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	<title>The Okcitykid - A Peaceful Vet &#187; From The Mail Box</title>
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		<title>From David Icke, Rothschild Zionism</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2010/12/10/from-david-icke-rothschild-zionism/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2010/12/10/from-david-icke-rothschild-zionism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:19:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=1699</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[David Icke Newsletter Preview THEY DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME &#8230; &#8230; ROTHSCHILD ZIONISM But to understand the financial crisis, 9/11 and so much more, it must be spoken constantly. The David Icke Newsletter this Sunday is a major six thousand word exposure of the extent of Rothschild Zionist control of Big Government, Big Banking, Big Media, etc. and its fundamental role&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2010/12/10/from-david-icke-rothschild-zionism/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><strong>David Icke Newsletter Preview</strong></span></p>
<h2>THEY DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME &#8230;</h2>
<p><img src="http://www.davidicke.com/images/stories/2010-02/rothschildzionism.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<h2>&#8230; <em>ROTHSCHILD ZIONISM</em></h2>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">But to understand the financial crisis, 9/11 and so much more, it must be spoken <em>constantly</em>.</span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">The David Icke Newsletter this Sunday is a major six thousand word exposure of the extent of Rothschild Zionist control of Big Government, Big Banking, Big Media, etc. and its fundamental role in the atrocities of 9/11.</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">I laid out in simple terms last week the agenda behind the unfolding global financial crisis and today I will expose the coordinating force, or at least a prime one, behind that agenda. Most conspiracy researchers either don&#8217;t realise the fundamental significance of this network or are too frightened to say so if they do. Sod that.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">It is widely known as Zionism or, as I call it, more accurately, I suggest … <em>Rothschild</em> Zionism. I add the &#8216;Rothschild&#8217; to constantly emphasise the true creators of Zionism and its controllers to this day &#8230;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">&#8230; They have sought to sell the &#8216;Zionism-means-all-Jewish-people&#8217; lie so they can condemn as &#8216;anti-Semites&#8217; and &#8216;racists&#8217; anyone who exposes the truth about Rothschild Zionism and its agents in government, banking, business, media, military, etc.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">This is why most researchers won&#8217;t go there even if they are aware enough to know that they <em>should</em><em>really</em>goes beyond five-sense reality.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> go there. To uncover and expose what is happening in the world we need all the &#8216;bees&#8217; &#8211; brain, backbone, balls &#8211; and never more so than now. Oh yeah, and add consciousness if you want to see how deep the rabbit hole</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Racism is the ultimate ignorance in that it relates &#8216;self&#8217; to the body instead of the Consciousness &#8211; Awareness &#8211; animating and experiencing <em>through</em> the body. It is like judging a man by his spacesuit instead of the person inside it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">So racism is ridiculous, juvenile and silly, but no way is the threat of being branded as one (they have already tried and failed) going to stop me exposing what must be exposed if the Control System is to fall.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">The world&#8217;s most extreme racists are, after all, the Rothschild Zionists, anyway. Israel is an apartheid state every bit as much as were apartheid South Africa and apartheid America.</span></p>
<p><img src="http://www.davidicke.com/images/stories/apartheidisrael.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.davidicke.com/amember/signup.php" target="_blank">TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAVID ICKE NEWSLETTER, GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO HIS FANTASTIC NEWSLETTER LIBRARY ON A HOST OF SUBJECTS GOING BACK TO 2005, AND SEE HOURS OF VIDEO FOOTAGE OF DAVID&#8217;S INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE &#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>Mosque NEAR Ground Zero &#8211; A Jewish Perspective</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2010/08/08/mosque-near-ground-zero-a-jewish-perspective/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2010/08/08/mosque-near-ground-zero-a-jewish-perspective/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:36:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=1427</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tikkun to heal, repair and transform the world A note from Rabbi Michael Lerner Join or Donate Now! Shame on ADL for opposing Mosque 2 blocks from Ground Zero by Rabbi Michael Lerner The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) publicly opposes the construction two blocks from Ground Zero of the Cordoba House (also known as Park 51), which the planners imagine as&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2010/08/08/mosque-near-ground-zero-a-jewish-perspective/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
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<td height="40" align="center" bgcolor="#003366"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&amp;c=Fiw2Z13TZMuU%2Fsxb%2FZiBGMNk%2FowzmAB4" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: large;">Tikkun</span></a> <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: small;">to heal, repair and transform the world </span></td>
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<td bgcolor="#990000"><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: x-small;"><strong>A note from Rabbi Michael Lerner</strong></span><strong> </strong></td>
<td height="30" bgcolor="#990000"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&amp;c=Br8NZ6798vAnsisBTK0ym%2F81Tllr6uJS" target="_blank"> <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: x-small;">Join or Donate Now!</span></a></td>
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<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Shame on ADL for opposing Mosque 2 blocks from Ground Zero</strong></span></p>
<p>by Rabbi Michael Lerner</p>
<p>The ADL (Anti-Defamation League)  publicly opposes the construction two blocks from Ground Zero of the  Cordoba House (also known as Park 51), which the planners imagine as  hosting a range of activities similar to those offered at the 92nd  Street Y, and including a Mosque at which Muslims could worship. The  plan, supported by Mayor Bloomberg, is opposed by some who have  consistently used the attack on the World Trade Center as justification  for war and fear+hatred of Muslims.</p>
<p>ADL leader  Abe Foxman presented the position of this organization that  claims to oppose discrimination by reading a formal statement that  seemed to be a perfect example of &#8220;shooting and crying&#8221; (first you  attack brutally, then you cry about how sad it is to be put into this  difficult position, often blaming the victims for having &#8220;forced&#8221; us to  attack them). The key to that statement was this:</p>
<p>&#8220;Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at  this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message  about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is  unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a  question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center  in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more  pain &#8211; unnecessarily &#8211; and that is not right.&#8221;</p>
<p>This kind of argument is deeply mistaken. It was not &#8220;Muslims&#8221; or Islam  that attacked the World Trade Center, but some Muslims who held extreme  versions of Islam and twisted what is a holy and peace-oriented  tradition to justify their acts and their hatred. We see the same thing  happening in the name of Christianity (many of those who justified the  war in Iraq were Christians who felt they were acting from a Christian  ethical perspective) or in the name of Judaism (the immoral behavior of  some of the settlers who use Judaism as their cover for stealing land  and destroying the olive trees of their Palestinian neighbors).  Just as  we would rebel against others dismissing Judaism or Christianity, or  prohibiting Jews and Muslims from constructing our holy places of  worship or community centers where we wish because some of those who had  suffered from the immorality of some Jews or some Christians had  decided that it was painful to them to see the presence of these  institutions near the site of previous suffering, so we reject this  claim.</p>
