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"I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr, AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!" And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.And so let freedom ring -- from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.Let freedom ring -- from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring -- from theheightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring -- from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.Let freedom ring -- from the curvaceous slopes of California.But not only that. Let freedom ring -- from Stone Mountain of Georgia.Let freedom ring -- from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring -- from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at the end."

Bush's inauguration speech stresses security and liberty PM - Friday, 21 January , 2005 17:18:25TANYA NOLAN: George W Bush has begun his second term as President of the United States, committing his country to promoting liberty, freedom and the end of tyranny around the globe. Amid the extravagant ceremony, intense security and some passionate protests against his re-election, President Bush spelt out his second term agenda in a speech dominated by foreign policy. And it was a speech brimming with fervour and confidence, but it's also being described as the most combative inauguration speech for 50 years As John Shovelan reports from Washington. JOHN SHOVELAN: In the sweep of Inauguration Day addresses it's doubtful there would be many, if any, of the 54 previous, that were broader than today's. After all what could be a broader goal than "ending tyranny in our world"? GEORGE W BUSH: So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. JOHN SHOVELAN: Conservative commentators grabbed at the President's inaugural address to answer "the calling of our time," and spread freedom to every region on the globe, as radical and even revolutionary. But if it's pursued it could lead to some troubled times ahead for relations with Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. That's just to mention a few. Some are already suggesting the President's expansive pledges have simply set the US Government up to be accused of hypocrisy and failing to measure up to its own rhetoric. Ironically the most significant effort of his administration's liberty agenda, ending tyranny in Iraq, did not get one specific mention. Critics suggest it's failing its first test. It's the most challenging issue confronting the President, and is the single thing that has the potential to make or break his second term. Today's Inaugural address laid down markers for that term. But they aren't ones that are inconsistent with post 911 America or, as the President referred to it, the "day of fire". GEORGE W BUSH: We are led by events and common sense to one conclusion. The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. JOHN SHOVELAN: President Bush made it clear American foreign policy will continue in his second term to pursue its goals aggressively and despite the problems, Iraq won't be punctuating that approach. GEORGE W BUSH: Liberty will come to those who love it. Today America speaks anew to the peoples of the world. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you. Democratic reformers facing repression, prison or exile can know America sees you for who you are - the future leaders of your free country. JOHN SHOVELAN: He acknowledged the resentment at home that the conflict in Iraq is not worth the cost in lives and money. GEORGE W BUSH: Today I also speak anew to my fellow citizens. From all of you I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfil, and would be dishonourable to abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. JOHN SHOVELAN: That, along with a tribute to fallen troops, was the closest President Bush got to mentioning Iraq. But then some suggest today is a day for idealism and not realism.

George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn into office January 20, 2001, after a campaign in which he outlined sweeping proposals to reform America's public schools, transform our national defense, provide tax relief, modernize Social Security and Medicare, and encourage faith-based and community organizations to work with government to help Americans in need. President Bush served for six years as the 46th Governor of the State of Texas, where he earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative who shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control. President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and he grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1968, then served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. After graduating, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business. After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled the group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. He served as managing general partner of the Texas Rangers until he was elected Governor on November 8, 1994, with 53.5 percent of the vote. He became the first Governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive four-year terms when he was re-elected on November 3, 1998, with 68.6 percent of the vote. Since taking office, President Bush has signed into law bold initiatives to improve public schools by raising standards, requiring accountability, and strengthening local control. He has signed tax relief that provided rebate checks and lower tax rates for everyone who pays income taxes in America. He has increased pay and benefits for America's military and is working to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. He is also committed to ushering in a responsibility era in America, and has called on all Americans to be "citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens building communities of service and a Nation of character." The attacks of September 11th changed America - and in President Bush's words, "in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment." President Bush declared war against terror and has made victory in the war on terrorism and the advance of human freedom the priorities of his Administration. Already, the United States military and a great coalition of nations have liberated the people of Afghanistan from the brutal Taliban regime and denied al Qaeda its safe haven of operations. Thousands of terrorists have been captured or killed and operations have been disrupted in many countries around the world. In the President's words, "our Nation - this generation - will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian, and they have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The Bush family also includes their dogs Barney, Miss Beazley, and their cat India.

