~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

exciting tuesday news!

http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm

Later today, there will be a press conference announcing a new call for National health Insurance by 7,782 U.S. physicians. They are proposing single payer NHI in an article in the August 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). There will be a press conference at the New York Academy of Sciences on Tuesday August 12 at 10a.m. in the Main Hall, 2 East 63 St, NY, NY. Lets' see what, if any, coverage it gets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

more health news!!!

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030811.wsick811/BNStory/International

Two more soldiers overseas have come down with serious pneumonia, bringing the unexplained cases to 17, the U.S. Army said Monday. Officials are investigating the cause of some 100 cases counted since March... Officials said last week that cases were among troops serving in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

...Armywide, between 400 and 500 soldiers get pneumonia each year. It is the severity of these new cases that has caused special concern.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

day in the 'life'

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=432202

The abd al-Kerim family didn't have a chance. American soldiers opened fire on their car with no warning and at close quarters. They killed the father and three of the children, one of them only eight years old. Now only the mother, Anwar, and a 13-year-old daughter are alive... Doctors said the father and his two daughters would have survived if they had received treatment quicker. Instead, they were left to bleed to death because the Americans refused to allow anyone to take them to hospital.

...The family pulled up to the roadblock sensibly, slowly and carefully, so as not to alarm the Americans. But then pandemonium broke out. American soldiers were shooting in every direction. They just turned on the abd al-Kerims' car and sprayed it with bullets. You can see the holes in the front passenger window and in the rear window. You can see the blood of the dead all over the grey, imitation velvet seat covers.

A terrible misunderstanding took place. The Americans thought they were under attack... [but] there was no attack. Another car, driven by an Iraqi youth, Sa'ad al-Azawi, drove too fast up to another checkpoint further up the street. Al-Azawi and his two passengers did not hear an order to stop, as their stereo was turned up too loud. The US soldiers, thinking they were under attack, panicked and opened fire.

In the darkness of one of Baghdad's frequent power cuts, other US soldiers on the street heard gunfire and thought they were under attack. They, too, reacted by opening fire, though they could not see what was going on. Soldiers manning look-out posts on a nearby building joined in, firing down the street in the dark. It was then that the abd al-Kerims drew up to the checkpoint.

..."It was anarchy," said Ali al-Issawi, who lives on the street and witnessed the whole thing. "The Americans were firing at each other." ...Sa'ad al-Azawi, the driver of the other car, was killed. The Americans dragged his two passengers out and beat them, still thinking they were resistance, Mr al-Issawi said. [and so on.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

au contraire

http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm

[On] a website called Defend America... [there is] a "don't worry folks, all is well'' letter by Senior Chief Art Messer 22 Naval Construction Regiment (Forward), Task Force Charlie U. S. Navy Seabees... Art writes from Iraq: "Life is flowing back into this country and it is fun to watch and I am so glad I got to watch it happen. Some days watching the Iraqi people is like watching the faces of little kids on Christmas Day! Many of them are walking around in a daze wondering what to do with their freedom. They are starting businesses everywhere. They want to build shopping malls and factories, they want McDonalds and Jack in the Box and Pizza Hut. Of course anything American Fast Food, because of the stories the troops are telling them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tonight on e.r.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1016199,00.html

On the front desk of the emergency room, the American soldiers keep a light green hardback book where they record all the gunshot, stabbing and shrapnel injuries that arrive at Yarmuk hospital in central Baghdad.

In the three weeks since they started the book, more than 170 gunshot victims have staggered, been wheeled or carried through the front gate.

...It has been more than three months since the Americans arrived in Baghdad, but still the electricity cuts out in the hospital. Staff have seen pictures on television of how the local prison has been refurbished, but all the Americans have done here is stick up no smoking signs and try and limit the visiting hours.

The night shift at the hospital is just beginning and already Dr Fahad is treating his second patient. Entry wounds, exit wounds, bullets lodged in the subcutaneous knee joint, like the one he is trying to remove now, he's seen them hundreds of times in the past few months. "We consider this a silly case," he says, making an incision with a scalpel across the knee injury... "Before the war, people with this sort of injury we would put them to sleep, but now we do not bother - there are too many," he says before finally, with a flourish, holding up a small copper pistol bullet and dropping it with a clunk into a kidney shaped metal bowl.

