclear arsenal and the behavior of Pakistan's A.Q. Khan as leader of a nuclear proliferation gang? Why?

United Stares policy implemented by Bush and Cheney makes perfect sense if the goal is control of oil. The Iraq war has proven to be a spectacular failure. But the game is not over. The response by the gamblers, playing with the lives of millions, is to double down and to press on with urban war in Baghdad and to move against Iran.

The reason why? A productive Iraq and Iran under U.S. influence, vouchsafed by U.S. military bases, will keep not only China and India in line, but also undermine OPEC. Victory will prolong the suzerainty of the U.S. and the dollar. America in the saddle with the whip hand can open the production spigots, drop prices, potentiate economic boom and revitalize Republican rule. These are not the only reasons. But they are central to understanding what seems to be foolish U.S. behavior.

An alternative to oil madness, is U.S. global leadership in development of renewable energy resources and renewable fuels. The sun rising will lead both to a collapse of oil prices and a chance to escape catastrophic climatic change. We can pursue a foreign policy based on peace and justice, sustainability and prosperity, enterprise and full employment, not resource wars without end.

Denuclearization and disarmament must begin at home. We don't need to kiss our love ones good bye as they fly off to fight to keep control of cheap oil in a Bush's hands. Our military's mission should be to defend the Unites States and not the empire of oil.

Energy policy is not an esoteric subject. It is central in the 21st century to questions of war and peace, ecological survival and sustainability. It's time to pay attention.

Roy Morrison's latest book is "Markets, Democracy & Survival," forthcoming from the Writers Publishing cooperative. He is an energy consultant living in Warner, N.H.

Fact check:

1. Oil reserves by country. Source: Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 103, No. 47 (Dec. 19, 2005). From: U.S. Energy Information Administration. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/petroleu.html

Country, 2006
Rank Country Proved reserves (billion barrels)
1. Saudi Arabia 264.3
2. Canada 178.8
3. Iran 132.5
4. Iraq 115.0
5. Kuwait 101.5
6. United Arab Emirates 97.8
7. Venezuela 79.7
8. Russia 60.0
9. Libya 39.1
10. Nigeria 35.9
11. United States 21.4
12. China 18.3
13. Qatar 15.2
14. Mexico 12.9
15. Algeria 11.4
16. Brazil 11.2
17. Kazakhstan 9.0
18. Norway 7.7
19. Azerbaijan 7.0
20. India 5.8

World total: 1,292.5

NOTE: Proved reserves are estimated with reasonable certainty to be recoverable with present technology and prices.

2. Madrassas, Issue Brief No. 11, Madrassas in Pakistan, Suba Chandran Assistant Director, IPCS

http://www.ipcs.org/newIpcsPublications.jsp?status=publications&status1=issue&mod=d&check=15&try=true

"There are an approximate 28,000 madrassas in Pakistan with only 8000 of them registered. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) 2002 report, by March 2002, there were around 600,000 students in 6,000 registered madrassas with more than 250,000 students in Punjab alone. The proliferation of madrassas began in the 1980s and continued in the 1990s. Compared to their number in 1979, when there were less than 2000 madrassas, their growth has been tremendous. They are now seen and portrayed as fundamentalist institutions and breeding grounds for militants to wage a jihad all over the world. From being established centers of learning in the middle-ages, they have traveled a long way. How did this change come about and what can Pakistan do about it?"

3. Jihadists in Pakistan's western Tribal areas http://www.fes.org.af/AlQaeda'swestern.pdf

4. Pakistan Nuclear Weapons, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/nuke/

Pakistan Nuclear Weapons: A Brief History of Pakistan's Nuclear Program

Pakistan's nuclear weapons program was established in 1972 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who founded the program while he was Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources, and later became President and Prime Minister. Shortly after the loss of East Pakistan in the 1971 war with India, Bhutto initiated the program with a meeting of physicists and engineers at Multan in January 1972.