Ariel Sharon was born at Kfar Malal in 1928. His first military experience came when he joined the Haganah at the age of 14. He was only 20 in 1948 when he commanded an infantry company in the Alexandroni Brigade, during Israel's War of Independence.Sharon's reputation as a military hero grew in 1953, when he founded and led the "101" special commando unit which carried out retaliatory operations following terrorist attacks in Israel. However, the unit remained independent for only five months and was disbanded after it raided the West Bank village of Kibya, killing nearly 70 innocent civilians.His military prowess was demonstrated in 1967 during Israel's Six Day War, when he commanded an armored division. Two years later, Sharon was promoted to Head of the Southern Command Staff during the War of Attrition with Egypt.Considering his chances of being appointed Chief of Staff to be slim, Sharon resigned from the IDF (Israeli Army) in June 1972, but was recalled to military service in the 1973 Yom Kippur War to command an armored division on the southern front. Ariel Sharon entered political life after the Yom Kippur War. He was elected to the Knesset in December 1973 with the Likud party, but resigned a year later. Two years later, Sharon acted as a Security Adviser in Yitzhak Rabin's first government.As a result of the Yom Kippur War and following the Rabin resignation in 1976, Sharon shared the prevailing disillusionment against the Labor establishment and decided to form a new party, which he called Shlomzion. His party gained two seats in the subsequent 1977 elections. In the same elections, the Likud Party came to power in Israel for the first time: Sharon disbanded the Shlomzion Party and joined the Likud.Prime Minister Menahem Begin appointed him Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for settlements until 1981. With the rise of the political right in Israel and the growth of messianic Zionism, Sharon began to identify increasingly with the Gush Emunim movement and used his position to encourage the building of settlements. Despite the fact that he was involved in the return of Yamit in the Peace Agreement with Egypt in 1982, the settler movement considered him its champion.
Sharon served as Minister of Defense 1981-83, but his reputation was tainted during the Lebanon War. In September 1982, the IDF allowed a Phalange Militia to enter the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut to search for "militants". However the militia massacred hundreds of civilians. Public outrage forced the government to establish a commission of inquiry. Known as the Kahan Commission, it drew the conclusion that Sharon bore responsibility indirectly. Sharon was forced to resign, though he remained in the cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio.From 1984-90, Sharon served as Minister of Industry and Trade, and from 1990-92 as the Minister of Housing and Construction. When Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir resigned following the party's electoral defeat in 1992, Sharon despite his experience was unable to escape the shadow of Sabra and Shatila, and was unable to make a successful bid to replace Shamir.
In July 1996, Sharon was appointed Minister of National Infrastructure in a compromise with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the resignation of David Levy, Sharon was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.Sharon's inherited the Likud leadership after the defeat of Netanyahu and the Likud in the 1999 elections. He was influential in rehabilitating the party during its two years of opposition. Sharon was also able to recreate his image and shake off the stigma from Lebanon.As the Barak government crumbled in late 2000, Ariel Sharon ran a successful campaign for Israel's first Special Election for the premiership, in February 2001, emphasizing the need for national unity. He won by a margin of 25% on an all-time low poll of 59% of the Israeli electorate. 15-20% of expected voters, including the vast majority of Arab voters, did not go to the polls. He fulfilled his campaign promise and established a broad-based National Unity government, including both the Labor party as well as the far right-wing National Union party. He appointed Labor Party leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer as his Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.During his first several months in office Sharon demonstrated surprising restraint in dealing with Palestinian terror. He waited for the fact-finding committee set up following the Sharm el-Sheikh talks between former Prime Minister Barak and Arafat to deliver its findings, known as the Mitchell report, in May, resisting calls to strike at the PA immediately.His first significant albeit symbolic step was to close the Orient House in East Jerusalem following the bombing of the Dolphinarium Discotheque in early June, in which 21 youths were killed. He then spent the summer in negotiations with the Americans, developing the Tenet Plan, which called for an immediate cease-fire by both sides. Sharon demanded "seven days of quiet" before implementing the plan, which Israel never received.In the fall of 2001, Sharon became more aggressive, as Israel started making small, temporary incursions into Palestinian controlled areas and increased the pace of assassinations of terrorist leaders. However, he still showed too much restraint for the far-right party Yisrael Beitenu-National Union, which withdrew in October 2001. The settler movement grew frustrated that he was not as aggressive as its leaders desired, diminishing support for Sharon from this sector.The violence spiraled to an all-time high in March 2002, when over 120 Israelis were killed. Terror peaked with the Seder suicide bombing of a hotel in Netanya, killing 29 guests. Sharon immediately launched Operation Defensive Wall, meant to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian Authority.From April 2002 through November 2002 Israel has been engaged in a cycle of deep incursions into Palestinian areas to wipe out individual terrorist networks following attacks emanating from those areas.Sharon had intended to see the National Unity government to its full term in October 2003. However, Ben-Eliezer, who had felt pressure from inside his party for months, withdrew the Labor party from the coalition. Sharon tried to establish a stable coalition without Labor but could not do so, refusing to change his government guidelines for the sake of readmitting the far right into the government. He therefore dissolved the Knesset and called for early elections, to be held January 28, 2003.

