Flyby News Home - Flyby News Archives - Casinni NoFlyby - Flyby Links

Flyby  News

"News Fit to Transmit in the Post Cassini Flyby Era"




Kerry-Bush Debate * KucinichMooreAction * SpaceWar


03 October 2004

"We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression,
while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace."


George W. Bush

UN Speech Sept 2004

1) Kerry-Bush September 28, 2004 Debate
2) Kucinich: "It's Time to Close Ranks"

- - 5 Easy things to do to dump Bush as US President
- - Kerry Film ~ "Going Upriver"
3) All's Fair in Space War

Editor's Notes:


There is no current campaign as important for world security than ending the reign of George W. Bush. Item 1 begins with excerpts of the debate last Thursday night. This was the first time for many to listen to John Kerry besides from sound bites. And for many, finally, differences between the two major US Presidential Candidates could be witnessed. John Kerry is offering some possibility for hope, for peace in the Mid East by removing the US-corporate claws from the Iraq region:

"I will make a flat statement. The United States of America has no long-term designs on
staying in Iraq. And our goal, in my administration, would be to get all of the troops out
of there with the minimal amount you need for training and logistics, as we do in some
other countries in the world after a war, to be able to sustain the peace."


– John Kerry
(Sept. 28, 2004)

Too many innocent people are dying:

"More Than 100 Killed As U.S. Forces Storm Iraqi Town: Doctors at Samarra's hospital said 47 bodies were brought in, including 11 women, five children and seven old men. Staff could cope with no more wounded and bodies lay in the streets.

MORE IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED BY U.S. FORCES THAN BY INSURGENTS

Too many new insurgents are created by a ruthless and inhumane behavior.

Too many sacrificing brave soldiers of the US are being put into harm's way by a misleading administration, lost in its own rhetoric in a strange brew of fear, greed, and religion. All this while pushing the arms race and carbon dioxide into our atmosphere beyond reason.

Item 2 is an article by Dennis Kucinich, Michael Moore on actions you can take to make a difference, and a review and link on John Kerry's Vietnam War/Peace documentary film, "Going Upriver." Item 3 is on the US plan to dominate space. To counter this particular issue has been a focus for Flyby News since NASA's high risk Cassini-Earth Flyby in 1999. It is time to look to the higher ground in terms of peace and democracy, rather than accelerating economic and environmental plunder.


******************************************************************
Please note, updated @ FlybyNews.com
under Campaigns * Actions * Events

The next FN-sponsored program features Greg Palast's new film:


BUSH FAMILY FORTUNES - The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

This 70 minute long documentary follows award-winning reporter-sleuth Greg Palast on the trail of the Bush family, from Florida election finagling, to the Saudi connection, to the Bush team’s spiking the FBI investigation of the bin Laden family and the secret State Department plans for post-war Iraq. And more..

BUSH FAMILY FORTUNES - The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Will be presented at the Keene (NH) Public Library ~ Auditorium
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 7:00 to 9:00 pm



POST ELECTION FLYBY NEWS MUSIC~POETRY BENEFIT
Saturday, November 6, 2004 - 7 ~ 10:00 pm
at
THE BLACK SHEEP DELI
{South Main Street, Amherst, MA}
featuring:
Annie Hassett
Diana Allen
Jonathan Mark
plus surprise guests - music jam - bring instruments
{Suggested donation $5 - $20}



1) Kerry-Bush September 28, 2004 Debate

Part I: Securing America in a Post-9/11 World
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/debates/1stdebate/part1.html

[Excerpt]

MR. LEHRER: New question. Mr. President, two minutes. Do you believe the election of Senator Kerry on November the 2nd would increase the chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I don't believe it's going to happen. I believe I'm going to win, because the American people know I know how to lead. I've shown the American people I know how to lead. I have -- I understand everybody in this country doesn't agree with the decisions that I've made. And I've made some tough decisions.

But people know where I stand. People out there listening know what I believe, and that's how best it is to keep the peace.

