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Week of February 06 2006

White House Memo Exposes Pre-war Lies
A new memo leaked to the British media shows that Bush and Blair agreed on war in January 2003 - not March 2003, as they insist. It also reveals they knew there was no legitimate case for war, that Bush was hoping to assassinate Saddam Hussein, and that Bush was so desperate to provoke a war that he even proposed painting US planes to look like UN planes and flying them low over Iraq in hopes of getting shot at:

"The US was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours. If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach."

Take Action: As with the Downing Street Minutes last spring, the international media is covering this story, but the U.S. media is not. See AfterDowningStreet.org for contact info and a guide to pressure the U.S. media to cover the story.

Second Al Jazeera Forum
Al Jazeera held its second forum, Defending Freedom, Defining Responsibility, in Doha Qatar. Democracy Now! broadcast live from the event. You can watch (or read the transcript of) interesting coverage on their web site, including a roundtable of international journalists discussing Bush's State of the Union address, an in depth look at Al Jazeera, the siege of Fallujah and Bush's plan to bomb Al Jazeera headquarters.

Read also an article by independent journalist Dahr Jamail, Al Jazeera Succeeding Under Pressure.

Stay tuned for Al Jazeera in English, on the air some time this spring.

State of the Union: Analysis and Protests
President Bush gave his State of the Union Address last week. Read analysis of the statements made:

A Mis-Statement of the Union Address
by Stephen Zunes

Decoding the State of the Union
by Katrina vanden Heuvel

Veteran's Mother's State of Our Family Address
By Georgia Stillwell

And read reports of protests by World Can't Wait in DC on Jan 31 and again on Feb 04.

A Rush to Buy Electronic Voting Systems
States are under pressure to purchase voting machines which have not be adequately tested in order to meet deadlines imposed by HAVA (Help America Vote Act). A bill has been to extend the deadline.

Take Action: Urge your representatives to support the extension and send your comments to the editor of your local newspaper.

Impeachment Can Start at the State Level
There are a number of ways to begin impeachment proceedings, one of which is by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State.

Take Action: Read the rules, see a sample letter and email members of State Legislature.

Another $70,000,000,000 for War on Iraq
The Bush administration plans to ask Congress for another $70 billion in additional spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, putting the cost of the occupation of Iraq at around $100,000 per minute.

Take Action: Contact your representatives urging them to reject this request and write a letter to the editor of your favorite newspaper with your thoughts.

Record Profits for Shell and Exxon-Mobil
The oil giant Exxon Mobil reported profits of $10,700,000,000 for the 4th quarter of 2005, the highest quarterly profits ever reported by a publicly-traded US company. This announcement brings Exxon's profits for year to $36,130,000,000.

Meanwhile, Shell Oil announced profits for 2005 at 23,000,000,000, breaking a UK record for corporate profits.

Take Action: Watch a flash movie on Exxon Mobil, then send a message to CEO Rex Tillerson. And Public Citizen has a way for you to contact your senators about rising energy prices.

If you know of additional news items that should be listed, send them via email.

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