<p>Arthur Waskow asks us to imagine how we would feel if some group of  Muslims in the US, identifying with the suffering of Palestinians, and  including within them some who had lived in Israel and had to leave to  protect themselves from the oppression of Occupation that they labeled  as &#8220;Jewish oppression,&#8221; had opposed the construction of a synagogue in  their predominantly Muslim neighborhood because it would cause some of  the victims of Israeli policy to experience more pain. Would we accept  that? Certainly not.</p>
<p>Underlying the ADL position is its references to the Holocaust and the  need to respect the feelings of its survivors. Sadly, the memory of  Jewish suffering is appropriated by right-wing forces to justify special  privilege for Jews in general and Israel in particular, now is to be  extended to victims of 9/11 (but not, for example, to the survivors of  US military assaults on civilians in Vietnam,Cambodia, Laos, El  Salvador, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Iraq, or  Afghanistan). The aggression of others is always evil, ours always  justifiable, to the political right. That&#8217;s bad enough. But shame on ADL  in particular for now using our suffering in the Holocaust to justify  discrimination toward others, whether in Israel or in the U.S.</p>
<p>Actually, to those of us who take seriously the Torah command to &#8220;love  the stranger&#8221; (the Other), it seems clear that the rebuilding of Ground  Zero should include the construction of an interfaith center in which  all of the world&#8217;s religions could be represented, particularly that of  Islam as a way of affirming and supporting those many Muslims who do not  adopt an extreme anti-American or anti-Jewish perspective.</p>
<p>The American Jewish Committee tried to adopt a more nuanced position,  but wanted to withhold endorsement till they can establish that the  source of money for this building did not come from extremist elements  in the Muslim world. Yet how would we feel if construction of a Jewish  center was similarly conditional? Would money from those who support the  settlers or others who believe that Jews have a right to all of the  Biblical Land of Israel and have a right to use violence to achieve that  end be sufficient reason to prevent the construciton of a Jewish  center? Would a Church that received money from sources in the Christian  community that believed it appropriate to engage in violence to create  the world they wanted (e.g. to support a US military intervention in  Iran) be sufficient reason to deny them the right to build their  Christian center? I don&#8217;t think so.</p>
<p>No wonder, then, that we at Tikkun&#8211;seeking to build a world in which  animosities among religions can be dramatically reduced so that all of  us can recognize our common humanity (or what we Jews call &#8220;being  created in the image of God&#8221;) and recognize the immediate global  environmental emergency to overcome national and religious antagonisms  so that we can work together to save the planet and its peoples from  destruction&#8211;strongly endorse and support the construction of the Muslim  community center/mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero.</p>
<p>Shame on ADL and the American Jewish Committee for not understanding the  moral imperatives of this moment! They not only betray Jewish values  (&#8220;do not do unto others what you would not wish them to do to you&#8221;) and  American values (government should not interfere with the operations of  religious communities), they unintentionally but nevertheless certainly  increase the tensions between Jews and Muslims at a moment when all sane  people in both communities recognize the need to build bridges of  understanding, friendship and mutual caring as a prelude to supporting  peace in Israel. Given that both ADL and the AJCommittee have  consistently supported the most outrageous actions of the Israeli  government toward Palestinians, is it possible that unconsciously they  are taking these kinds of stands because they do not see the supreme  importance of creating caring and sensitivity to the needs of the  other?  Yet it is this sensitivity which is the necessary prerequisite  for a lasting peace with justice and security for both sides  in the  Middle East conflict. And that peace would be a major step toward  undermining the support that terrorists have been able to amass,  in  part because such a peace is absent.</p>
<p>Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine <a href="http://www.tikkun.org/" target="_blank">www.tikkun.org</a>, chair of the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives <a href="http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/" target="_blank">www.spiritualprogressives.org</a>,  rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in Berkeley, Ca. and author of eleven  books, most recently the national best-seller The Left Hand of God:  Taking Back our Country From the Religious Right.  If you wish to  support this kind of thinking, please <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&amp;c=diRcqUKPXLhoSdlYTwxZtcNk%2FowzmAB4" target="_blank">join our Network of Spiritual Progressives at www.spiritualprogressives.</a>org.</p>
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		<title>From My Mobile Phone Company &#8211; The Senate Failed Us</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/04/05/from-my-mobile-phone-company-the-senate-failed-us/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/04/05/from-my-mobile-phone-company-the-senate-failed-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:07:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[ACTION ITEM]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=964</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Senate has refused to lead the fight against climate change. President Obama can help. Now it&#8217;s up to Obama. Ask President Obama to use his executive powers to reduce carbon emissions. If the Senate won&#8217;t do its job, President Obama can and should. In a little noticed vote last week, Senators acting on behalf of the coal, utility, and&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/04/05/from-my-mobile-phone-company-the-senate-failed-us/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Moon Rise behind the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm" href="http://flickr.com/photos/28402283@N07/3186143355"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/3186143355_4840fb7620.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
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<td colspan="5"><a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r?r=11&amp;t=101&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x" target="_blank"><img style="width: 540px; height: 61px;" src="http://act.credoaction.com/images/email/credo_newsletter_header.gif" border="0" alt="CREDO Action: Tools for Change from Working Assets" /></a></td>
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<td width="518" valign="top" bgcolor="#ffffff"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></p>
<p style="overflow: hidden;"><a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=3234&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ff6319; font-size: medium;">The Senate has refused  to lead the fight against climate change. President Obama can help.</span></a></p>
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<td style="padding: 4px 10px;" bgcolor="#ff6319"><a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=3234&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=2" target="_blank"></a></p>
<div><span style="font-size: small; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #ffffff;"><a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=3234&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=2" target="_blank"><strong>Now it&#8217;s up to Obama.</strong></a></span></div>
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<td style="padding: 10px 10px 15px;" bgcolor="#ffffff"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #37424a;"> Ask President Obama to use his executive powers to reduce carbon emissions. If the Senate won&#8217;t do its job, President Obama can and should.</span></p>
<div><a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=3234&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=3" target="_blank"><img src="http://act.credoaction.com/images/email/credo_take-action.gif" border="0" alt="" width="130" height="27" /></a></div>
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<p>In a little noticed vote last week, Senators acting on behalf of the coal, utility, and auto industries have dealt a serious blow to serious progress on climate change. It&#8217;s time for President Obama to use his executive power through the Environmental Protection Agency and take action on global warming.Here&#8217;s what happened:  Republicans were joined by 26 Democrats in the Senate in a vote on a rule to ensure that the filibuster will be used to block meaningful climate legislation. Any truly effective bill will surely suffer death by filibuster because there are more than 40 Senators committed to deferring any real action on climate change that would threaten the coal, oil, and auto industries.</p>