This nation of ours has got a solemn duty to defeat this ideology of hate. And that's what they are; this is a group of killers who will not only kill here, but kill children in Russia; that will attack unmercifully in Iraq hoping to shake our will. We have a duty to defeat this enemy. We have a duty to protect our children and grandchildren. The best way to defeat them is to never waver, to be strong, to use every asset at our disposal; is to constantly stay on the offensive, and at the same time spread liberty. And that's what people are seeing now is happening in Afghanistan. Ten million citizens have registered to vote. It's a phenomenal statistic; that if given a chance to be free, they will show up at the polls. Forty-one percent of those 10 million are women.

In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. You know why? Because an enemy realizes the stakes. The enemy understands a free Iraq will be a major defeat in their ideology of hatred. That's why they're fighting so vociferously.

They showed up in Afghanistan when they were there because they tried to beat us and they didn't, and they're showing up in Iraq for the same reason. They're trying to defeat us. And if we lose our will, we lose; but if we remain strong and resolute, we will defeat this enemy.

MR. LEHRER: Ninety-second response, Senator Kerry.

SEN. KERRY: I believe in being strong and resolute and determined, and I will hunt down and kill the terrorists wherever they are. But we also have to be smart, Jim. And smart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and taking it off to Iraq, where the 9/11 commission confirms there was no connection to 9/11 itself and Saddam Hussein, and where the reason for going to war was weapons of mass destruction, not the removal of Saddam Hussein.

This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment, and judgment is what we look for in the president of the United States of America. I'm proud that important military figures are supporting me in this race. Former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili. Just yesterday, General Eisenhower's son, General John Eisenhower, endorsed me. General -- Admiral William Crowe, General Tony McPeak, who ran the Air Force war so effectively for his father, all believe I would make a stronger commander in chief.

And they believe it because they know I would not take my eye off of the goal: Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, he escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best-trained in the world to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords that he outsourced that job to.

That's wrong.

MR. LEHRER: New question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry. Colossal misjudgments. What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in these areas?

SEN. KERRY: Well, where do you want me to begin?

First of all, he made the misjudgment of saying to America that he was going to build a true alliance, that he would exhaust the remedies of the United Nations and go through with the inspections. In fact, he first didn't even want to do that. And it wasn't until former Secretary of State Jim Baker and General Scowcroft and others pushed publicly and said, You got to go to the U.N., that the president finally changed his mind -- his campaign has a word for that -- and went to the United Nations.

Now, once there, we could have continued those inspections. We had Saddam Hussein trapped.

He also promised America that he would go to war as a last resort. Those words mean something to me, as somebody who's been in combat: last resort. You've got to be able to look in the eyes of families and say to those parents, "I tried to do everything in my power to prevent the loss of your son and daughter." I don't believe the United States did that. And we pushed our allies aside. And so, today, we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost -- $200 billion -- $200 billion that could have been used for health care, for schools, for construction, for prescription drugs for seniors. And it's in Iraq.

And Iraq is not even the center of the focus of the war on terror; the center is Afghanistan, where, incidentally, there were more Americans killed last year than the year before; where the opium production is 75 percent of the world's opium production; where 40 to 60 percent of the economy of Afghanistan is based on opium; where the elections have been postponed three times. The president moved the troops so he's got ten times the number of troops in Iraq than he has in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden is. Does that mean that Saddam Hussein was ten times more important than Osama bin -- than -- excuse me -- Saddam Hussein more important that Osama bin Laden? I don't think so.

Part II: Homeland Security

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/debates/1stdebate/part2.html


Part III: Winning the Peace in Iraq, the Case for War and Pre-war Diplomacy
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/debates/1stdebate/part3.html

[Excerpt]

SEN. KERRY: What I think troubles a lot of people in our country is that the president has just sort of described one kind of mistake, but what he has said is that even knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction, even knowing there was no imminent threat, even knowing there was no connection of al Qaeda, he would still have done everything the same way. Those are his words.

Now I would not. So what I'm trying to do is just talk the truth to the American people and to the world. The truth is what good policy is based on. It's what leadership is based on.

The president says that I'm denigrating these troops. I -- I have nothing but respect for the British and for Tony Blair and for what they've been willing to do. But you can't tell me that when the most troops any other country has on the ground is Great Britain with 8,300, and below that the four others are below 4,000, and below that there isn't anybody out of the hundreds that we have a genuine coalition to get this job done. You can't tell me that on the day that we went into that war and it started it was principally the United States of the America and Great Britain and one or two others. That's it. And today we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the costs.

