In Dayton, Ohio each year there is a celebration commemorating  the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords which ended the war in Bosnia, one of 6 republics of Yugoslavia. That  U.S.- brokered agreement has been praised because it stopped the killing in Bosnia. While that is true, less well known but vastly more important, is the fact that the U.S. was mainly responsible for starting that war. This connection is somewhat analogous to destroying Iraq and then seeking praise for plans to rebuild it.  The word “Dayton” is now ensconced in the annals of U.S. imperialism.

Outside military intervention in Bosnia started in 1992 when NATO, controlled by the U.S., sent a group of about 100 personnel to Bosnia to establish a military headquarters. A NATO diplomat at that time let the cat out of the bag about the real reason for that action when he said that this operation was “a very cautious first step and we are definitely not making much noise about it.  But it could be the start of something bigger…you could argue that NATO now has a foot in the door.”  

Talk of censure and impeachment has begun swirling around President Bush.  Can Vice President Cheney come to the rescue?  He will do so if enough of Bush's opponents adopt the position of this Philadelphia Daily News op-ed writer http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/13513578.htm -- the position that impeaching Bush would be a mistake, since Cheney is worse than Bush.

That position is already fairly widespread on the left in the United States, and is typical of the left in the United States.  Why must we get five steps ahead of ourselves in order to fantasize about defeat, precisely at the moment when we should be on the attack? 

The Republicans impeached Clinton over his sex life without any hesitation.  They did not remove him from office, of course.  No one has ever (nonviolently) removed a president from office.  But the impeachment of Clinton destroyed most of what little was left of a Democratic Party. 

Can there be any doubt that if the White House finds out who leaked the story of its illegal spying, fierce retribution will follow? 

Another way of asking that question is: Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?

Remember what happened to Ambassador Joseph Wilson?  The White House leaked to the media his wife's identity as an undercover agent for the CIA, putting her life and those of her colleagues in danger and ending her career.

And let us recall what became of General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, who dared to accurately predict how many troops would be needed to occupy Iraq.  Defense Department officials leaked the name of his replacement 14 months before his retirement, rendering him a lame duck commander and embarrassing and neutralizing the Army's top officer.

You might be the one to help us crack this case.

At issue: A YES-NO question: Do Diebold touch-screens have a problem similar to that identified in the Black Box Voting project in Leon County, Florida -- the devastating hack of the Diebold optical scan system. Just a YES-NO question.

Black Box Voting has now obtained certain NEW specific information indicating that the answer with the touch-screens will be ?YES.? One of our researchers has identified an interpreter, which appears to be specifically prohibited by 2002 FEC standards, inside a Diebold touchscreen system.

What is needed now is to confirm this finding with a "pedigreed" Diebold touch-screen system ? ie., one to which we are given legitimate access with one of our publicly known experts. We will have to show that what our protected source has found is also present in a system delivered by Diebold for use in actual elections. This cannot be a stolen system, a specially souped-up system (i.e. one that Diebold chooses), or a system used without authorization of its custodians.

This was an absolutely clear and wonderfully written article. Until the US of A does away with the death penalty, we will continue to be a nation that is involved in wars.....