Reuters: " U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials say they have found no direct evidence of plans for an election-related terror attack after a 5-week investigation....A key CIA source who claimed knowledge of such plans has since been discredited, casting doubt on earlier pieces of evidence pointing to an attack. That earlier info led the FBI and other agencies across the gov to launch a well-publicized campaign aimed at foiling potential plots before the elections. But even after hundreds of interviews, immigration arrests and other efforts, law enforcement officials said they have been unable to detect signs of a plot in the U.S., nor have they identified specific targets, dates or methods that might be used." So millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted and precious anti-terrorism resources were tied up by a political ploy by the Bush campaign.

whether Sen. John Kerry could combat such an "ultimate threat ... you've got to get your mind around..." In other words, if you aren't paralyzed by vague fears, Cheney and co. want to push you there. To help promote the Bush/Cheney "Terrorize America" campaign, the mainstream media, in the same 24-hour period as this news story, showed the video of the train in Spain being blown up - it was even on the Today show, with Katie 'Chicken Little' Couric making sure the "security moms" all knew how terrorized they should be by melodramatically gasping and clutching her heart.

Talk about a left-handed endorsement! First Putin beats Cheney's dead horse - the "terrorists don't want Bush to win" routine: "International terrorism has as its goal to prevent the election of Bush to a second term. If they achieve that goal, then that will give international terrorism a new impulse and extra power." Putin knows this isn't true and knows that the same line spouted by Cheney didn't go over well with Americans. This leaves us to wonder if he was actually trying to UNDERMINE Bush? This possibility is supported by the the Russian despot's refusal to endorse Bush. "We unconditionally respect any choice of the American people," he said. "I don't want to spoil relations with either candidate." Worse yet (for Bush), Putin also noted his continuing disagreement with Bush on Washington's invasion of Iraq, which Russia strongly opposed as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. "Russia was always against the military operations in Iraq," he said."

Nothing like callous fearmongering and emotional exploitation to try to squeeze out votes, eh? Check out these coldly calculating statements from Karl Rove that helped shape the tone of Bush's New Jersey campaign: (AP): "From a lot of places in New Jersey you could see the towers...A lot of people in New Jersey, a lot of communities in New Jersey felt personally the sting of 9/11. I think that has made them more sensitive - as we get close to the end - about the question of who will make America safer." But while invoking the image of the towers, Bush won't be speaking within sight of Manhattan. Why? Because his selected site in Marlton is inside the Philadelphia media market - that way Bush can also scoop up soundbytes for PA, a state he's also trying to squeeze votes. So, play up the pathos and fear, but make sure you get the maximal media bang for your buck.

Ain't it sad and telling that the ONLY world leaders who support G. W. Bush are dictators? While a recent survey shows that nearly every progressive country wants to see Bush OUT of the White House, China's communist dictatorship, Pakistan's Musharaff, and Vladimir Putin, who is on course to take Russia back to the Soviet dark ages, both enthusiastically support Bush. Birds of a feather... Seeing Bush's lead disappear over the weekend in honest polls, Putin tried to push the same stupid fearmongering line that Cheney used a while back: the terrorists want Kerry to win! "I consider the activities of terrorists in Iraq are not as much aimed at coalition forces but more personally against President Bush," Putin said But Putin's own statement is contradicted by the two recent polls showing that the vast majority of people in PROGRESSIVE, DEMOCRATIC nations ALSO want Bush to get lost!

Look at the evidence and you decide: The Bush administration was told by the UK on August 26 that a flu vaccine shortage was unavoidable If Bush had called for immediate production of more vaccine then, by Nov. 1 there would have been vaccine available. But instead, he did nothing. Worse, he did nothing KNOWING that in addition to the coming shortage, the US had almost NO flu vaccine reserves. In short, Bush created a situation where seniors - the most vulnerable to flu and the top priority for vaccines - would be left high and dry by election time. A high percentage of seniors were expected to swarm to polls this year to vote for Kerry. Now, we wouldn't be surprised if the Bush CDC issues a flu warning the week of election, warning the "vulnerable" (ie, seniors) to stay away from public gathering places....like polls. This article in Nature describes the US lack of backup for the vaccine shortfall.

AP: "Federal officials said Friday that there is no terrorist connection to a computer disk found in Iraq that contained information about schools in six states.The disk was made by an unidentified Iraqi man who was doing research and had no connections to al-Qaida or the Iraqi insurgents battling U.S. forces, according to the FBI. The man did have links to the Baath Party that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein, but that's true of many former government officials and community leaders." Note how the story doesn't include these facts: 1. The disk was discovered and assessed in JULY, 2. Homeland Security had, many weeks ago, declared that it represented no threat. 3. That 1 and 2 being facts, that the Bush administration KNEW there was no danger when they "leaked" the story to the press the day of the debate. In short, the REAL story here is Bush's blatant attempt to terrorize soccer moms by cashing in on the impact of the recent Russian tragedy.

The story being conveniently blared in US BushMedia headlines today is that schools across America are "under terrorist threat" because of a disk allegedly found in Iraq contained plans of several US schools. Does NO ONE find it totally unbelievable that a disk supposedly found in JULY is just today made a big story - the day Bush faces Kerry in what will be a tough debate for him? Pul-eeze! And once again, the main source of this story, like most White House "vague threat" stories, is anonymous. Worse, Homeland Security didn't even issue a warning in Sept. at the start of school because, says DHS spokesman Brian Roehrkasse, "We are unaware of any specific information that indicates terrorists are plotting or planning an attack at a school here in the United States." But just like trained circus animals, the media is jumping through hoops, making sure the fearmongering bogus threat gets the widest possible play.

This is as low as it goes folks! Once the Bush machine found out that American soccer moms were easily intimidated people, they decided to exploit it. How? By trying to convince them that US schools were the next terrorist target. Note how this latest vague threat is conveniently timed to get media play the day of the debate! In a Washington Post story this week it was revealed that one of Bush's aides said, on record, "The strategy is aimed at stoking public fears about terrorism..." So soccer moms can be terrorized into voting Bush, thus, is thus the plan. Can American women be that gullible, that easily intimidated? Please tell us it ain't so! Especially since the number one danger to the welfare of America's children is GEORGE W. BUSH.

Guess the White House and Bushie media must KNOW what the REAL poll trend in the US is - Bush is bombing! Because now not only are they disseminating new "Bush is gaining" polls that NO ONE believes anymore, but spreading dark hints that Bush's all-purpose bogeymen, Al Qaeda just MAY attack sometime or the other between now and Nov. 2! How convenient for Bush! No wonder he hasn't made any serious effort to fight the terror network. This "warning" is so vague we are embarrassed for the media for even releasing it: "The officials also said they had no specific information of a target or the date of an attack. When the initial information of the threat came in 'the window was eight months large, now it is five or six weeks large,' said the official. 'Nothing since then has changed our assessment received in the spring. Nothing has changed, but the window is narrowing.' " ....Huh?

One of us heard Tom Brokaw with our own ears on 9/18. He clearly stated in the lead in to a news story that the violence in Iraq was aimed at getting rid of George Bush by influencing the election. First of all, this is false - such violence is an age-old response to being occupied by a foreign power. If America were occupied by anyone, there'd be violence in the streets, you can bet on it. Second, Brokaw's statement is the same fearmongering blackmail tactic (ie don't give in to the terrorists, vote for Bush!) used by Cheney and it is despicable.Third, if the Iraq violence were simply anger at Bush, then why the hell would anyone want to vote for him and thereby insure that the chances of our troops being killed will stay very high for FOUR MORE YEARS? Fourth, nowhere in this article does it claim the violence is directed against Bush and the US election - Brokaw's comment was purely a gratuitous Brokaw-Cheneyism.

Washington Post: "The war of words took a decidedly nasty turn last week with rogue Democrat Sen. Zell Miller's keynote address at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night. Miller said Sen. John F. Kerry was 'more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure.' Later, Vice President Cheney piled on, saying 'time and again, Senator Kerry has made the wrong call on national security.'" Cheney didn't mention that as Secretary of Defense, he demanded deep cuts in the military, making him 'more wrong, more weak and more wobbly' on defense than Zig-Zag Zell's lies about Kerry - and makes Zell and Cheney complete hypocrites!

Howard Kurtz writes: "Excuse me, but did Dick Cheney just predict that a Kerry victory would lead to a terrorist attack? Have the media got that right? I spent last week in New York watching the Republicans pummel Kerry night after night as weak and wobbly, practically a national security girlie-man. They got their message across. Forget about taxes and health care, this man who once dodged enemy fire in Vietnam was a menace. Now, of course, the Democratic nominee is trying to turn the campaign dialogue back to the economy (though Iraq, as always, keeps intruding, especially with the American death toll now having topped 1,000). And the Bush-Cheney team is having none of that ... they want this election to be about One Thing. And that Thing isn't prescription drug benefits. That's why the convention tried mightily to morph 9/11, Saddam and the war on terror into one never-ending threat, which also reduces the importance of our failure to find those pesky weapons of mass destruction."

