At the beginning of this war, whether we agreed with it or not, Congress and the American people saluted the brave service of the men and women of our military.

Today, five years later, it is well past time that we truly honor this service by bringing all American troops home from Iraq. This war has affected the lives of so many American families. The stories we hear from our friends, family members, and co-workers are truly heartbreaking – from the tragic losses of life and devastating injuries, to those who have returned but still suffer mental trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Many of us personally know one of the 4,000 soldiers who have died or one of nearly 40,000 Americans who have been wounded.

Many of us have a friend or family member who has had to suffer repeated 15-month tours – separated from family and often with little break in between assignments.

Beyond the personal losses that so many have endured, now all Americans are feeling the financial effects of the war, as the fruits of our economy (nearly $500 billion to date) are drained into this never-ending engagement. Just imagine the investments that could have been made if this money was spent here at home, rather than fueling this massive war machine half a world away.

This tragedy extends to innocent Iraqis as well. From children to their teachers, shopkeepers to waiters – even the low estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths are near 90,000. Some estimate the death toll to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Americans will sacrifice a great deal to protect our national security and to bring peace to troubled regions of the world. But what have we gained for all of our sacrifices in Iraq? Today, we are more vulnerable then ever with a rebuilding Al Qaeda, a resurgent Iran, and a totally destabilized Iraq.

Even worse, President Bush and Vice-President Cheney brought us into this calamity in Iraq based on deliberate lies and misdirection. The Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people with false claims of Iraqi nuclear weapons, Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and Iraqi relations with Al Qaeda. These lies were fed with great enthusiasm by those who stood to benefit financially and politically from this war.

We must renew our call for a dramatic change of course. Last week in Congress, I introduced a resolution that condemns the Bush Administration for this unnecessary war and calls for an immediate redeployment of troops. (Click here to read the resolution.) Please contact your Member of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor this important resolution.

It is time to confront the stark reality of our situation.

First, the so-called "success of the surge" is as big a lie as the falsehoods that began the war itself. This is confirmed by General Petraeus' own conclusion earlier this week that political reconciliation has not occurred in Iraq.

Second, our economy can no longer sustain the cost of this war. Remember, no previous war has been waged while simultaneously offering tax cuts to the wealthy.

And finally, to date, we have still not held the Administration accountable for the countless lies that led to the war itself. As you know, I have aggressively advocated for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney to hold him accountable for his numerous misdeeds in relation to this war.

Please know that I hear your voices loud and clear. I strongly urge you to continue your vital activism on these issues and together we can bring about change.

Sincerely,

March 18, 2008
Contact: Andrew Davis
E-mail: andrew.davis@lp.org
Office: 202-333-0008 ext. 225
Mobile: 202-731-0002
FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY:
Libertarian Party's statement on the D.C. gun ban case

America's third largest political party releases statement on today's hearing of District of Columbia v. Heller
Washington, D.C. - Marking today's hearing of District of Columbia v. Heller, Libertarian Party Executive Director Shane Cory issued the following statement:
Today, the Supreme Court heard the case that will determine the future of gun rights in America for decades to come. We hope that the justices will remember that the individual right to keep and bear arms is essential for the protection of life, liberty and property. Without the ability for an individual to keep and bear arms, free from undue government regulation such as the District of Columbia's outright ban on handguns, citizens are left vulnerable to the violence of criminals. Constraints on the right to free speech are immediately rejected as an endangerment to liberty in the United States. We feel that those on the Second Amendment should also be rejected in that same spirit, as we point out in our amicus curiae brief filed in support of Heller. The only acceptable outcome to this case is to uphold the ruling that the District of Columbia has no Constitutional right to deny law-abiding individuals the right to keep and bear firearms.

The Libertarian Party is dedicated to a strict adherence to the Constitution and the protection of rights both natural and enumerated, including the right of an individual to keep and bear arms in the defense of life, liberty and property. The Libertarian Party filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Heller in the D.C. gun case, which can be found at http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/07-290_amicus_lnc.pdf.