<p>This betrayal by Democrats on one of the most important issues of our time is deeply disappointing. However, President Obama doesn&#8217;t need Congress&#8217; help to take a very important step: Regulating carbon.</p>
<p>During the Bush administration, EPA administrators rejected scientists&#8217; findings on the dangers of carbon. But on March 20, the Obama Administration&#8217;s EPA finally submitted a long-awaited &#8220;endangerment finding&#8221; to the White House. Now with this finding, President Obama can order the EPA to reduce carbon emissions, including those from coal burning utilities.</p>
<p>With the Senate dragging its feet on progress, the time for President Obama to act is now.</p>
<p style="overflow: hidden;"><strong><a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=3234&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=4" target="_blank">Click here to ask President Obama to approve the EPA endangerment finding and regulate carbon emissions now.</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Thank you</strong> for working to build a better world.</p>
<p>Kate Stayman-London, Campaign Manager<br />
<a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=1613&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=5" target="_blank">CREDO Action</a> from Working Assets</p>
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<td colspan="5"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://act.credoaction.com/r?r=21&amp;id=3340-1063051-MS7q3_x&amp;t=102" target="_blank"><img style="width: 538px; height: 69px;" src="http://act.credoaction.com/images/email/credo_newsletter_footer.gif" border="0" alt="Working Assets proudly introduces CREDO Mobile. Click to learn about our phones, rate plans and special offers." /></a></span></td>
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<p><a title="message for obama" href="http://flickr.com/photos/54759140@N00/3007746661"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/3007746661_e89c2b340f.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
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		<title>From The Mail Box &#8211; KBR</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/03/30/from-the-mail-box-kbr/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/03/30/from-the-mail-box-kbr/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:52:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=948</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An important victory for two lone IVAW members in Texas, Bryan Hannah and Greg Foster, who were able to get Hays County, Texas commissioners to reconsider doing business with former Halliburton subsidiary KBR. See second article for the latest from CNN on the way KBR fulfills its federal contracts in Iraq, in case you have somehow missed it. And here&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/03/30/from-the-mail-box-kbr/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Cadillac Ranch 02" href="http://flickr.com/photos/42306137@N00/115413770"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/34/115413770_040df5a6b2.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><big>An important victory for two lone IVAW members in Texas, Bryan Hannah and Greg Foster, who were able to get Hays County, Texas commissioners to reconsider doing business with former Halliburton subsidiary KBR. See second article for the latest from CNN on the way KBR fulfills its federal contracts in Iraq, in case you have somehow missed it.</big></p>
<p><big>And here is a link to a longer and more detailed article from San Marcos, that includes some of their testimony: <a href="http://www.newstreamz.com/2009/03/25/county-delays-kbr-pact-after-vets-protest/" target="_blank">http://www.newstreamz.com/2009/03/25/county-delays-kbr-pact-after-vets-protest/</a></big></p>
<p><big>Good work, Bryan and Greg!</big></p>
<p><big>Jeri</big></p>
<h1><big>Iraq vets may sink KBR contract in Texas county</big></h1>
<p><big><a href="http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&amp;date=20090327&amp;id=9736204" target="_blank">http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&amp;date=20090327&amp;id=9736204</a><br />
SAN ANTONIO (AP) &#8211; A small Texas county is rethinking a $617,000 contract with KBR Inc. to build a rural, mile-long road near the home of two anti-Iraq war veterans trying to stop the deal with the defense contractor.</big></p>
<p><big>KBR is the lone finalist for the Hays County project, but former soldiers Bryan Hannah, 22, and Gregory Foster, 28, helped put the approval in doubt after criticizing the company&#8217;s battered image at a commissioner&#8217;s court meeting in San Marcos this week.</big></p>
<p><big>That led a KBR official in attendance Tuesday to deny allegations of exposing U.S. soldiers to toxic chemicals and deadly showers in Iraq in order to save a contract for a small, four-lane road leading to a new suburban high school near Austin.</big></p>
<p><big>Commissioners say they&#8217;re now weighing KBR&#8217;s record and have delayed their decision until next month.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t have a lot of faith going in,&#8221; Hannah said. &#8220;But I saw how genuinely open and concerned they were.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Houston-based KBR, which oversees maintenance at most U.S. facilities in Iraq, has been criticized after soldiers there have been shocked or electrocuted while using showers or appliances. The family of one electrocuted soldier has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against KBR, which denies responsibility.</big></p>
<p><big>KBR, a popular target for opponents of the war, also faces a lawsuit from soldiers who allege the company knowingly exposed them to carcinogens while guarding an Iraqi water pumping plant.</big></p>
<p><big>Marit Babin, director of government relations for KBR, told the Democrat-controlled commissioner&#8217;s court the allegations were false.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;I would remind everyone that there are two sides to every story,&#8221; Babin said. &#8220;Just because you read something on the Internet doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s true.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Babin was partly addressing an article by a local news Web site, <a href="http://newstreamz.com/" target="_blank">newstreamz.com</a>, which had laid out allegations against KBR in a lengthy story about the county&#8217;s road project last month.</big></p>
<p><big>Hannah said he served with the 1st Calvary Division in Iraq for 15 months before his tour ended in January 2008. He is a self-described activist who proudly said he heckled John Ashcroft when the former U.S. attorney general spoke in Austin earlier this week. Hannah told commissioners he put his life on the line in Iraq to escort empty KBR trucks. Foster said the county shouldn&#8217;t give its money to KBR because of the way the company does business.</big></p>
<p><big>Commissioner Jeff Barton said the veterans made a powerful case.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;Firms should be held accountable,&#8221; Barton said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to prejudge, but I take very seriously the concerns that were raised.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Commissioners probably will decide whether to award KBR the contract April 7. KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said in an e-mail that the company is following up with the county and that KBR is &#8220;proud of the work it performs in Iraq.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</big></p>
<h1><big>Shoddy wiring &#8216;everywhere&#8217; on Iraq bases, Army inspector says</big></h1>
<div><big><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/26/military.electrocutions/" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/26/military.electrocutions/</a><br />
From Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein<br />
CNN Special Investigations Unit</big></div>
<p><big><strong>WASHINGTON (CNN) </strong>&#8211; Thousands of buildings at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan have such poorly installed wiring that American troops face life-threatening risks, a top inspector for the Army says.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;It was horrible &#8212; some of the worst electrical work I&#8217;ve ever seen,&#8221; said Jim Childs, a master electrician and the top civilian expert in an Army safety survey. Childs told CNN that &#8220;with the buildings the way they are, we&#8217;re playing Russian roulette.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Childs recently returned from Iraq, where he is taking part in a yearlong review aimed at correcting electrical hazards on U.S. bases. He told CNN that thousands of buildings in Iraq and Afghanistan are so badly wired that troops are at serious risk of death or injury.</big></p>