And meanwhile, North Korea has gotten nuclear weapons. Talk about mixed messages! The president is the one who said we can't allow countries to get nuclear weapons. They have. I'll change that.


JIM LEHRER: New question. Mr. President, two minutes. Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost in American lives, 10,052 -- I mean, 1,052 as of today?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Now every life's precious. Every life matters. You know, my hardest -- the hardest part of the job is to know that I committed the troops in harm's way and then do the best I can to provide comfort for the loved ones who lost a son or a daughter or a husband and wife.

And you know, I think about -- Missy Johnson's a fantastic young lady I met in Charlotte, North Carolina, she and her son, Bryan. They came to see me. Her husband, P.J., got killed. He'd been in Afghanistan, went to Iraq. You know, it's hard work to try to love her as best as I can, knowing full well that the decision I made caused her -- her loved one to be in harm's way.

I told her after we prayed and teared up and laughed some that I thought her husband's sacrifice was noble and worthy because I understand the stakes of this war on terror. I understand that we must find al Qaeda wherever they hide; we must deal with threats before they fully materialize, and Saddam Hussein was a threat; and that we must spread liberty because, in the long run, the way to defeat hatred and tyranny and oppression is to spread freedom.

Missy understood that. That's what she told me her husband
understood.

So you say, was it worth it? This wasn't -- it's -- it's -- every life is precious. That's what distinguishes us from the enemy.

Everybody matters. But I think it's worth it, Jim. I think it's worth it because I think -- I know in the long term a free Iraq, a free Afghanistan will set such a powerful example in a part of the world that's desperate for freedom. They will help change the world, that we can look back and say we did our duty.


MR. LEHRER: ..Senator Kerry, can you give us specifics in terms of a scenario, a timeline, et cetera, for ending U.S. -- major U.S. military involvement in Iraq?

SEN. KERRY: The timeline that I've set out -- and again, I want to correct the president because he's misled again this evening on what I've said.

I didn't say I would bring troops out in six months, I said if we do the things that I've set out and we are successful, we could begin to draw the troops down in six months. And I think a critical component of success in Iraq is being able to convince the Iraqis and the Arab world that the United States doesn't have long-term designs on it. As I understand it, we're building some 14 military bases there now, and some people say they've got a rather permanent concept to them. When you guard the Oil Ministry but you don't guard the nuclear facilities, the message to a lot of people is maybe -- well, maybe they're interested in our oil.

Now, the problem is that they didn't think these things through properly, and these are the things you have to think through.

What I want to do is change the dynamics on the ground. And you have to do that by beginning to not back off of Fallujahs and other places and send the wrong message to the terrorists. You have to close the borders. You've got to show you're serious in that regard. But you've also got to show that you're prepared to bring the rest of the world in and share the stakes.

I will make a flat statement. The United States of America has no long-term designs on staying in Iraq. And our goal, in my administration, would be to get all of the troops out of there with the minimal amount you need for training and logistics, as we do in some other countries in the world after a war, to be able to sustain the peace.

Part IV: Pre-emption, North Korea and International Alliances
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/debates/1stdebate/part4.html

[Excerpt]

MR. LEHRER: Mr. President, does the Iraq experience make it more likely or less likely that you would take the United States into another preemptive military action?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I would hope I'd never have to. I understand how hard it is to commit troops. I never wanted to commit troops. I never -- when I was running -- when we had the debate in 2000, I never dreamt I'd be doing that. But the enemy attacked us, Jim, and -- ah -- I have a solemn duty to protect the American people, to do everything I can to protect us. I think that by speaking clearly and doing what we say and not sending mixed messages, it is less likely we'll ever have to use troops. But a president must always be willing to use troops and must -- as a last resort. The, ah --

I was hopeful diplomacy would work in Iraq. It was falling apart. There was no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was hoping that the world would turn a blind eye. And if he had been in power -- in other words, if he said let's let the inspectors work or let's, you know, hope to talk him out, maybe that the 18th resolution would work, he would have been stronger and tougher, and the world would have been a lot worse off. There's just no doubt in my mind. We would rue the day had we -- if Saddam Hussein had been in power.