The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.lp.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

In February 2008, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra arrived in North Korea to perform a concert. The duration of the trip was for forty eight hours and while the concert appeared to have been a success, it is obvious that the people of North Korea are accustomed to listening to instrumental music. The concert was a success if it could result in the production of a Compact Disc Recording to sell to Classical Music Lovers all around the world but it cannot produce meaningful change in a country that has been isolated almost since the end of the Korean War.
North Korea even had turbulence in its relationships with China and Russia during the Cold War and at times was able to maintain relations with both countries for its convenience, as well as be the centre for diplomacy between Russia and China. If North Korea could prove to be a headache at times for Russia and China, imagine how US Diplomacy has done little or nothing. Imagine how little the United States knows about North Korea.

North Korea is a Communist Dictatorship that does not respect the rights of people to practice their religion except that of devotion to Kim IL Sung and Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong IL could care little about the people dying of starvation and has been more concerned with maintaining power at all costs. It is also not new that the people of North Korea wake up at 7:00AM to sirens, go to work and do reverence to every statue of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The routine repeats itself during the day and night. The Television and Radio Sets are pre programmed only to hear and see North Korean Radio and Television [which in itself lasts three to four hours]. Only the privileged, the clean, the young, and healthy can live in Pyongyang. When people become old, they leave Pyongyang. Attempts to leave North Korea even by accident have resulted in executions or concentration camps with members of the whole family being involved.

The people of North Korea have been used to this way of life since 1945. We are talking about sixty three years and almost four generations of people revering Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il as Gods, learning the thoughts of Juche, Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il. We are also talking about a society that thinks South Korea invaded North Korea first. Even the calendar for North Korea has changed to start from the year of Kim Jong Il's birth which is 1912. The year 1912 is Year Zero for North Korea. In the North Korean Calendar, the year is 96 with people celebrating the year 96 going to a "pilgrimage" in Pyongyang to celebrate the birth of Kim Il Sung. North Korean Commercials talk about "the mountains parting and the sun singing when Kim Jong Il was born" and changed the Nativity Scene to make it look like "Kim Jong Il was the chosen one". I saw on my computer a scene from North Korean Television in which Kindergarten Children sang "the praises of Kim Jong Il" and North Korean Female Teenager praising Kim Jong Il while parading through the streets of Pyongyang, North Korea. Believe me; watching the videos so that I could write about US Diplomacy in North Korea was pure torture.

North Korea is a country that once kidnapped Japanese Nationals and a Swedish National for the purpose of either teaching spy tactics or their cultures to North Korean Military Forces or for sexual purposes. Kim Jong Il once even ordered the kidnapping of a South Korean Soap Opera Star and her husband for his "film industry". A person like Kim Jong Il cannot be trusted. Russia and China have even learned this the hard way and have dealt with Kim Jong Il like a stern uncle deals with an errant nephew. I will give you an example with the recent crisis between Russia and North Korea.

Russia once suffered from the after effects of an occasional problem with North Korea when [according to reports from NTV [Russian Television], the Vladivostok Maritime Rescue Centre and the BBC], North Korea detained the Russian Ship the Lidya Demesh on the 23rd of February 2008. The Lidya Demesh was carrying a cargo of cars from the port of Hamata in Japan when it encountered strong winds in the East Sea [Sea of Japan]. The Lidya Demesh was forced by strong winds to enter North Korean Territorial Waters near Cape Masudan where a Patrol Boat was waiting to force the ship to land in Chongjin, North Korea. During the next four days, intense negotiations began between North Korea and Russia concerning the boat and the twenty five member crew members. One of the Russian Officials involved in the negotiations was the General Consul in Chongjin Yevgeny Valkovich. After four days of negotiation, North Korea released the boat and the passengers to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. I cannot say what may have transpired except that Russia threatened to cut off aid to North Korea. Kim Jong Il must have understood that threat since China once threatened [it has yet to be proven] to cut off aid to Kim Jong Il for the missile testing of a couple of years ago.