...The trauma ward at Yarmuk is a brutal place in every sense of the word. There are no sheets on the trolleys, or pillows on which patients can rest their heads. There is no room for sentiment here... It had risen to 52C (126F) during the day.

...Raed Jassem, 24, is one of the men who tries to keep the hospital clean. In Yarmuk, there is a lot of blood and there is a lot of vomit... But Mr Jassem, who has been trailing his mop around the hospital for almost two years, says he has got used to it. Not that the doctors have. "Watch this, you won't believe it," one of them says as the cleaner begins washing down one of the gurneys with the same rag he has just been using to clean the floor. "...He is not provided with anything else to clean with. What can he do?"

...Mayassa Khanas, 20, is the latest arrival in the ward. Earlier in the day she had been sitting in the garden of her family's home in the Saydiyea district of Baghdad when another indirect bullet fell out of the sky and struck her on the head... The image of her skull on the acetate plate of the x-ray looks normal except for the unmistakable shape of the bullet wedged into the bone, its sharp tip protruding just far enough into the cavity below that they dare not try to remove it themselves. They would like to send Ms Khansas to a hospital down the road where there are specialist neurosurgeons. But it has been closed for two days because of problems with power, and there are rumours that it could be closed for a further two weeks.

...The hospital is guarded by members of the 1st Armoured Division from Fort Riley in Kansas... Only Captain John Margolis and a couple of their other commanding officers are still living in a small office next to the emergency room... The doctors don't like the way the soldiers sometimes try to interfere, especially stopping them smoking in the wards. "Like it makes any difference," says Dr Sabah, pointing at the bloodstained floor and walls.

But CaptMargolis, who seems a good, well-meaning man, is unrepentant. "This is freedom and freedom can mean different things, and in this case freedom means we are going to have to enforce our values on them," he remarks without irony. [and so on.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

cautionary

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41178-2003Aug10.html

ALBU ALWAN, Iraq -- On a sun-drenched plain along a bluff of barren cliffs, a cheap headstone made of cement marks the grave of Omar Ibrahim Khalaf. His name was hastily scrawled in white chalk. Underneath is a religious invocation that begins, "In the name of God, the most merciful and compassionate." It is followed simply by the date of his death, Friday, Aug. 1.

...U.S. forces killed Khalaf as he tried to fire rocket-propelled grenades at a convoy... Khalaf's life provides a cautionary tale about today's Iraq... Khalaf was the second-youngest in a family of six brothers and six sisters who belong to a Sunni Muslim tribe that gave its name to the village. He was known as hot-tempered, but with a sense of humor... His education ended with elementary school, and he soon went to farming hay, barley, wheat and sunflowers on an eight-acre plot he inherited from his father. He was drafted during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, but deserted his post after serving six months in the Euphrates town of Hit. He married young and struggled to make money... Most of the time was spent surviving, driving a truck back and forth to Jordan and herding his 15 sheep and one cow.

His brother, Abdel-Latif, said that before the war Khalaf managed to make about $90 a month, enough to get by. In its chaotic aftermath, he said, he was making no more than $6 a month. His house, started four years ago, remains an empty shell of concrete floors and unfinished tan brick walls. His wife gave birth to their sixth child last month, a boy named Radwan.

...Neighbors said he was devastated by the quick fall of Baghdad. One shopkeeper said Khalaf told him that he wept all day at his home after the American forces arrived in the capital. Others recalled the anger that he loudly voiced as the U.S. patrols barreled down the highway perched just over his house and fields. The sight, they said, was so repugnant to him that he quit playing soccer in a dusty field adjacent to the bridge that the convoys used.

...Neighbors said his behavior grew increasingly erratic as the weeks passed. In vain, he once fired a Kalashnikov rifle at a U.S. helicopter passing overhead. One morning a week before his death, the summer heat already hanging like a haze over the village, he ran at a passing convoy dressed only in shorts, neighbors recalled. His family had to restrain him. "He hated the Americans," Khaled [Mawash, a neighbor] said. "He didn't care whether he died or not."