So we use diplomacy every chance we get, believe me. And I -- I would hope to never have to use force. But by speaking clearly and sending messages that we mean what we say we've affected the world in a positive way. Look at Libya. Libya was a threat. Libya is now peacefully dismantling its weapons programs. Libya understood that America and others will enforce doctrine, and the world is better for it.

So in answer to your question, I would hope we'd never have to. I think by acting firmly and decisively, it'll mean it's less likely we use -- less likely we have to use force.

MR. LEHRER: Senator Kerry, 90 seconds.

SEN. KERRY: Jim, the president just said something extraordinarily revealing and, frankly, very important in this debate. In answer to your question about Iraq and sending people into Iraq, he just said the enemy attacked us. Saddam Hussein didn't attack us; Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al Qaeda attacked us. And when we had Osama bin Laden cornered in the mountains of Tora Bora, 1,000 of his cohorts with him in those mountains, with American military forces nearby and in the field, we didn't use the best-trained troops in the world to go kill the world's number one criminal and terrorist. They outsourced the job to Afghan warlords who only a week earlier had been on the other side, fighting against us, neither of whom trusted each other. That's the enemy that is now in 60 countries with stronger recruits.

He also said Saddam Hussein would have been stronger. That is just factually incorrect. Two-thirds of the country was a no-fly zone when we started this war. We would have had sanctions. We would have had the U.N. inspectors. Saddam Hussein would have been continually weakening. If the president had shown the patience to go through another round of resolution, to sit down with those leaders say, "What do you need? What do you need now? How much more will it take to get you to join us?" -- we'd be in a stronger place today.

PRESIDENT BUSH: First, listen --

MR. LEHRER: Thirty seconds.

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that.

And secondly, to think that another round of resolutions would have caused Saddam Hussein to disarm, disclose, is ludicrous, in my judgment. It just shows a significant difference of opinion. We tried diplomacy. We did our best. He was hoping to turn a blind eye. And yes, he would have been stronger had we not dealt with him. He had the capability of making weapons and he would have made weapons.

MR. LEHRER: Thirty seconds, Senator.

SEN. KERRY: Thirty-five to 40 countries in the world had a greater capability of making weapons at the moment the president invaded than Saddam Hussein. And while he's been diverted with nine out of 10 active duty divisions of our Army either going to Iraq, coming back from Iraq, or getting ready to go, North Korea has got nuclear weapons and the world is more dangerous. Iran is moving towards nuclear weapons and the world is more dangerous. Darfur has a genocide. The world is more dangerous. I'd have made a better choice.

Part V: Character, Critical Issues and Russia
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/debates/1stdebate/part5.html

[Excerpt]

If you are elected president, what will you take to that office thinking is the single-most serious threat to the national security of the United States?

SEN. KERRY: Nuclear proliferation. Nuclear proliferation. There are some 600-plus tons of unsecured material still in the former Soviet Union and Russia. At the rate that the president is currently securing that, it will take 13 years to get it.

I did a lot of work on this. I wrote a book about it several years ago, maybe six or seven years ago, called, "The New War," which saw the difficulties of this international criminal network. And back then, we intercepted a suitcase in a Middle Eastern country with nuclear materials in it, and the black market sale price was about $250 million.

Now, there are terrorists trying to get their hands on that stuff today. And this president, I regret to say, has secured less nuclear material in the last two years since 9/11 than we did in the two years preceding 9/11. We have to do this job, and to do the job, you can't cut the money for it. The president actually cut the money for it. You have to put the money into it and the funding and the leadership. And part of that leadership is sending the right message to places like North Korea.

Right now, the president is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to research bunker-busting nuclear weapons. The United States is pursuing a new set of nuclear weapons. It doesn't make sense. You talk about mixed messages, we're telling other people, you can't have nuclear weapons, but we're pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using. Not this president. I'm going to shut that program down, and we're going to make it clear to the world, we're serious about containing nuclear proliferation. And we're going to get the job of containing all of that nuclear material in Russia done in four years. And we're going to build the strongest international network to prevent nuclear proliferation -- this is the scale of what President Kennedy set out to do with the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It's our generation's equivalent. And I intend to get it done.