India's 1974 testing of a nuclear "device" gave Pakistan's nuclear program new momentum. Through the late 1970s, Pakistan's program acquired sensitive uranium enrichment technology and expertise. The 1975 arrival of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan considerably advanced these efforts. Dr. Khan is a German-trained metallurgist who brought with him knowledge of gas centrifuge technologies that he had acquired through his position at the classified URENCO uranium enrichment plant in the Netherlands. Dr. Khan also reportedly brought with him stolen uranium enrichment technologies from Europe. He was put in charge of building, equipping and operating Pakistan's Kahuta facility, which was established in 1976. Under Khan's direction, Pakistan employed an extensive clandestine network in order to obtain the necessary materials and technology for its developing uranium enrichment capabilities.

In 1985, Pakistan crossed the threshold of weapons-grade uranium production, and by 1986 it is thought to have produced enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Pakistan continued advancing its uranium enrichment program, and according to Pakistani sources, the nation acquired the ability to carry out a nuclear explosion in 1987.

* Pakistan Nuclear Weapons - A Chronology
Nuclear Tests
On May 28, 1998 Pakistan announced that it had successfully conducted five nuclear tests. The Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission reported that the five nuclear tests conducted on May 28 generated a seismic signal of 5.0 on the Richter scale, with a total yield of up to 40 KT (equivalent TNT). Dr. A.Q. Khan claimed that one device was a boosted fission device and that the other four were sub-kiloton nuclear devices.

On May 30, 1998 Pakistan tested one more nuclear warhead with a reported yield of 12 kilotons. The tests were conducted at Balochistan, bringing the total number of claimed tests to six. It has also been claimed by Pakistani sources that at least one additional device, initially planned for detonation on 30 May 1998, remained emplaced underground ready for detonation.

Pakistani claims concerning the number and yields of their underground tests cannot be independently confirmed by seismic means, and several sources, such as the Southern Arizona Seismic Observatory have reported lower yields than those claimed by Pakistan. Indian sources have also suggested that as few as two weapons were actually detonated, each with yields considerably lower than claimed by Pakistan. However, seismic data showed at least two and possibly a third, much smaller, test in the initial round of tests at the Ras Koh range. The single test on 30 May provided a clear seismic signal.

DEVICE DATE YIELD
[announced] YIELD
[estimated]
[boosted device?] 28 May 1998 25-36 kiloton total
9-12 kiloton
Fission device 28 May 1998 12 kiloton
Low-yield device 28 May 1998 sub-kiloton --
Low-yield device 28 May 1998 sub-kiloton --
Low-yield device 28 May 1998 sub-kiloton --
Fission device 30 May 1998 12 kiloton 4-6 kiloton
Fission device not detonated 12 kiloton --
This table lists the nuclear tests that Pakistan claims to have carried out in May 1998 as well as the announced yields. Other sources have reported lower yields than those claimed by Pakistan. The Southern Arizona Seismic Observatory reports that the total seismic yield for the May 28th tests was 9-12 kilotons and that the yield for the May 30th tests was 4-6 kilotons.

According to a preliminary analysis conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory, material released into the atmosphere during an underground nuclear test by Pakistan in May 1998 contained low levels of weapons-grade plutonium. The significance of the Los Alamos finding was that Pakistan had either imported or produced plutonium undetected by the US intelligence community. But Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and other agencies later contested the accuracy of this finding.

These tests came slightly more than two weeks after India carried out five nuclear tests of its own on May 11 and 13 and after many warnings by Pakistani officials that they would respond to India.

Pakistan's nuclear tests were followed by the February 1999 Lahore Agreements between Prime Ministers Vajpayee and Sharif. The agreements included confidence building measures such as advance notice of ballistic missile testing and a continuation of their unilateral moratoria on nuclear testing. But diplomatic advances made that year were undermined by Pakistan's incursion into Kargil. Under US diplomatic pressure, Prime Minister Sharif withdrew his troops, but lost power in October 1999 due to a military coup in which Gen. Pervez Musharraf took over.