...Two weeks ago, neighbors said, he wrote the names of three people on a piece of paper. He owed each money -- between $10 and $30. A few days later, on Aug. 1, he woke up early and dressed in gray pants and a plaid shirt... He left without saying a word to his wife, his family or anyone else in the village. "Nobody knew where he went," Nawar Bidawi, a 41-year-old cousin, said.

At a U.S. base near Habaniya, Khalaf's body was stored in a black body bag in a small cement room for three days. The stench from the bodies was so overpowering that soldiers at the front gate, about 100 yards away, burned paper to fend off the smell... Khalaf's family was outraged that he had been left lying on his stomach, rather than his back. His head faced the ground, rather than the Muslim holy city of Mecca. His body was left in a hot, windowless room, rather than refrigerated. And they insisted it was already riddled with maggots. "The treatment was inhuman," said Mohammed Ajami, Khalaf's brother-in-law.

...As a martyr, he was interred as he died, in his clothes and unwashed. The wounds, according to custom, bore testimony to his martyrdom. His family said a convoy of 100 cars carrying 250 people accompanied Khalaf's body. And in the mourning that ensued, Khalaf went from spectacle to hero. The three men he owed money forgave his loans... Neighbors collected money for his children, now considered by Islamic tradition to be orphans. A family that had battled with Khalaf for a year over the rights to water from an irrigation canal apologized to his family and declared they were ashamed by their enmity.

...A 23-year-old shopkeeper across the street from Kamil's house, Abdel-Salam Ahmed, called Khalaf a hero... What will follow, he said, is clear. "Revenge is part of our tradition," he said.

Khalaf's brother talked of the promises he said were broken by the Americans -- a share of Iraq's oil they were supposed to receive, $100 payments that would come with better rations, jobs and prosperity that were supposed to follow more than 12 years of sanctions.

His brother-in-law complained of the daily degradations -- U.S. soldiers making men bow their heads to the ground, an act he said should only be done before God. He recalled soldiers pointing guns at men in front of their children and wives.

"He has become a model for everyone to follow," said Aani, the village sheik... "The person who resists this situation becomes an example."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,4789_W_945861,00.html

Six huge explosions rocked a US military base in Ramadi, 100 kilometres west of Baghdad, Monday night as assailants fired on the compound. An eyewitness said he saw smoke rising from the base after the blasts. There was no immediate comment from the US army... On Saturday, US soldiers shot and killed 2 Iraqi policemen. One they mistook for an attacker, the other was killed as he tried to surrender. The incident comes 2 weeks after Amnesty International condemned the US military for its repeated use of excessive force in Iraq.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

an embarassment of karma

http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=7989

In the hours and days before the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, a team of British Petroleum (BP) engineers in Kuwait taught combat troops from the 516 Specialist Team Royal Engineers how to run the oil fields in southern Iraq... In mid-July BP took possession of its reward -- one of the first tankers of oil from Southern Iraq, having won 25% of the initial sale of 8 million barrels of the existing stockpiles of Iraqi oil. The previous month California-based Chevron shipped back an equal quantity of oil from southern Iraq.

...If the bonanza in oil contracts won by giant oil companies is any indication, Washington is moving swiftly to secure access to Iraq's oil wealth once and for all. Shell along with Chevron, BP and seven other oil giants, have won contracts... Under the deal, Iraq will supply 645,000 barrels per day (bpd) for export... BP and Shell will each send one very large tanker every month to Iraq to pick up their two million barrels. Among the other companies that have signed deals to buy the oil are ConocoPhillips, Valero Energy and Marathon Oil, Total of France, Sinochem of China and a company from the Mitsubishi group, which is buying for Japanese refineries.

...The main job of overseeing the repair work of Iraq's oil infrastructure was discreetly awarded to Halliburton, a company formerly headed by United States Vice President Dick Cheney... Working in Iraq has helped bolster Halliburton's finances. The company made a profit of $26 million, in contrast to a loss of $498 million over the same time period a year earlier.

...Russian companies are worried that they are being shut out of new contracts and may even lose previous agreements. For example, in 1997 Russia's Lukoil signed a 23-year contract for the West Qurna field as the head of a consortium... [But] because of an executive order signed by president George Bush in late May... "Any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited, and shall be deemed null and void", with respect to "all Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests therein."