MR. LEHRER: Ninety second, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Actually, we've increased funding for dealing with nuclear proliferation, about 35 percent since I've been the president.

Secondly, we've set up what's called the -- well, first of all, I agree with my opponent that the biggest threat facing this country is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist network. And that's why we've put proliferation as the -- one of the centerpieces of a multi-prong strategy to make the country safer. My administration started what's called the Proliferation Security Initiative, over 60 nations involved with disrupting the transshipment of information and/or weapons of mass destruction materials. And we've been effective.

We busted the A.Q. Khan network. This was a proliferator out of Pakistan that was selling secrets to places like North Korea and Libya. We convinced Libya to disarm, an essential part of dealing with weapons of mass destruction and proliferation.

I'll tell you another way to help protect America in the long run is to continue to with missile defenses. And we've got a robust research-and-development program that has been ongoing during my administration.

We'll be implementing a missile defense system relatively quickly.

And that is another way to help deal with the threats that we face in the 21st century. My opponent is opposed to the missile defenses.

Part VI: Closing Statements
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/debates/1stdebate/part6.html



2) Kucinich: "It's Time to Close Ranks"

- - 5 Easy things to do to dump Bush as US President
- - Kerry Film ~ "Going Upriver"

It's Time to Close Ranks
by Dennis Kucinich
September 25, 2004

Good morning! Welcome to breakfast in my back yard. I want to thank you for the help that you gave me over the last few years, and now with 40 days to go before the general election I want to talk to you this morning about how urgent it is that we close ranks and help John Kerry get elected the next President of the United States.

Oh, there's a lot of people throwing up their hands right now and saying, "Well the campaign isn't strong enough...the candidate this...the candidate that..." Know what? The time's over for those discussions. We have to close ranks. We have to get out there -- knock on doors, put up signs, and make phone calls, and rally people because there is a profound difference between John Kerry and George Bush.

John Kerry has an exemplary record of 19 years in the United States Senate. He served this country honorably in every way. He's someone who has integrity. He's someone who cares about people. We need to close ranks behind him. Do we have differences of opinion? Yes. But the time is over to continue talking about those. We need to focus on what we need to do in the next few weeks to make it certain that John Kerry will be elected.

Now, can he win? You bet he can. This election has been volatile right from the beginning. The bottom line is that George Bush took us into a war we didn't need to be in, he's going to keep us in it, and we'll never have an opportunity for a domestic agenda. Any hopes that we have for changing health care in America, improving education, protecting workers' rights, protecting social security are going to be lost if this President gets re-elected.

We have to recognize that we have a good candidate. He's not perfect, but look, none of us are. And so we have to realize - this is the time to close ranks and after we get John Kerry elected, then we have plenty of time to get to work to try to move him in the direction that we want to create progress in this country.

But now's the time we need to close ranks.

Now's the time we need to come together. This isn't even a close question. This is not the time for temporizing about, you know, "What should we do?", "What can we do?", "Can we win?" Of course we can win!

Let me give you an example. In Ohio, four years ago, I was contacted by the Presidential campaign of our candidate then who told me they were pulling out of Ohio because they had a poll that showed them 14 points down. Said they couldn't win. You know what? We said, "We have to stay in this anyway because of what we believe in. We're gonna keep pushing." And we persisted. And you know what happened? A 14 point gap closed to within three points in Ohio. We could've won Ohio if only we'd had a campaign that would've stayed with us. John Kerry's staying with us in Ohio, and we're staying with him. And we're going to help him win Ohio, and you can help him win not only Ohio, but every state that's represented right now.

So, it's not just a matter of "hanging together", but it's a matter of unifying, so that we create a new force in American politics to take an upward path. John Kerry's the beginning of that, and we're the continuation of it.

So thank you. Thank you for a moment of your time to consider what I'm saying. This is a moment when we're called upon to stand up for everything we believe in. It's not about just John Kerry, it's about us, it's about our future, it's about our children's future. It's about what we hope for in America, and it's what we hope to have a chance to continue.