<p><big>He said problems are &#8220;everywhere&#8221; in Iraq, where 18 U.S. troops have died by electrocution since 2003. All deaths occurred in different circumstances and different locations, but many happened on U.S. bases being managed by various military contractors. The Army has has reopened investigations in at least five cases, according to Pentagon sources.</big></p>
<p><big>Of the nearly 30,000 buildings the Army&#8217;s &#8220;Task Force Safe&#8221; has examined so far, Childs said more than half &#8220;failed miserably.&#8221; And 8,527 had such serious problems that inspectors gave them a &#8220;flash&#8221; warning, meaning repairs had to be completed in four hours or the facility evacuated.</big></p>
<p><big>He said the majority of those buildings were wired by contractor KBR, based in Houston, Texas. KBR has faced extensive criticism from Congress over its performance in the war zone. KBR has defended its performance and argued it was not to blame for any fatalities.</big></p>
<p><big>Military electrocutions became a national issue about a year ago, after the January 2008 death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A decorated member of the Army&#8217;s Green Berets, Maseth was electrocuted in his shower at a U.S. base in Baghdad that once served as one of Saddam Hussein&#8217;s palaces.</big></p>
<p><big>His death was blamed on improper grounding and dangerous wiring on his living quarters. Soon after that, the Army asked Childs to help create &#8220;Task Force Safe,&#8221; a team of master electricians assigned to inspect Army posts for electrical dangers.</big></p>
<p><big>Childs said the &#8220;large majority&#8221; of the buildings the task force examined in <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Iraq" target="_blank">Iraq</a> had been wired by <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/KBR_Inc" target="_blank">KBR</a>, which he expected would follow American standards. But the results, he said, were &#8220;just horrible.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>In one building, &#8220;I had them pull a switch out of the wall to look at a switch, and when they pulled it out of the wall, the wires fell out of it,&#8221; Childs said. Thinking that was an exception, &#8220;We pulled the one next to it. They fell off,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was just very, very poor quality work.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Much of the work was done by crews from countries beyond Iraq, &#8220;with very little supervision by anybody.&#8221; And many of the problems involved improperly grounded systems that allowed plumbing to conduct electricity, which he said could lead to electric shocks such as the one that killed Maseth.</big></p>
<p><big>Childs said service orders on at least two occasions warned of the hazard in Maseth&#8217;s quarters, and &#8220;two simple electrical 101s&#8221; should have been checked out by electricians.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;A competent electrical contractor and electrician would have gone to that job site and tried to discover why pipes could have been energized,&#8221; he said. If they had been, &#8220;then Ryan Maseth would not have been electrocuted, in my opinion.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Maseth&#8217;s family is suing KBR. An <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/U_S_Army_Activities" target="_blank">Army</a> investigator has recommended that his cause of death be changed to &#8220;negligent homicide,&#8221; accusing the company of failing to properly supervise or inspect its work. The Army has yet to accept the recommendation.</big></p>
<p><big>KBR has repeatedly said it was not responsible for Maseth&#8217;s death or for any of the others and defended its work.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;KBR has worked diligently to address electrical issues when asked,&#8221; the company told CNN in a written statement. &#8220;What is important to remember is the challenging environment in which these issues exist.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;The electrical standards in Iraq are nowhere near those of Western or U.S. standards. Add to this the challenges that exist in a war zone. We have been and remain committed to fully cooperating with the government on this issue.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>But Childs said the majority of buildings on U.S. bases were built and wired by KBR since the U.S. invasion.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;They installed the housing units, they installed the electrical, they installed the wiring. They installed it all. And it&#8217;s wrong,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s all put in wrong.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>KBR was not alone, however. He said the Army survey found problems with every contractor whose work it inspected.</big></p>
<p><big>Task Force Safe has yet to inspect another 70,000 buildings in Iraq and has just begun its review of bases in <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Afghanistan" target="_blank">Afghanistan</a>, where contractors have raised similar concerns. In written answers to questions from CNN, Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib said, &#8220;We are correcting hazardous conditions every day.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;This is a huge undertaking but absolutely necessary for the life, health and safety of our service members and civilians,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When we find a defect, we put in an emergency work order and take action immediately to protect the people working or living in those facilities.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>But Childs told CNN he is surprised more Americans have not been hurt.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;All the potentials are there,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It just hasn&#8217;t happened.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>************************************************<br />
I can remember my time in the Navy after ship overhaul in the yards, we&#8217;d head out to sea and turn on the water and pipes would go flying and the HT&#8217;s would be working all night reworking everything the yard birds (contractors) did.  And this was common &#8211; does it ever change?</big></p>
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		<title>From The Mailbox &#8211; Oklahoma has highest increase in food yield</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/03/23/oklahoma-has-highest-increase-in-food-yild/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/03/23/oklahoma-has-highest-increase-in-food-yild/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=935</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From my wife Lysara: And speaking of eating local &#8211; OK had the greatest growth IN THE NAT Posted by: &#8220;Karen Cline&#8221; karen.cline@gmail.com englishsheps Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:46 am (PDT) Tricia Dameron has a blog at www.oklavore.com &#8211; but in this case she was blogging on &#8220;fresh greens&#8221; Excerpted: But here&#8217;s the kicker: In Oklahoma direct farm sales rose&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/03/23/oklahoma-has-highest-increase-in-food-yild/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/97831130@N00/2037906467"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2089/2037906467_dfdefbb637.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><big>From my wife Lysara:</big></p>
<div id=":wm" class="ii gt"><big>And speaking of eating local &#8211; OK had the greatest growth IN THE NAT<br />
Posted by: &#8220;Karen Cline&#8221; <a href="mailto:karen.cline@gmail.com">karen.cline@gmail.com</a> englishsheps<br />
Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:46 am (PDT)<br />
Tricia Dameron has a blog at <a href="http://www.oklavore.com/" target="_blank">www.oklavore.com</a> &#8211; but in this case she was<br />
blogging on &#8220;fresh greens&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Excerpted:</big></p>
<p><big>But here&#8217;s the kicker: In Oklahoma direct farm sales rose to $11.5 million<br />
from $3.7 million in 2002. *That&#8217;s an increase of 209%. *How does this<br />
compare with our neighbors? New Mexico: 70%; Texas: 51%; Arkansas: 44%;<br />
Missouri: 43%; Colorado: 30%; Kansas: 3%. In fact, *Oklahoma had the largest<br />
increase in the country!* The runner-up was Oregon with an increase of 163%.<br />
[Table 2&lt;<a href="http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/index.asp" target="_blank">http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/index.asp</a>&gt;]<br />
Venues for direct farm sales include farmers&#8217; markets, roadside stands,<br />
CSAs, pick-your-own sites, online sales, the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, and<br />
farm-to-school programs. So, what can we do to encourage this growth? Are<br />
there any public policy changes that would nurture a thriving local<br />
agricultural economy?</big></p>
<p><big>Here&#8217;s the link to the full article:<br />
<a href="http://freshgreens.typepad.com/fresh_greens/2009/03/census-of-agriculture.html" target="_blank">http://freshgreens.typepad.com/fresh_greens/2009/03/census-of-agriculture.html</a></big></div>
<p><big><img class="mL" src="http://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif" alt="" /></big></p>
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		<title>From The Mailbox &#8211; Turkey To Consider Israeli War Crimes</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/08/from-the-mailbox-turkey-to-consider-israeli-war-crimes/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/08/from-the-mailbox-turkey-to-consider-israeli-war-crimes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:51:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
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Brigade]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Yusuf Toropov]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Turkish prosecutors said Friday that they were investigating whether Israeli leaders should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity over the military offensive in the Gaza Strip.&#8221; &#60;&#60;&#60;SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS, FEB. 6, 2009&#62;&#62; http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/06/europe/EU-Turkey-Israel.php NEVER FORGET: SENIOR ISRAELIS ***MUST*** BE PROSECUTED FOR WAR CRIMES. CIRCULATE THEIR NAMES, IMAGES, AND THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR CRIMES (BELOW). Warning: the video links below are graphic.&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/08/from-the-mailbox-turkey-to-consider-israeli-war-crimes/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Domingo, 4 de Noviembre; Tres Palestinos muertos en el norte de la Franja de Gaza" href="http://flickr.com/photos/39696349@N00/1854679445"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2158/1854679445_a618c61d21.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><strong>&#8220;Turkish prosecutors said Friday that they were investigating whether Israeli leaders should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity over the military offensive in the Gaza Strip.&#8221;</strong></p>
<div>&lt;&lt;&lt;SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS, FEB. 6, 2009&gt;&gt;</div>
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<p><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/06/europe/EU-Turkey-Israel.php" target="_blank">http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/06/europe/EU-Turkey-Israel.php</a></p>
<p><strong>NEVER FORGET: SENIOR ISRAELIS ***MUST*** BE PROSECUTED FOR WAR CRIMES.</strong><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">CIRCULATE THEIR NAMES, IMAGES, AND THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR CRIMES</span></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <strong>(BELOW)</strong>.</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
Warning: the video links below are graphic. You don&#8217;t have to watch them, but if you oppose genocide, you do have an obligation to circulate this message.</p>
<p><strong>#1: Brigadier-General Eyal Eisenberg, mastermind of the Gaza operation that massacred hundreds of civilians.</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.kawther.info/ga2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&amp;g2_itemId=34937g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT" target="_blank">Here&#8217;s what he looks like.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.kawther.info/ga2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&amp;g2_itemId=34937g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT" target="_blank">http://www.kawther.info/ga2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&amp;g2_itemId=34937g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT</a><br />
<strong>HERE IS PROOF THAT HE COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY:<br />
</strong><a href="http://gazawarszawasghetto2009.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/war-crimes-by-israeli-forces-in-gaza-video-warning/" target="_blank">http://gazawarszawasghetto2009.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/war-crimes-by-israeli-forces-in-gaza-video-warning/</a></p>
<p><strong>#2: Commander Yigal Slovik, who led the 401st Armored Corps Brigade convoy in a systematic assault on civilian targets, resulting in the murders of infants like the one in the video below.<br />
</strong><a href="http://www.kawther.info/ga2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&amp;g2_itemId=33375g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT" target="_blank">Here&#8217;s what he looks like.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.kawther.info/ga2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&amp;g2_itemId=33375g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT" target="_blank">http://www.kawther.info/ga2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&amp;g2_itemId=33375g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT</a><br />
<strong>HERE IS PROOF THAT HE COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY:</strong><br />
<a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=gaza+war+crimes+guardian&amp;hl=en&amp;emb=0&amp;aq=f#q=gaza+war+crimes&amp;hl=en&amp;emb=0" target="_blank">http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=gaza+war+crimes+guardian&amp;hl=en&amp;emb=0&amp;aq=f#q=gaza+war+crimes&amp;hl=en&amp;emb=0</a></p>
<p><strong>#3: Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, Commander of Israeli air forces, who dropped white phosphorus on civilian areas in blatant violation of international law.</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.kawther.info/wpr/wp-content/uploads/maj-gen-ido-nehushtan-approved-as-new-iaf-commander.jpg%20" target="_blank">Here&#8217;s what he looks like.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.kawther.info/wpr/wp-content/uploads/maj-gen-ido-nehushtan-approved-as-new-iaf-commander.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.kawther.info/wpr/wp-content/uploads/maj-gen-ido-nehushtan-approved-as-new-iaf-commander.jpg</a><br />
<strong>HERE IS PROOF THAT HE COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY:<br />
</strong><a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=gaza+war+crimes+guardian&amp;hl=en&amp;emb=0&amp;aq=f#" target="_blank">http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=gaza+war+crimes+guardian&amp;hl=en&amp;emb=0&amp;aq=f#</a></p>
<p>Circulate the names and images of these senior Israeli officers NOW.</p>
<p>Sign this petition demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/sr8c1952/petition.html" target="_blank">http://www.petitiononline.com/sr8c1952/petition.html</a></p>
<p>FORWARD THIS MESSAGE.</p>
<p>Yusuf Toropov</p>
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		<title>From The Mailbox &#8211; Reconstruction Fraud in Iraq</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/02/from-the-mailbox-reconstruction-fraud-in-iraq/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/02/from-the-mailbox-reconstruction-fraud-in-iraq/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:59:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[From The Mail Box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baghdad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baghdad Governorate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bush administration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Claire
McCaskill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coalition Provisional Authority]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commission on Wartime Contracting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Condoleezza Rice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Department of State]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Webb]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karen DeYoung]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law
enforcement agencies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Missouri]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[news media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online contracting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Overall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Overall Inversiones SA SICAV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paul Converse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pentagon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Republican Palace]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard L. Armitage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert J. Stein Jr.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SIGIR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stuart W.
Bowen Jr.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Washington Post Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Truman Committee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States Agency for International Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Virginia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walter Pincus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Washington Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[White
House]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=821</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From Jeri You can access this report on line at this link: http://www.sigir.mil/hardlessons/default.aspx There is a button to buy as a book, but you can read it free on line by clicking the pdf links, or try this link: http://www.sigir.mil/hardlessons/pdfs/Hard_Lessons_Report.pdf Jeri Iraq Auditor Warns of Waste, Fraud In Afghanistan By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, February&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/02/from-the-mailbox-reconstruction-fraud-in-iraq/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><big>From Jeri</big></p>
<p><big>You can access this report on line at this link: <a href="http://www.sigir.mil/hardlessons/default.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.sigir.mil/hardlessons/default.aspx</a><br />
There is a button to buy as a book, but you can read it free on line by clicking the pdf links, or try this link:<br />
<a href="http://www.sigir.mil/hardlessons/pdfs/Hard_Lessons_Report.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.sigir.mil/hardlessons/pdfs/Hard_Lessons_Report.pdf</a></big></p>
<p><big>Jeri</big></p>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><big><strong>Iraq Auditor Warns of Waste, Fraud In Afghanistan</strong></big></span></p>
<p><span><big>By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus<br />
Washington Post Staff Writers<br />
Monday, February 2, 2009; A06<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020102225.html" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020102225.html</a><br />
</big></span></p>
<p><big>After five years of investigations and 250,000 pages of audits, Stuart W. Bowen Jr. wishes he could say that the $50 billion cost of the U.S. reconstruction effort in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iraq.html?nav=el" target="_blank">Iraq</a> was money accounted for and well spent.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;But that&#8217;s just not happened,&#8221; Bowen said.</big></p>
<p><big>Instead, the largest single-country relief and reconstruction project in U.S. history &#8212; most of it done by private U.S. contractors &#8212; was full of wasted funds, fraud and a lack of accountability under what Bowen, the congressionally mandated special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, calls an &#8220;ad hoc-racy&#8221; of lax or nonexistent government planning and supervision.</big></p>
<p><big>And despite the Iraq experience, he said, the United States is making many of the same mistakes again in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/afghanistan.html?nav=el" target="_blank">Afghanistan</a>, where U.S. reconstruction expenditures stand at more than $30 billion and counting.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;It&#8217;s too late to do the structural part and make it quickly applicable to Afghanistan,&#8221; Bowen said in an interview last week. None of the substantive changes in oversight, contracting and reconstruction planning or personnel assignments that Congress, auditors and outside experts proposed as the Iraq debacle unfolded has been implemented in Afghanistan.</big></p>
<p><big>But President Obama could take several steps to mitigate future damage, Bowen said. They include devoting more attention to military and civilian personnel and to reconstruction and relief assignments, and taking advantage of the expertise developed through hard-won experience in Iraq. Instead of the &#8220;multiple versions&#8221; of the federal acquisition regulations adopted and amended by &#8220;multiple agencies&#8221; operating in Iraq, Obama &#8220;could just issue a FAR regulation applicable to Afghanistan that everyone will follow&#8221; in issuing and supervising contracts, he said.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;To bring this all together,&#8221; Bowen said, &#8220;the president should order a Red Cell,&#8221; a high-level group drawing from the departments of State and Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development that would turn Obama&#8217;s orders into action.</big></p>
<p><big>Bowen&#8217;s office, known as SIGIR, is releasing a book today that recounts the Iraq experience and suggests how to avoid future mistakes. &#8220;Hard Lessons&#8221; is being published as the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting holds its first public hearing. Created by Congress last year, the commission will examine expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan and propose solutions for &#8220;systemic&#8221; problems that waste taxpayer dollars.</big></p>
<p><big>Legislation to create the commission was introduced by Democratic Sens. James Webb (Va.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and was inspired by the &#8220;Truman Committee,&#8221; which conducted hundreds of hearings and investigations into government waste during and after World War II.</big></p>
<p><big>&#8220;Hard Lessons,&#8221; a draft of which was leaked to the news media in December, concludes that the U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq was a failure, largely because there was no overall strategy behind it. Goals shifted from &#8220;liberation&#8221; and an early military exit to massive, ill-conceived and expensive building projects under the Coalition Provisional Authority of 2003 and 2004. Many of those projects &#8212; over budget, poorly executed or, often, barely begun &#8212; were abandoned as security worsened.</big></p>
<p><big>In a preface to the 456-page book, Bowen writes that he knew the reconstruction was in trouble when he first visited Iraq in January 2004 and saw duffel bags full of cash being carried out of the Republican Palace, which housed the U.S. occupation government.</big></p>
<p><big>Security was a constant problem, not only for military and civilian officials serving in Iraq but also for SIGIR. Auditor Paul Converse was killed in March during a rocket attack in Baghdad, following a year in which five other SIGIR employees were wounded.</big></p>
<p><big>The book recounts, in colorful detail based on SIGIR interviews with nearly all the principals, the deep divisions during the same period between the Pentagon, under Donald H. Rumsfeld; the State Department under Colin L. Powell; and the White House office of national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage recounts an argument between Rumsfeld and Rice in the fall of 2003 during which each said the other was in charge of supervising the Coalition Provisional Authority.</big></p>
<p><big>The book also includes numerous demonstrations of the Bush administration&#8217;s lack of preparation to run Iraq after the March 2003 invasion. In one previously publicized case recounted in &#8220;Hard Lessons,&#8221; Bowen&#8217;s auditors discovered a cash disbursement of $57.8 million by the CPA to the U.S. comptroller for south-central Iraq. &#8220;Pallet upon pallet of hundred-dollar bills&#8221; were removed from the CPA vault in Baghdad and driven to the regional office in two unarmored SUVs. There, the local acting comptroller, Robert J. Stein Jr., who later was convicted for money laundering and fraud, had himself photographed with mountains of cash.</big></p>
<p><big>Overall, SIGIR and other law enforcement agencies have obtained 35 convictions, including two major bribery schemes involving $14 million solicited by U.S. military officers who ran Kuwait-based units contracting for the billions of dollars in supplies sent to Iraq.</big></p>
<p><big>SIGIR also reported on the inability of Iraqi firms to compete with U.S. contractors, due in part to the complicated U.S. bidding system: &#8220;Online contracting, which frequently entailed bids of more than a hundred pages, bewildered Iraqi contractors who were used to sealing a business deal with just a handshake.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>When he took the job five years ago, Bowen said, &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know that we didn&#8217;t have a system to protect our interests abroad in post-conflict or contingency operations. . . . It would have been a much funner job to issue 250 reports on how well our rebuilding program went . . . and that the money was well accounted for and that we&#8217;re leaving Iraq a peaceful and democratic place and nonviolent country.&#8221;</big></p>
<p><big>Given that $4 billion in appropriated U.S. reconstruction funds remain unspent in Iraq, Bowen&#8217;s work is not likely to end anytime soon.</big></p>
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		<title>From The Mailbox &#8211; This is Funny</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/01/from-the-mailbox-this-is-funny/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/01/from-the-mailbox-this-is-funny/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:35:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[From The Mail Box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=817</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From Valerie America has a rich tradition putting our most honored leaders on its currencies. George Washington, our nation&#8217;s first president and leader of the American Revolution. Abe Lincoln, our most honorable leader pull our nation through its darkest time. Alexander Hamilton, founding father, first secretary of the treasury and leader of the constitutional convention. Andrew Jackson, &#8220;Old Hickory&#8221; fought the&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/02/01/from-the-mailbox-this-is-funny/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><big>From Valerie</big></p>
<p><big>America has a rich tradition putting our most honored leaders on its currencies.</big></p>
<p><big>George Washington, our nation&#8217;s first president and leader of the American Revolution.</big></p>
<p><big><img style="border: 0px solid;" src="../../politics/image001.jpg" alt="" width="652" height="284" /></big></p>
<p><big>Abe Lincoln, our most honorable leader pull our nation through its darkest time.</big></p>
<p><big><img style="border: 0px solid;" src="../../politics/image002.jpg" alt="5 dollar bill.jpg" width="656" height="279" /></big></p>
<p><big>Alexander Hamilton, founding father, first secretary of the treasury and leader of the constitutional convention.</big></p>
<p><big><img style="border: 0px solid;" src="../../politics/image003.jpg" alt="" width="652" height="280" /></big></p>
<p><big>Andrew Jackson, &#8220;Old Hickory&#8221; fought the British in New Orleans .</big></p>
<p><big><img src="../../politics/image004.jpg" alt="" width="652" height="280" /></big></p>
<p><big>Ulysses Grant, Union army general, lead the North through the Civil War.</big></p>
<p><big><img style="border: 0px solid;" src="../../politics/image005.jpg" alt="50 dollar bill new.jpg" width="651" height="265" /></big></p>
<p><big>Ben Franklin, Genius inventor, political theorist and leading author of the constitution.</big></p>
<p><big><img style="border: 0px solid;" src="../../politics/image006.jpg" alt="" width="652" height="281" /></big></p>
<p><big>Finally, we have someone to put on the food stamp!!!!!!!</big></p>
<p><big>G.W. Bush – Started a bogus war, ruined the economy, lowered our status in the world – but he’s cute</big></p>
<p><big><img style="border: 0px solid; width: 611px; height: 260px;" src="../../politics/image007.jpg" alt="" /></big></p>
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		<title>From The Mailbox &#8211; Israel May Be Held Accountable</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/01/31/from-the-mailbox-israel-may-be-held-accountable/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/01/31/from-the-mailbox-israel-may-be-held-accountable/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:41:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[From The Mail Box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No War]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amnesty International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaza]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaza Province]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GLOBE AND MAIL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mozambique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[php]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkish court]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=812</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[FROM: yusuf.toropov NEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, COMPLETE WITH LINKS FOR WARY US LIBERALS: The US has publicly called for an investigation of the Gaza operation. (SOURCE: REUTERS) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE50S71K20090129 Spain has begun court proceedings on 2002 war crimes charges against Israelis. (SOURCE: EL PAIS) http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_19851.shtml Two separate UN investigations are underway, and a Turkish court is now considering the 2008/2009&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2009/01/31/from-the-mailbox-israel-may-be-held-accountable/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><big><strong>FROM:  yusuf.toropov</strong></p>
<p><strong>NEWS FROM THE REAL WORLD, COMPLETE WITH LINKS FOR WARY US LIBERALS: </strong></p>
<p>The US has publicly called for an investigation of the Gaza operation. (SOURCE: REUTERS)<br />
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE50S71K20090129" target="_blank">http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE50S71K20090129</a></p>
<p>Spain has begun court proceedings on 2002 war crimes charges against Israelis. (SOURCE: EL PAIS)<br />
<a href="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_19851.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_19851.shtml</a></p>
<p>Two separate UN investigations are underway, and a Turkish court is now considering the 2008/2009 war crimes case against Israel. (SOURCE: WORLD BULLETIN)<br />
<a href="http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=35841" target="_blank">http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=35841</a></p>
<p>An Amnesty International official says, <strong>&#8220;Those [Israelis] giving the orders (in Gaza), and even those pulling the trigger, should not plan on taking any overseas holidays&#8221;</strong> &#8230; because of the increasingly inevitable possibility that they will face criminal charges in foreign courts. (SOURCE: TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL)<br />
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090131.wgazacrimes31/BNStory/International/home" target="_blank">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090131.wgazacrimes31/BNStory/International/home</a></big></p>
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		<title>From The Mailbox &#8211; My Reply &#8211; Something I Believe</title>
		<link>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2008/11/30/from-the-mailbox-my-reply-something-i-believe/</link>
		<comments>http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2008/11/30/from-the-mailbox-my-reply-something-i-believe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:44:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shepard Ofpeace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Dreams]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Just Me]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Catholic Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iraq]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kkk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ku Klux Klan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://peacefulvet.info/blog/?p=612</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I get a lot of email (not just junk mail &#8211; we all get that, gmail is very good about filtering that out).? I spend hours daily going thru my mail and am never able to read it all.? Most recently I have started to receive email from people wishing to convert me to Christian (once they discover I am&#8230; <a href="http://peacefulvet.info/blog/2008/11/30/from-the-mailbox-my-reply-something-i-believe/">(more...)</a>]]></description>
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<p><big>I get a lot of email (not just junk mail &#8211; we all get that, gmail is very good about filtering that out).? I spend hours daily going thru my mail and am never able to read it all.? Most recently I have started to receive email from people wishing to convert me to Christian (once they discover I am not) and Muslim.? I even get email from one individual who wants us all to believe that the Catholic Church is really evil.? While he does offer a lot of factual news articles, well, I&#8217;m sorry.? While it may be true that one church might be better or worse than others, or one religion worse or better than others, it is not my place to judge this and I won&#8217;t go there, I find such things a waste of my productive time and because he has no option to unsubscribe from his list, I will have to add him to my spam list.</big></p>
<p><big>To you who are religious like myself but might belong to a religion unlike me, feel free to share, it&#8217;s ok, I&#8217;m curious, I like to learn, and even to evangelize may be apart of your religion and that&#8217;s ok too, I don&#8217;t mind, but be careful not to try to convince me that you have the corner on truth, I assure you, <strong>YOU DON&#8217;T</strong>.</big></p>
<blockquote><p><big>****</big></p>
<p><big><big>I have read the bible, I have also read all the Gnostic scriptures, the teachings of Confucius, the Hopi legends, Jewish Apocrypha not included in the bible and about half of the Koran.? Next I plan to tackle the book of the dead, Egyptian scriptures. &#8220;All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof , for correction, and for training in righteousness,&#8221;</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>**** &#8211; You should not say that my testimony or beliefs cannot be found in the bible.? I can remember being told that the Catholic&#8217;s teaching about purgatory was not scriptural and that&#8217;s what I told a Catholic Priest one day who was happy to show it to me in the bible.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>The KKK uses scriptures to justify their actions and the early settlers actually quoted scriptures as they were throwing Indians into the fire.? Hitler was scriptural too and so was Bush in his decision in attacking Iraq.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>You see, you can make that bible say almost anything you want, you just have to find the right scriptures.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>But I&#8217;m not going to waste my time or yours throwing scriptures back and forth trying to prove something.? Because the real word of God is in the heart not on a piece of paper.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>You ask your heart, was we all born on this earth to die and go to hell unless we are saved?? If you tell me that your heart agrees with that, then I think you&#8217;re lying to me or you have manipulated you&#8217;re own heart to accept beliefs that it could not.</big></big></p>
<div class="Ih2E3d">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"><p><big><big>With all due respect, that usually<br />
happens when a person follows hearsay, what was heard<br />
in church rather than what was read in God&#8217;s word.</big></big></p></blockquote>
</div>
<p><big><big>****, you didn&#8217;t read my testimony.? But I&#8217;ll tell you what, I&#8217;ll shorten it for you.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>For the longest time I searched for salvation, I joined several churches, been baptized a couple times. I was looking for truth or true salvation.? I spent many years, Pentecostal, Bible Churches, Catholic and the last was Mormon.? One day I woke up and asked myself, who condemned me?? Who made me believe that if I wasn&#8217;t saved I would go to hell, that&#8217;s nuts. What kind of God would create something just to send it to hell?? So I discarded all of my beliefs and started over and I studied all the major religions and decided that Gnosticism was the most true and it was then that I had this dream:</big></big></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: #000000;"><big><big><big><big>THE DREAM</big></big></big></big></span><span style="font-weight: normal; color: #077700;"><big><big><big><big></big></big></big></big></span></p>
<p><big><big><big><big>With out question, thought or prayer<br />
For no reason what-so-ever I had this dream one night<br />
I saw nothing, but only heard a voice<br />
A?voice that was both male and female.<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">&#8220;It is true that the body is made by the false god</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /> <span style="font-style: italic;"> But the false god also creates the soul</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /> <span style="font-style: italic;">This continues to happen</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /> <span style="font-style: italic;">But God takes you and makes you unto himself</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /> <span style="font-style: italic;">As if you were a ball of clay</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /> <span style="font-style: italic;">And makes you His own</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /> <span style="font-style: italic;">This process takes time.&#8221;</span><br />
I woke up</big></big></big></big></p>
<p><big><big>**** &#8211; To understand this dream a little more you&#8217;d have to have an understanding of Gnosticism.? But no matter, because this dream is actually saying that Gnosticism is wrong.? And you know what, I don&#8217;t know a single religion that believes what&#8217;s in that dream, and you know something else, I don&#8217;t know of any religion that teaches that we came from heaven (that&#8217;s in my testimony) except Mormonism.? But they teach that you can&#8217;t remember, but I do remember.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>So I have my beliefs that I didn&#8217;t just make up nor did anybody teach them to me and I&#8217;m all alone without a church or religion, but you know what, I don&#8217;t care.? And I&#8217;m not going to try to prove to you or anybody else my beliefs, because I don&#8217;t have to, I don&#8217;t doubt what I believe.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>Like you, my father believed I was being deceived and I disowned him because of it and he died shortly after and I felt a little bad about it.? But you know my dad did a lot of bad things in his lifetime.? You know what, he never said he was sorry.? Two words &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry.&#8221;? would have fixed a whole lot of hurt, but he believed he didn&#8217;t have to because conveniently Jesus died for his sins so he didn&#8217;t have to.? I think he will discover that he was mistaken.? I figure he will be sent down here again to try it again to see if he gets it right, and that don&#8217;t mean to live a perfect life, but say &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry.&#8221;</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>So now that you know a little bit more about what I believe, you can believe it to or disbelieve it, that&#8217;s up to you.? But you are not going to make me disbelieve what I believe even if I&#8217;m the only person in the world who believes it.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>Sincerely,</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>Roger</big></big></p></blockquote>
<p><big><big>*******************************</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>So what do I know.  I know that salvation is a process and that I&#8217;m not going to hell and that&#8217;s all I know. </big></big></p>
<p><big><big>So what is the true God and the false god and does the life and death of Jesus have anything to do with this process, I DON&#8217;T KNOW!</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>So I don&#8217;t know a lot and have lots of questions, I do have some ideas and let me explain here and now, religion is faith in things unseen, things that cannot be proven, or unproven, so all you people who spend your days trying to disprove or prove religion, it disappoints me that I live in a world that is so ignorant &#8211; but good luck with that, you who have so little faith that you must defend it and you who have no faith and must justify it.? You both have much to learn.? Learn to be confident in your own beliefs rather than steal your confidence from the destruction of others, this is disappointing.<br />
</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>But I will share this one idea I do have, as I believe it does have the backing of logic.  I believe that the God that created the earth, the birds, trees, flowers, the fish and the bees and all other living things on this earth is not the same god who created us.  And this is why I believe this.  All other life is a part of a natural order that sustains each other on this earth maintaining this earth for a very long time. However, we are different.  We go against the natural order on this earth and may very well be someday it&#8217;s destruction.  We create great things like no other animal on this earth and some scriptures actually refer to us as gods.  Some have argued with me that we are just like all the other animals on this earth and while I think that is a very nice idea, they miss the obvious and do not recognize how we are so much different than all the other animals on this earth.  That being said, that&#8217;s what I believe and if you wish to discuss this with me further, you are more than welcome.</big></big></p>
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