TONY BLAIR BIOGRAPHY,

born: 6 May 1953"Education is the best economic policy there is."The son of a barrister and lecturer, Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh, but spent most of his childhood in Durham. At the age of 14 he returned to Edinburgh to finish his education at Fettes College. He studied law at Oxford, and went on to become a barrister himself.After standing unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in a by-election, Blair went on to win the seat of Sedgefield in the 1983 General Election, aged 30.Tony Blair made a speedy rise through the ranks, being promoted first to the shadow Treasury front bench in 1984. He subsequently served as a trade and industry spokesman, before being elected to the Shadow Cabinet in 1988 where he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Energy. In 1989 he moved to the employment brief.After the 1992 election Labour's new leader, John Smith, promoted Blair to Shadow Home Secretary. It was in this post that Blair made famous his pledge that Labour would be tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.John Smith died suddenly and unexpectedly in 1994, and in the subsequent leadership contest Tony Blair won a large majority of his party's support.Blair immediately launched his campaign for the modernisation of the Labour Party, determined to complete the shift further towards the political centre which he saw as essential for victory. The debate over Clause 4 of the party's constitution was considered the crucial test of whether its members would commit to Blair's project. He removed the commitment to public ownership, and at this time coined the term New Labour.The Labour Party won the 1997 General Election by a landslide, after 18 years in Opposition. At the age of 43 , Tony Blair became the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812.The government began to implement a far-reaching programme of constitutional change, putting the question of devolution to referendums in Scotland and Wales.An elected post of Mayor of London was established at the head of a new capital-wide authority, and all but 92 hereditary peers were removed from the House of Lords in the first stage of its reform. The government has also implemented an investment programme of £42 billion in its priority areas of health and education.Tony Blair was re-elected with another landslide majority in the 2001 General Election.He is married to the barrister Cherie Booth QC, and they have four children. Their youngest, Leo, was the first child born to a serving Prime Minister in over 150 years.

Vice President Richard B. Cheney Vice President Richard B. Cheney has had a distinguished career as a businessman and public servant, serving four Presidents and as an elected official. Throughout his service, Mr. Cheney served with duty, honor, and unwavering leadership, gaining him the respect of the American people during trying military times. Mr. Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941 and grew up in Casper, Wyoming. He earned his bachelor's and master's of arts degrees from the University of Wyoming. His career in public service began in 1969 when he joined the Nixon Administration, serving in a number of positions at the Cost of Living Council, at the Office of Economic Opportunity, and within the White House. When Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency in August 1974, Mr. Cheney served on the transition team and later as Deputy Assistant to the President. In November 1975, he was named Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff, a position he held throughout the remainder of the Ford Administration. President Bush Biography, Laura Bush Biographies After he returned to his home state of Wyoming in 1977, Mr. Cheney was elected to serve as the state's sole Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected five times and elected by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987. He was elected Chairman of the House Republican Conference in 1987 and elected House Minority Whip in 1988. During his tenure in the House, Mr. Cheney earned a reputation as a man of knowledge, character, and accessibility. Mr. Cheney also served a crucial role when America needed him most. As Secretary of Defense from March 1989 to January 1993, Mr. Cheney directed two of the largest military campaigns in recent history - Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. He was responsible for shaping the future of the U.S. military in an age of profound and rapid change as the Cold War ended. For his leadership in the Gulf War, Secretary Cheney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush on July 3, 1991. Mr. Cheney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Ann Vincent, in 1964, and they have grown daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, and three grand daughters.