So please join with me. Join with me in taking a strong stand for a good candidate, for a decent man, for someone who'll make a good president with our help.

Thank you very much. Let's close ranks and let's elect John Kerry the next President of the United States.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

- - 5 Easy things to do to dump Bush as US President

With One Month Left, 5 Easy things to do From Michael Moore

Dear Friends,

is it: One month to D-Day! That's "Dump Bush Day," November 2nd.

It's now time to roll up our sleeves -- each and every one of us -- and get to work. There will be nearly 10 million of you who will read this letter either on my list or on my site. An army of ten million cannot be defeated! The time for hitting the snooze button has passed, voter registration deadlines start Monday and we only get one shot at this!!!

My plan is simple. Will you join me in the following?

1. REGISTER FIVE PEOPLE TO VOTE THIS WEEKEND. There are only a few days left in most states before voter registration is cut off. Keep asking like-minded people you know if they are registered. If they are not, take them to this website where you can show them where they need to go to get registered. Offer to take them there yourself.

Nothing is more critical in the next 48 to 72 hours than to get our people registered. The wealthy and the conservatives are already registered -- the poor, the single moms, the recent transplants to your town are not. And neither are students and young adults (check local and state laws, some of which make it very hard for college students to register and vote). VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS ON MONDAY IN Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. Make no mistake, if you live in any of these states – realize now that WHAT YOU DO OR DON'T DO THIS WEEKEND will have an effect on this election!!!

2. CALL AND VOLUNTEER NOW. There is nothing more important in the next 31 days than spending whatever free time you have working to remove George W. Bush from the White House. Again, call the local Democratic Party HQ or the local Kerry HQ or the ACT office and say you want to help. They will put you to work making calls, going door to door, putting up yard signs, lining up rides on Election Day for senior citizens, etc. Removing Bush and electing Kerry will require physical labor on all our parts. We just can't sit home and wish it to happen. (A Warning: Some local Dem HQs are not always as organized as you would hope them to be. If you call and they don't have it together, don't get discouraged. Just move on to my next point, #3...)

3. START YOUR OWN KERRY CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS! If the Dems don't have it together in your area, don't complain, just take matters into your own hands and run your own campaign for Kerry. Or, even if there is a strong Kerry presence in your county seat, there still may not be in the outlying areas where you live. There's nothing wrong with you and your friends saying, "OK, today we inaugurate the Kerry HQ here in Hooterville...or Kurt Cobain High...or Dorm Building 5!" If you can't get signs or leaflets, make your own! Don't wait for someone to do it, otherwise it won't get done. Send me pictures of your own renegade Elect Kerry/Dump Bush HQ and I will put them up on my site!

4. IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN A SWING STATE, GO THERE AND START SWINGING. Virtually everyone in this country lives within driving distance of one of the 20 battleground states where the election will be close. Pick one weekend this month and go on a fall color tour to dump Bush. Pack up the kids or the neighbors, pick a town -- any town -- in your nearest swing state, reserve a room at the local Motel 6 and hit the road! Volunteer online or call ahead to the local party HQ to say you are coming and you want them to put you to work (again, if there is no one there to put you to work, make your own handbills, print out a thousand of them, and just show up in Anywhere, Ohio and start going door to door). There are other groups doing work in the swing states that you can hook-up with, like ACT and Driving Votes who could really use your help getting out the vote. You don't have to feel left out of this election just because you live in New York or California or Illinois or any of the other 29 states the candidates won't be visiting. Take matters into your own hands. Think of what a great educational experience it will be for your kids -- or yourself. JUST ONE WEEKEND THIS MONTH -- PLAN IT NOW!

5. TAKE OFF WORK OR SCHOOL NOVEMBER 2. We need everyone working the polls, the phones, the neighborhoods from dawn to dusk. Poll watchers are needed to make sure there is no cheating. Help is needed in all 50 states and you can do it from home or you can park yourself in a swing state for the day.

There you have it. Five Simple Steps. I'll be doing my part as I travel the country to the 20 swing states. Please join with me in this effort..

This is about that mother from Flint, Michigan -- and all the other mothers from all the other towns in America -- who have lost and WILL LOSE their sons and daughters in Bush's never-ending war in Iraq.