* Satellite Imagery of Pakistan's May 28 and May 30 nuclear testing sites

Nuclear Infrastructure

Pakistan's nuclear program is based primarily on highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is produced at the A. Q. Khan research laboratory at Kahuta, a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility. The Kahuta facility has been in operation since the early 1980s. By the early 1990s, Kahuta had an estimated 3,000 centrifuges in operation, and Pakistan continued its pursuit of expanded uranium enrichment capabilities.

In the 1990s Pakistan began to pursue plutonium production capabilities. With Chinese assistance, Pakistan built the 40 MWt (megawatt thermal) Khusab research reactor at Joharabad, and in April 1998, Pakistan announced that the reactor was operational. According to public statements made by US officials, this unsafeguarded heavy water reactor generates an estimated 8-10 kilotons of weapons grade plutonium per year, which is enough for one to two nuclear weapons. The reactor could also produce tritium if it were loaded with lithium-6. According to J. Cirincione of Carnegie, Khusab's plutonium production capacity could allow Pakistan to develop lighter nuclear warheads that would be easier to deliver with a ballistic missile.

Plutonium separation reportedly takes place at the New Labs reprocessing plant next to Pakistan's Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (Pinstech) in Rawalpindi and at the larger Chasma nuclear power plant, neither of which are subject to IAEA inspection.

Nuclear Arsenal

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that Pakistan has built 24-48 HEU-based nuclear warheads, and Carnegie reports that they have produced 585-800 kg of HEU, enough for 30-55 weapons. Pakistan's nuclear warheads are based on an implosion design that uses a solid core of highly enriched uranium and requires an estimated 15-20 kg of material per warhead. According to Carnegie, Pakistan has also produced a small but unknown quantity of weapons grade plutonium, which is sufficient for an estimated 3-5 nuclear weapons.

Pakistani authorities claim that their nuclear weapons are not assembled. They maintain that the fissile cores are stored separately from the non-nuclear explosives packages, and that the warheads are stored separately from the delivery systems. In a 2001 report, the Defense Department contends that "Islamabad's nuclear weapons are probably stored in component form" and that "Pakistan probably could assemble the weapons fairly quickly." However, no one has been able to ascertain the validity of Pakistan's assurances about their nuclear weapons security.

Pakistan's reliance primarily on HEU makes its fissile materials particularly vulnerable to diversion. HEU can be used in a relatively simple gun-barrel-type design, which could be within the means of non-state actors that intend to assemble a crude nuclear weapon.

The terrorist attacks on September 11th raised concerns about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. According to press reports, within two days of the attacks, Pakistan's military began relocating nuclear weapons components to six new secret locations. Shortly thereafter, Gen. Pervez Musharraf fired his intelligence chief and other officers and detained several suspected retired nuclear weapons scientists, in an attempt to root out extremist elements that posed a potential threat to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Concerns have also been raised about Pakistan as a proliferant of nuclear materials and expertise. In November, 2002, shortly after North Korea admitted to pursuing a nuclear weapons program, the press reported allegations that Pakistan had provided assistance in the development of its uranium enrichment program in exchange for North Korean missile technologies.

Foreign Assistance

In the past, China played a major role in the development of Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure, especially when increasingly stringent export controls in western countries made it difficult for Pakistan to acquire materials and technology elsewhere. According to a 2001 Department of Defense report, China has supplied Pakistan with nuclear materials and expertise and has provided critical assistance in the construction of Pakistan's nuclear facilities.

In the 1990s, China designed and supplied the heavy water Khusab reactor, which plays a key role in Pakistan's production of plutonium. A subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation also contributed to Pakistan's efforts to expand its uranium enrichment capabilities by providing 5,000 custom made ring magnets, which are a key component of the bearings that facilitate the high-speed rotation of centrifuges.