Funny, when the Repug wife of MD Gov. Bob Ehrlich (a close Bush friend) stated in any annoyed tirade before a room full of people "I could just shoot Britney Spears," no one lifted a finger. Barely even the media. Now, when an off-duty police officer goes into a tirade against Bush, ending with a similar threat, he;s not only snitched on by the guy he pays to do his dry cleaning, he's arrested and charged with a federal crime! That this "threat" was just blowing steam without real meaning is SO obvious! "The president needs to be shot. His father needs to be shot. If someone gave me bullets, I would do that. I would shoot them in the head.'' The man is a POLICE OFFICER. Of course he has access to bullets - so if this were a real threat, why make a stupid statement like that? Maybe Britney Spears should have snitched on Ms. Ehrlich and had the feds arrest her for "terrorism."

If, right after 9/11 Bush and Blair had treated the attack as a CRIME by a group of criminal extremists, and urged vehementaly against any generalized anti-Muslim attitudes and actions, life in Britain and the US would be very, very different for everyone today, especially Muslims. All resources would have been turned toward capturing the CRIMINALS. Instead they were poured into a pointless "war against the Muslim world" that has yet to nab Osama. Bush and Blair were intentionally too slow to speak against anti-Arab racism because making all Muslims a vague, "forever" target served them so well in their warmongering, fear-driven agenda. Now soldiers are dying in Iraq and peaceful Muslim citizens of the UK and US must live in fear...while Osama walks free. Is this what America is all about?

Gulf News: "Here's a game the whole family can play. Pick any warning of a domestic terrorist attack issued by the US Homeland Security Department, and replace the word 'terrorist' throughout with some other frightening word. It greatly enhances the entertainment value of the statement without substantially changing its credibility. It works just as well if you substitute the word 'werewolves' or 'zombies' or even 'aliens'...because the 'terrorists' being promoted by Tom Ridge and his friends are not flesh-and-blood enemies with clear political goals and coherent (though violent) strategies for achieving them. The terrorists that the Department of Homeland Security purports to be defending Americans against could easily be the baddies in an episode of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. You would never know from the media coverage that the US is a country of almost 300 million people where not a single individual has been killed by terrorists in the past 35 months." "

Bush is colluding with the Dept. of Homeland Security and ABC to stage a massive campaign targeting children. Under the guise of 'National Preparedeness Month,' the program, called 'Ready for Kids,' pulls out the stops to appeal to voters via their kids by reminding them just how scared of terrorists they should be. It debuts on the anniversary of Sept. 11 {to make sure no one misses the connection to Bush, no doubt}, and has even roped in the Boy Scouts (will they be renamed "Bush Youth?"). Homeland Security and ABC plan a huge advertising blitz to promote the campaign. But if Bush had been so concerned with preparedness, why now, just before election day -- and 3 years after the fact? Instead, this all-out "scare the kids" and through them their parents scheme is clearly just another Bush campaign scam - brought to you by taxpayer dollars and the media. Complete with apologias like this "editorial" from USA Today.

Reuters: "Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo held a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday to weigh the impact of Washington's decision to renew its "terrorist" tag on communists rebels talking peace with the government." The Bush admin. move seems designed to derail peace negotiations brokered by the Norwegian government. Afterall, a destabilized country is an easily exploited country! Before this sabotage attempt, the "two sides [were weeking] a political settlement to more than three decades of armed rebellion in the Southeast Asian country. The U.S. label has been one obstacle to progress at the peace talks, as well as disputes over communist prisoners. The rebels' chief negotiator, Luis Jalandoni, criticized the U.S. action as "baseless, malicious, unjust and a major impediment in the ongoing peace talks."

"Al-Qaida may attempt to launch attacks in U.S. cities using helicopters or rented limousines packed with explosives as weapons, the FBI said in two nationwide bulletins. Terror operatives could attempt to hijack commercial, charter or tourist helicopter flights and use them in suicide attacks against buildings, parades or sporting events, said one of the intelligence bulletins obtained Monday by AP."