Important news you didn't see in your newspaper

While I'm talking about the press....

Here, in no particular order, are some other stories that have popped up in the past week or so that you've probably missed if you read only the American establishment press and/or get what news you can from television and radio:

*There's quite a flap developing over a situation in New Hampshire that was ignored by almost all of the establishment press. You figure the reasons.

In 2002, the Republican Party in New Hampshire paid $15,000-plus to a “consulting” company to jam the telephone lines at five sites from which supporters of former governor and Democratic senatorial candidate Jeanne Shaheen intended to make get-out-the-vote calls. She lost to the right-wing Republican John Sununu in a race that the Republicans regarded as central to their effort to retain control of the Senate.

The case went to court, and the executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party and the president of the consulting firm pleaded guilty to criminal activity. James Tobin, New England political director for the Republican National Committee, was tried and convicted of telephone harassment this past December.

In the past few days, it has been learned that while the criminal activities were taking place, Tobin made at least 24 telephone calls to the White House political office run by Ken Mehlman, now chairman of the national Republican Party.

The party said it is “preposterous” to suggest that anyone in the White House had anything to do with the phone-blocking scheme. But, perhaps because they thought it was just a cute prank, the Republican National Committee paid an estimated $2.5 million to $3 million to the big-time Republican-connected law firm of Williams & Connolly for Tobin's legal defense. That law firm, incidentally, specializes in defending big-buck white-collar crooks.

Another recent development is the fact that thousands of dollars for Sununu's campaign came from one of Tom DeLay's questionable (to put it politely) political action committees and from a couple of Indian tribes. The tribes do no business in New Hampshire, but they were represented in Washington by one Jack Abramoff. Party people say the fact that the DeLay/Indian contributions totaled exactly the amount charged by the “consultant” for jamming the Democrats' phones is a coincidence.

The story is still developing. Don't look for it in your local newspaper, except perhaps as a four-paragraph bit about the legal spanking of some minor Republican operatives for some little political prank.

Could bring to mind a "third rate burglary" of a few decades ago, if you were around and aware during the Nixon years.

(Sources: New York Times and TomPaine.Common Sense.)

*Shortly after the 2003 State of the Union speech in which George Bush said he intended to “strengthen global treaties banning the production and shipment of missile technologies,” the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States –- the same outfit that said it was OK for Dubai Ports World Company to take over operations of six U.S. Ports --permitted the last U.S. manufacturer of a key component of cruise missile guidance systems to relocate to China.

No, that's not a typo.

Magnequench UG, based in Indianapolis, produces neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets which are critical to control systems in cruise missiles and the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb that was heavily relied upon in the 2003 bombing of Baghdad before U.S. Troops entered the city. They have a number of other uses in military devices.

Magnequench moved all manufacture of the devices to Batou, China -– which also is the source of a rare earth material needed for the devices –- some time in 2003 or 2004. The company also has key defense (U.S. defense, mind you) plants in Tianjin, China.

(Source: Diane M. Grassi article for Veterans for Common Sense.)


*Several hundred people, possibly thousands, gathered outside the Bush ranch near Crawford, Texas, over the Easter weekend to protest George Bush's continuing war in Iraq. A number of well-known people took part.

(Sources: Several on line news and political reports.)

*Iran recently created a “high-level” delegation to hold bilateral discussions with the United States on a wide range of issues. However, the Bush administration refuses to meet, and objects to one agenda item after another proposed by Iran.

(Source: The London-based Financial Times.)

*Iran has formed “battalions” of suicide bombers to strike at American and British targets if the nation's nuclear sites are attacked. Iranian officials said 40,000 individuals have been trained as suicide bombers.

“We are ready to attack American and British sensitive points if they attack Iran's nuclear facilities,” said Hassan Abbasi, head of Iran's Center for Doctrinal Strategic Studies in the Revolutionary Guards.

(Source: London-based Times Online)


I could go on and on and on listing the important stories that are not getting to the American public, at least the broader public. If this country continues on its present path, and our democracy is lost, it will because of the failures of the cowards and fools who control our airwaves and presses.