With this [executive order #13303], Bush granted Iraqi oil a lifetime exemption provided US companies are involved in the oil's production, transport, or distribution. This order applies to Iraqi oil products that are "in the United States, hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons." (Under US law, corporations are "persons.")

"In other words, if ExxonMobil or ChevronTexaco touch Iraqi oil, anything they or anyone else does with it is immune from legal proceedings in the US," explained Jim Vallette, an analyst with the Sustainable Energy & Economy Network of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC. "Anything... -- a massive tanker accident; an explosion at an oil refinery; the employment of slave labor to build a pipeline; murder of locals by corporate security; the release of billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; or lawsuits by Iraq's current creditors or the next true Iraqi government demanding compensation -- anything at all, is immune from judicial accountability," he says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we have nothing to capitalize but capitalism itself.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.contracts10aug10,0,2934480.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

With U.S. taxpayers bearing most of the cost of occupying Iraq, the Bush administration continues to use American corporations to perform work that United Nations agencies and nonprofit aid groups can do more cheaply, a senior Bush administration official acknowledged... Frederick Schieck, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, acknowledged that it would be cheaper to use the United Nations and nonprofit groups, but stood by the administration's extensive use of American companies in Iraq. "The private sector will always be capable of responding more rapidly" and offers "easier decision-making," said Schieck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

further adventures in capitalism

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/328342.html

The United States officially announced Monday that it is removing all opposition to Israel's sale of the Phalcon airborne radar system to India.

...In early 2002, the U.S. asked Israel to postpone the sale because of rising tensions between India and Pakistan. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said the U.S. had recently informed the two countries that it no longer had any objections to the deal... The Phalcon... will extend the range of the Indian airforce, enabling very long-range identification of targets and control over the weapons aimed at them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

meanwhile

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2003-daily/12-08-2003/main/update.shtml#24

NEW DELHI: India dismissed Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's suggestion Tuesday of a ceasefire in Kashmir. "There is nothing new in these suggestions," said a statement by the Indian foreign ministry. Speaking to a delegation of Indian lawmakers, journalists and ex-diplomats in Islamabad on Tuesday, Musharraf said Pakistan could "facilitate" a ceasefire in insurgency-wracked Kashmir if India stopped atrocities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2003-daily/12-08-2003/world/w11.htm

BERLIN: Germany has ruled out sending troops to Iraq to assist US-led forces in stabilizing the war-shattered country, government spokesman Thomas Steg said on Monday. "Our position is clear. The government is abiding by its stance not to engage militarily in Iraq," Steg told reporters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1016160,00.html

US officials say they are braced for further large-scale terrorist attacks in Iraq, after reports from intelligence sources that hundreds of Islamic militants who escaped across the border to Iran during the war may have slipped back into the country.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030809/NEWS/308090382/1060

A Sarasota woman who served as a "human shield" during the war in Iraq faces thousands of dollars in civil penalties. According to a letter dated March 20 from the federal Department of the Treasury, Faith Fippinger broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border -- a violation of U.S. sanctions that prohibit American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq."

...Now, Fippinger, 62, owes the United States at least $10,000, which is $10,000 more than she says she will pay... "If it comes to fines or imprisonment, please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the build-up of its arsenal of weapons," Fippinger wrote in her response to the charges.

...David Harmon, chief of the enforcement division of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, demanded that Fippinger include in her response the purposes and dates of her time in Iraq, along with a description of any financial transactions she made. The letter also asked for the name of any travel agent who arranged the trip, any U.S. goods she might have donated and any Iraqi goods she might have brought home. "They're saying that I, as a human shield, exported services to Iraq by going over there," Fippinger said Friday. In her response, Fippinger wrote that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-relief11aug11,0,6588759.story

While the Pentagon was planning the war against Iraq, a small group of medical relief planners here was preparing for its aftermath. In the last month alone, those planners have shipped more than $5,500,000.00 in medical aid to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. And the staff of Direct Relief International, the largest private international relief organization in California, is just getting started. Most of the relief sent so far has been medicine for the mentally ill and much more will be needed, officials say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/road/bly/bly4.htm

The "soujourner in chief" heads back to the White House next week, nearly a month after departing for what his spinmeisters are quick to emphasize has been a "working vacation." ..."I think you'll find the president, like most Americans, is going to probably have anywhere from around two weeks to maybe a touch over two weeks of nothing scheduled..." spokesman Ari Fleischer said earlier this month. [note: he said "like most americans." --mrs.h]

...American employees get an average of 13 paid days [including holiday and sick days --mrs.h] off per year, according to the World Tourism Organization. That’s the skimpiest number in the industrialized world... A quarter of American employees don't take all of the vacation days they're entitled to because of pressures at work, says a 2001 report by the Families and Work Institute, a New York City-based nonprofit research group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/08/10/build/business/45-jobless.inc

Twenty-one months after the official end of the recession in November 2001, the number of jobs in the United States continues to decline. Economists call it a "growth recession."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/26/politics/main565276.shtml?cmp=EM8707

President Bush invited top fund-raisers for a private barbecue down the road from his ranch Saturday as he turned his attention from rebuilding Iraq to re-election politics. The Bush campaign was shuttling in about 350 people, each of whom had helped collect $50,000 by June 30 for his 2004 campaign. They were getting personal attention from Bush and Karl Rove.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'healthy' 'forests': the details

http://www.azstarnet.com/star/sun/30810BUSHADVANCE2fFORESTS2f2f.html

[Arizona's] Mount Lemmon's charred forests and gutted homes will offer a stark backdrop for President Bush's visit Monday, but the Catalinas may not be the best place to sell his message. Bush is expected to promote his Healthy Forests Initiative, which aims to reduce wildfire risks by making it easier to cut trees on federal land and harder for environmentalists and others to appeal such plans. But recent thinning projects on Mount Lemmon weren't blocked by litigation and were even supported by local environmentalists. It was declining federal funding that kept the chainsaws quiet, Forest Service officials repeatedly have said... Not enough is spent to protect places like Summerhaven, while loggers are allowed to cut large, fire-resistant trees north of the Grand Canyon and in other areas far from homes.

"In spite of their rhetoric about being concerned about communities … they're still about doing timber sales, going after the big trees and satisfying their big timber contributors," said David Hodges, executive director of the Sky Island Alliance, a Tucson-based environmental group...The Healthy Forests Initiative - now awaiting action in the Senate - emphasizes the threats to people and property. But it also argues trees must be cut in remote areas to pay for thinning projects... Timber companies see no profit in cutting brush and small trees, while the government faces a staggering bill if it must pay for the thinning itself. At a typical rate of $500 per acre, it would cost nearly $100,000,000,000.00 to treat the 190 million acres the Bush administration says is at heightened risk of big fires.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

california dreaming

http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm

In London, columnist George Monbiot puts the weather in a deeper context... Writing in the Guardian, he comments: "Of course, we cannot say that the remarkable temperatures in Europe this week are the result of global warming. What we can say is that they correspond to the predictions made by climate scientists... In December the model predicted that, as a result of climate change, 2003 would be the warmest year on record... Last month the World Meteorological Organization announced that the increase in temperature in the 20th century is likely to have been the largest in any century during the past 1,000 years, while the trend for the period since 1976 is roughly three times that for the past 100 years as a whole. Climate change, the WMO suggests, provides an explanation not only for record temperatures in Europe and India but also for the frequency of tornadoes in the United States and the severity of the recent floods in Sri Lanka.

"There are, of course, still those who deny that any warming is taking place, or who maintain that it can be explained by natural phenomena. But few of them are climatologists... We want to believe them, because we wish to reconcile our reason with our dreaming."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=5&u=/nm/20030808/sc_nm/bush_science_dc

President Bush's science policies came under fire again Friday in a report from Democrat lawmakers and studies by reproductive health experts and scientists.

...The report, published on the Internet at http://www.politicsandscience.org, accuses the government of posting a page on the National Cancer Institute Web site, for instance, incorrectly linking abortion with breast cancer... It accuses the White House of also appointing to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel a researcher who controversially believes children can remain healthy with lead levels in their blood much higher than currently allowed.