Please, put aside whatever keeps you from jumping in to do the necessary work to remove George W. Bush from office.

Thanks so much...

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/takeaction/vote/

P.S. If you are having trouble registering or voting, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

P.P.S. If you have a chance to see Going Upriver, the great new documentary about John Kerry in theaters this week, do so!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

- - Kerry Film ~ "Going Upriver"

"Going Upriver" [a documentary film] tells the story of John Kerry's transformation from a thoughtful and enthusiastic student, to an heroic Swift Boat commander, and finally to a passionate and articulate leader of the anti-war movement.

"Going Upriver" is powerful because it is a vivid account of a remarkable man's life, set in a remarkable time. But it is especially powerful because for the past two months, America has been subjected to a relentless and vicious assault on the character of this remarkable man..

"Going Upriver" is opening this weekend in hundreds of theaters around the country.

For more information, visit:
http://keepitgoing.org/



3) All's Fair in Space War

All's Fair in Space War
By Noah Shachtman

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/space/0,2697,65151,00.html
Posted: Oct. 01, 2004 PT

[Excerpt]

The American military has begun planning for combat in space, an Air Force report reveals. And commercial spacecraft, neutral countries' launching pads -- even weather satellites -- are all on the potential target list.

"Air Force Doctrine Document 2-2.1: Counterspace Operations" is an apparent first cut at detailing how U.S. forces might take out an enemy's space capabilities -- and protect America's eyes and ears in orbit. Signed by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper, the unclassified report sketches out who would be in command during a space fight, what American weapons would be used and which targets might be attacked.

In that way, the report is similar to hundreds of others in the Pentagon's archives. But buried in the report's acronyms and org charts are two striking sentiments, analysts say. First, the document declares that the U.S. Air Force is duty-bound to slap down other countries' space efforts, should the need arise. Then, Counterspace Operations (.pdf) declares that a satellite or ground-control station doesn't have to belong to one of America's enemies in order to get hit.

"You could be inflicting large costs on a company or country that has no role in a war. And that introduces great possibilities for backlash and political fallout," warned Theresea Hitchens, vice president of the Center for Defense Information. "You could wind up damaging the capabilities of our allies -- or even ourselves."

But the Air Force may not have much of a choice, really. Nearly all the world's militaries -- including America's -- rely on private companies' satellites for relaying messages, taking pictures or guiding bombs. During the Iraq invasion, for example, commercial orbiters carried 80 percent of U.S. forces' satellite communications.

In the opening pages of Counterspace Operations, the Air Force announces that it has a new job: to maintain America's "space superiority" -- the "freedom to attack as well as the freedom from attack" in orbit. This emerging mission has become just as important to American forces as control of the skies, the report states. And together, the two form "crucial first steps in any military operation."

Keeping this "space superiority" is really three jobs in one, the Air Force argues. The service needs to know what's happening in space, from solar flares to hostile satellites to orbiting debris. It has to defend against attacks on its space-related systems; last year, Iraqis tried to jam the Global Positioning System, and the Air Force expects similar moves in the years to come.

Finally, the Air Force has to be ready to break down opponents' ability to use space at any time. These opponents aren't just the few countries sophisticated enough to be called "space-faring," the document makes clear. Smaller states now routinely rely on larger countries' satellites to take pictures and route calls from above. Even low-tech terrorist cells have used satellite phones to make calls. So the Air Force sees nearly every nation, and every insurgent group, as a potential adversary in space..

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For the remainder and complete article, see:
http://www.wired.com/news/space/0,2697,65151,00.html


The views expressed herein are the writers' own and not necessarily those of Flyby News.
A "Fair Use Policy" that describes Flyby News' use of copyrighted material is posted at flybynews.com.
Your feedback for story suggestions and networking Flyby News are welcomed and appreciated.
You can write to the publisher/editor Jonathan Mark via email: info@flybynews.com


Flyby News is educational and nonviolent in focus, and has supported critical campaigns
for a healthy environment, human rights, justice, peace, and nonviolence,
since the launching of NASA's Cassini space probe in 1997.

=====News Fit to Transmit in the Post Cassini Flyby Era====>

= = = = = = www.FlybyNews.com = = = = =


Email address: