FUSsa-talk Mailing List: Fw: P&J#1693D: Action Alert: IRAN IN DANGER + MEDIA CONSOLIDATION

[MADELINE SIMON (madeline-mpls]

This is for real.  I looked up the House and Senate bills on Thomas.gov and 
read them.

Peace,
Madeline

-----Original Message-----
From: wamm [at] mtn.org [mailto:wamm [at] mtn.org]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 6:42 PM
To: Recipient List Suppressed:
Subject: Action Alert: IRAN IN DANGER + MEDIA CONSOLIDATION

WAMM ACTION ALERTS
act quickly!!!

1. IRAN
Stop Legislation Leading to a U.S. war on Iran!
Dangerous legislation is on the move with some of Minnesota congress buying 
in. Tell Minnesota legislators no to Sen. Res. 580, House Res. 362.

2. MEDIA CONSOLIDATION
Think the corporate media is a big part of the problem?
Tell your U.S. congressperson to stop media consolidation and vote yes on 
H.R. 79 ("yes" for disapproval of consolidation)

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1. STOP LEGISLATION LEADING TO A U.S. WAR ON IRAN

Three of Minnesota's U.S. legislators--Senators  Amy Klobuchar and Norm 
Coleman, in addition to Congressman Jim Ramstad, recently co-sponsored 
AIPAC-endorsed legislation, (currently pending in Congress), which may 
authorize a naval blockade of  Iran.  The legislation demands that President 
Bush lead an international effort to prevent Iran from receiving exports of 
refined petroleum.  Members of the House and Senate have introduced 
resolutions (H. Con. Res. 362 and S. Res. 580), co-sponsored by Klobuchar, 
Coleman and Ramstad, calling on the administration to focus on the urgency 
of the Iranian nuclear threat and to impose tougher sanctions on Tehran. The 
resolutions demand that the United States lead an international effort to 
increase pressure on Iran by curtailing Iran's ability to import refined 
petroleum products. H.Com.Res 362 demands that the President impose 
"stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, 
trains and cargo entering or departing Iran."

Congressional insiders credit America's powerful pro-Israel lobby for the 
rapid endorsement of the bills. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee 
(AIPAC) held its annual policy conference June 2-4, in which it sent 
thousands of members to Capitol Hill to push for tougher measures against 
Iran. On its website, AIPAC endorses the resolutions as a way to "Stop 
Iran's Nuclear Proliferation" and tells readers to lobby Congress to pass 
the bill.

AIPAC is urging Congress to effectively place a naval embargo on Iran.  Such 
a blockade imposed without United Nations authority (which the resolution 
does not call for)  would be seen as an act of war.   Endorsements of these 
bills would signal US intentions of war with Iran, effectively giving Bush 
the go-ahead to create a dangerous crisis that could easily escalate to 
World War III.

By blindly following AIPAC's legislative lead, our representatives in 
Congress are placing their own political interests ahead of the interests of 
their constituents who don't want another war.   According to a recent poll 
by the American Jewish Committee, most American Jews do not support any 
preemptive action against Iran. However, pro-war hawks in Israel and the 
U.S. are favoring an attack on Iran, and since AIPAC has money and power, 
they call the shots, overriding the voices of the people. Why should our 
legislators give such unconditional support to Israel especially when we 
know many American Jews and many Israeli citizens don't agree with Israel's 
policies and  when these pro-war policies could lead to another humanitarian 
catastrophe in the Mideast?

Please hold Senators Klobuchar and Coleman and Congressman Ramstad to higher 
standards and ask that they remove their names from this dangerous 
legislation-- Senate Res. 580 and House Res 362.  Call your Congressional 
representatives and ask that they not support H. Con Res. 362, as this bill 
is gaining more cosponsors daily. We must act quickly as vote is coming up 
as soon as next week.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your 
senators and representative.

A temporary number that may work, but may change:  1 (800) 828 - 0498 FREE

2. Think the corporate media is a big part of our problems? Tell your U.S. 
Representatives to Stop Media Consolidation by voting for H.J. Res. 79.

Tell the House to follow in the Senate's footsteps.

The Senate voted in overwhelming numbers to reject a Federal Communication 
Commission (FCC) ruling that would unleash a new wave of media consolidation 
across America. More than a quarter-million people took action and sent a 
powerful message to Washington: Big Media is big enough.

The fight now moves to the House, where a bipartisan version of the Senate 
"resolution of disapproval" (H.J.Res.79) needs your support.

Call your congressperson. Also, for more information and to personalize a 
message, which can be mailed automatically to your members of Congress. Go 
to <STOPBIGMEDIA.com> and click on the link
<https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?id=265&pagename=homepage>
-- 
****************************************************************
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<http://www.worldwidewamm.org/wamm/supportwamm/supportwammigive.html>

Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)
310 East 38th Street, Suite 222
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55409
612-827-5364 (phone)
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****************************************************************

-----Original Message-----
From: Margieswin [at] aol.com [mailto:Margieswin [at] aol.com]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 6:53 PM
To: MargiesWin [at] yahoogroups.com; trustthepeople_kc [at] yahoogroups.com
Subject: Forwarded: Bolton says Israel will attack Iran after US election & 
before 1/20/

Forwarded, along with the astute comments.  Margie

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

What a specious argument!  If Bolton really thinks that '... Iran's options 
to retaliate after being attacked are actually "less broad than people 
think."' and if he believes "that Iran would not want to escalate a conflict 
because 1) it still needs to export oil, 2) it would worry about "an even 
greater response" from Israel, 3) and it would worry about the U.S.'s 
response" then how likely is it that Iran would ever initiate the conflict 
in the first place?!   Bolton just explained why a pre-emptive attack upon 
Iran is totally unnecessary and that fear of Iranian aggression is baseless.

Bolton: Israel Will Attack Iran After U.S. Election But Before Inauguration, 
Arab States Will Be 'Delighted'
This morning on Fox News, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton continued his 
drumbeat for war against Iran. Adopting Bill Kristol's argument, Bolton 
suggested that an attack on Iran depends on who Americans elect as the next 
President:

I think if they [Israel] are to do anything, the most likely period is after 
our elections and before the inauguration of the next President. I don't 
think they will do anything before our election because they don't want to 
affect it. And they'd have to make a judgment whether to go during the 
remainder of President Bush's term in office or wait for his successor.

Bolton gamed out the fallout from an attack on Iran. He claimed that Iran's 
options to retaliate after being attacked are actually "less broad than 
people think." He suggested that Iran would not want to escalate a conflict 
because 1) it still needs to export oil, 2) it would worry about "an even 
greater response" from Israel, 3) and it would worry about the U.S.'s 
response.

Bolton then concluded that Arab states would be excited if the U.S. or 
Israel attacked Iran:

I don't think you'd hear the Arab states say this publicly, but they would 
be delighted if the United States or Israel destroyed the Iranian nuclear 
weapons capability.

Bolton has said he is backing John McCain because he would handle the 
Iranian nuclear program in a "stronger" way than the Bush administration.