The USA has no proven way for diplomacy [the truth must be repeated] in North Korea except to be convinced by Japan [who wants a meeting of minds] to enact this meeting of minds between Japan, the United States, North Korea, South Korea, China, and Russia with the intention of telling Russia and China that North Korea can no longer be sustained. North Korea will have to learn how to go on its own or perish. North Korea could still sustain itself like Albania did after it broke with China in 1978. After all, isolation is a dictatorship's best friend. North Korea can also be sustained by its devoted followers in the Korean Friendship Associations in the West who must have the money to spend on buying souvenirs from its ally. Hay, Kalb, and Associates [haykalb.com] is a British Law Firm in Pyongyang that can also sustain North Korea without the need for Russia and China. This is the only way the United States can deal with North Korea.

It is difficult for China and Russia to abandon North Korea since it has been an old ally. It is also difficulty taking into account that Kim Jong Il has a business in Dandong, China and has another business in the internet where he accepts Pay Pal, Visa, Master Card, American Express, and other credit cards for those who love to buy North Korean Products. It is also difficult for China and Russia to abandon North Korea taking into account the fear that North Korea could explode simultaneously forcing refugees into South Korea, China, and Russia.

Regardless, United States diplomacy must be focused on this meeting of minds in which North Korea must learn to survive on its own two feet, or with the financial support of those who like such a sick regime that they would spend their hard earned money on buying from it. After all, Castro survived the cut off of Russian Aid by selling Cuban Products via Third Countries and remittances from people in America. In other words, US Diplomacy should be based on the premise that North Korea should learn to swim or sink; survive or perish.

REFERENCE:
BBC News: "NY Philharmonic in North Korea"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7262409.st m
Assessed on the 18th of March 2008

Westcott, Catherine; BBC News: "From ping pong to Pyongyang"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7255407.stm
Assessed on the 18th of March 2008

BBC News: "North Korea detains Russian ship"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7260534.st m
Assessed on the 18th of March 2008

New Kerala.com: "North Korea releases seized Russian cargo ship"
http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&i d=27488
Assessed on the 18th of March 2008

Press TV: "North Korea Frees Cargo Ships"
www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=44917§ionid=3510 20602 - 69k
Assessed on the 18th of March 2008

Noticiero de Venevision: 19-III-2008 y Una Respuesta
El presidente de Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, volvió a arremeter este martes en contra del gobierno de Hugo Chávez al asegurar que “recientemente, cuando las fuerzas colombianas mataron a uno de los más importantes dirigentes de las Farc, descubrieron archivos de ordenador hallado a “Raúl Reyes” que sugieren la existencia de vínculos entre el régimen venezolano y las Farc más estrechos de lo que pensábamos".

RESPUESTA: BUSH, CASTRO, Y CHAVEZ SON LA CAUSA DE LOS PROBLEMAS EN EL CONTINENTE AMERICANO. LA IZQUIERDA Y LA DERECHA ES NOCIVO PARA LA SALUD. VIVA LA PAZ!!!!!! VIVA LOS LIBERTARIOS!!

El alcalde del muncipio Baruta y pre candidato a la gobernación del estado Miranda, Henrique Capriles Radonski, hizo un recorrido por Higuerote para escuchar de boca de los habitantes del sector cuales son las principales carencias de la zona.

El precandidato a la alcaldía del municipio Libertador, Carlos Melo, considera que los dirigentes del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (Psuv) insisten en hacer copias malas de estrategias de otros países para aplicarlas en Venezuela. Asegura que "basta que tomen alguna idea, proyecto que halla sido exitosa en otra parte del mundo, para convertirla en una mala copia y una fuente adicional de despilfarro y corrupción

El ministro de Energía y Petróleo y presidente de Pdvsa, Rafael Ramírez, expresó la satisfacción del gobierno venezolano por la decisión de un tribunal británico que revocó el congelamiento de 12.000 millones de dólares de activos externos de la petrolera. El funcionario dijo que la sentencia incluye una orden para que la demandante, Exxon Mobil, cancele los daños ocasionados por el pleito legal.

RESPUESTA: EXXON MOBIL, CHENEY, Y CHAVEZ SON LO MISMO. LA IZQUIERDA Y LA DERECHA NO EXISTE NI VALE. VIVA LA PAZ!!!!!! VIVA LOS LIBERTARIOS!!!!!