According to Anthony Cordesman of CSIS, China is also reported to have provided Pakistan with the design of one of its warheads, which is relatively sophisticated in design and lighter than U.S. and Soviet designed first generation warheads.

China also provided technical and material support in the completion of the Chasma nuclear power reactor and plutonium reprocessing facility, which was built in the mid 1990s. The project had been initiated as a cooperative program with France, but Pakistan's failure to sign the NPT and unwillingness to accept IAEA safeguards on its entire nuclear program caused France to terminate assistance.

According to the Defense Department report cited above, Pakistan has also acquired nuclear related and dual-use and equipment and materials from the Former Soviet Union and Western Europe.

Intermittent US Sanctions

On several occasions, under the authority of amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Pakistan, cutting off economic and military aid as a result of its pursuit of nuclear weapons. However, the U.S. suspended sanctions each time developments in Afghanistan made Pakistan a strategically important "frontline state," such as the 1981 Soviet occupation and in the war on terrorism.

Pakistan's Nuclear Doctrine

Several sources, such as Jane's Intelligence Review and Defense Department reports maintain that Pakistan's motive for pursuing a nuclear weapons program is to counter the threat posed by its principal rival, India, which has superior conventional forces and nuclear weapons.

Pakistan has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

According to the Defense Department report cited above, "Pakistan remains steadfast in its refusal to sign the NPT, stating that it would do so only after India joined the Treaty. Consequently, not all of Pakistan's nuclear facilities are under IAEA safeguards. Pakistani officials have stated that signature of the CTBT is in Pakistan's best interest, but that Pakistan will do so only after developing a domestic consensus on the issue, and have disavowed any connection with India's decision."

Pakistan does not abide by a no-first-use doctrine, as evidenced by President Pervez Musharraf's statements in May, 2002. Musharraf said that Pakistan did not want a conflict with India but that if it came to war between the nuclear-armed rivals, he would "respond with full might." These statements were interpreted to mean that if pressed by an overwhelming conventional attack from India, which has superior conventional forces, Pakistan might use its nuclear weapons.

Sources and Resources
* UN Nuclear Chief Warns of Global Black Market, Mohammed ElBaradei commenting on questions raised by the Khan confession, February 6, 2004.
* Abdul Qadeer Khan "Apologizes" for Transferring Nuclear Secrets Abroad, broadcast on Pakistani television, February 4, 2004.

* Documents Indicate A.Q. Khan Offered Nuclear, Weapon Designs to Iraq in 1990: Did He Approach Other Countries? By David Albright and Corey Hinderstein, February 4, 2004

* Deadly Arsenals, chapter on Paksitan - by Joseph Cirincione, John B.Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar (Carnegie, June 2002). The chapter discusses Pakistan's WMD, missile and aircraft capabilities. It also presents the strategic context of the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan and the history of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, touching on foreign assistance from China and on-and-off US economic assistance.

* Proliferation: Threat and Response, Jan. 2001 - A Defense Department report on the status of nuclear proliferation in South Asia. It includes a brief historical background on the conflict between India and Pakistan as well as an assessment of their nuclear capabilities, chem/bio programs, ballistic missile programs and other means of delivery.

* ENHANCING NUCLEAR SECURITY IN THE COUNTER-TERRORISM STRUGGLE: India and Pakistan as a New Region for Cooperation - by Rose Gottemoeller, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 2002. This working paper explores possible cooperative programs that could enhance the security of Pakistan and India's nuclear arsenals, in order to prevent the diversion of dangerous materials into the hands of terrorists or rogue state leaders.

* "Pakistan's Nuclear Forces, 2001" from NRDC Nuclear Notebook, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Jan/Feb 2002. A Two-page update on the state of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. It makes rough estimates of the number of nuclear weapons and the amount of fissile material in Pakistan's possession and touches on fissile material production capabilities. Also included is a brief discussion of delivery mechanisms such as aircraft and missiles.

* Monterey Institute Resource Page on India and Pakistan - last updated July 7, 2000. This page has many useful links to relevant maps, news articles and analytical pieces on India and Pakistan's nuclear programs.

* Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Pakistan resources

* Pakistan Nuclear Weapons - A Chronology - a timeline of the Pakistan's Nuclear Development program since 1965.

* "The Threat of Pakistani Nuclear Weapons" - a CSIS report by Anthony H. Cordesman (Last updated Nov.
2001). - This report tells the history of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and discusses China role in its development. It also lists recent US intelligence reports on Pakistan's activities.

* From Testing to Deploying Nuclear Forces: The Hard Choices Facing India and Pakistan - Gregory S. Jones.
(Rand, 2000). "This issue paper describes the requirements for a nuclear deterrent force in general terms, discusses how the Indian-Pakistani nuclear relationship is affected by China, and then considers the specific decisions that still must be made in India and Pakistan."

* Pakistan Nuclear Update, 2001 - Wisconsin Project. This three-page document provides a brief summary of Pakistan's main nuclear sites and an update on developments in Pakistan's nuclear program.

* Securing Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal: Principles for Assistance - by David Albright, Kevin O'Neill and Corey Hinderstein, Oct. 4, 2001. An ISIS issue brief on the potential threats to the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

* The May 1998 India and Pakistan Nuclear Tests - by Terry C. Wallace, Southern Arizona Seismic Observatory (SASO), 1998. This technical paper provides a seismic analysis of India and Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests. It concludes that Pakistan's May 28 tests had a seismic yield of 9-12 kt, and the May 30 test had a yield of 4-6 kt. An updated web page on this report can be found here

* Satellite Imagery of Pakistan's May 28 and May 30 nuclear testing sites, hosted on the Center for Monitoring Research Commercial Satellite Imagery Page

* "Pakistan's Nuclear Dilemma" - September 23 2001, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Transcripts from a Carnegie panel on developments in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. The panel included three speakers -- Shirin Tahir-Kheli, George Perkovich and Rose Gottemoeller-- and was moderated by Joseph Cirincione.

* Chapter on Pakistan, from Tracking Nuclear Proliferation: A Guide in Maps and Charts, 1998 by Rodney W. Jones, Mark G. McDonough, with Toby F. Dalton and Gregory D. Koblentz (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment, July 1998). This chapter documents the history of Pakistan's nuclear program and tracks the development of its nuclear infrastructure. It also covers in detail the sanctions the US imposed on Pakistan in light of these developments, as well Pakistan's missile program.

* "U.S. Appears to be Losing Track of Pakistan's Nuclear Program" and "U.S. Now Believes Pakistan to use Khushab Plutonium in Bomb Program" By Mark Hibbs July, 1998. Two brief articles written in the aftermath of Paksistan's 1998 nuclear tests -- they discuss Pakistan's weapons grade uranium and plutonium production capacities and the implications for its nuclear arsenal.

* "U.S. Labs at Odds on Whether Pakistani Blast Used Plutonium," by Dana Priest Washington Post Sunday, January 17, 1999; Page A02. This article discusses the controversy over the preliminary analysis carried out by Los Alamos National Laboratory, which found that plutonium traces had been released into the atomosphere during Pakistan's May 30th underground nuclear test. Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Labs contested the accuracy of this finding and alleged that Los Alamos had contaminated and then lost the air sample. At the time, Los Alamos' findings were highly controversial because they implied that Pakistan had obtained plutonium either though imports or indigenous production, and there was uncertainty about Pakistan's plutonium production capabilities. It is now public knowledge that Pakistan can produce and isolate plutonium at its Khusbab reactor and at the New Labs and Chasma separation facilities.

* NUCLEARISATION OF SOUTH ASIA AND ITS REGIONAL AND GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS Munir Ahmed Khan REGIONAL STUDIES Autumn 1998.