...The nonprofit Alan Guttmacher Institute, which reports and lobbies on reproductive health issues, released a report on Friday accusing the Bush administration of distorting data on condoms and cervical cancer to try to discourage condom use and promote instead its abstinence-only agenda.

...A third report marks the second anniversary of Bush's executive order on the use of embryonic stem cells... The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research said the Bush policy restricting use of the cells by federally funded researchers has held back scientific research.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

molly ivins comments

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Aug/08112003/commenta/82944.asp

Let us stop to observe a few mileposts on the downward path to the utter degradation of political discourse in this country.

A recent newspaper advertising campaign by "independent" groups supporting President Bush shows a closed courtroom door with the sign, "Catholics Need Not Apply," hanging on it. The ad argues that William Pryor Jr., attorney general of Alabama and a right-wing anti-abortion nominee to the federal appeals court, is under attack for his "deeply held" Catholic beliefs. Actually, Pryor is under attack because he is a hopeless dipstick... The New York Times observed, "He has turned the Alabama attorney general's office into a taxpayer-financed right-wing law firm." He has argued against a key part of the Voting Rights Act and was the only state attorney general to argue against the Violence Against Women Act. Who cares if he's Catholic? He'd be a disgrace on the bench if he were a Buddhist.

Moving right on down the road to complete ideological madness, we now have the House Judiciary Committee threatening to investigate the sentencing records of every federal judge in the country for suspected "political" bias... All this stems from the matter of James Rosenbaum, chief judge for the Minnesota Federal District Court, who thinks sentencing guidelines for low-level drug dealers are too harsh... [and who gave] one guy four years (nine months below the guidelines) and another a month less that the minimum recommended... Look, these sentencing guidelines are awful. Everybody knows they're awful, so now anyone who stands up and says so gets subpoenaed?

...The "Watch on the Rhine" quality of our public life these days deserves serious attention. As one who studies the small, buried stories on the back pages of major newspapers, I am becoming increasingly uneasy. This is more than just, "Boy, do their policies suck." There's a creepy advance of something more menacing than bad policies. I keep thinking of Mussolini's definition of fascism: "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism,' since it is the marriage of government and corporate power."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

careers

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34024

A shortage of Arabic translators is not only hurting intelligence-gathering efforts in Iraq... but also at home... The bureau is having a hard time recruiting fluent American-born translators, because the Arabic language is rarely studied in American colleges, FBI officials say. So it's having to hire translators born in the Middle East, who require longer background checks.

...The backlog also includes reams of documents in Arabic and other tongues recovered in Afghanistan and other countries. According to the General Accounting Office, the lack of home-grown qualified linguists has resulted in thousands of hours of tape-recordings and pages of documents that have not been translated or studied – though Cogswell says the backlog recently has been reduced.

It's also created loyalty issues. Former FBI counterterrorism agents warn that the shortage may be leading to inaccuracies in wiretap information obtained through federal courts under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA... Agents worry that the religious bonds of Muslim agents may trump their oath to protect and serve America.

...At some FBI field offices, wiretap conversations of Arab terrorist suspects recorded as far back as the '80s have only "very recently" been translated into English. He notes that key discussions by plotters of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were caught on tape months before the attack, but weren't translated from Arabic to English until well after the bombing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

david kelly update

http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm

WHAT BRITS ARE TOLD "Evidence presented to the inquiry into the apparent suicide of the Ministry of Defense scientist David Kelly showed that concerns expressed by Dr. Kelly about the language of the government's dossier was shared within the intelligence community, even at a senior level. In a further undermining of Tony Blair's case, the inquiry heard that Dr. Kelly's status was much more significant than the government has admitted, a direct rebuttal of last week's description of the dead scientist by a No. 10 press officer as a Walter Mitty fantasist." -the Guardian

WHAT WE ARE TOLD... Here's how the New York Times played it: "Blair Did Not Knowingly Use False Report, Inquiry Is Told: Officials denied that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government knowingly used false information to create a sense of imminent threat from Iraq." Typical!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

life in soweto, i mean palestine

http://www.counterpunch.org/kuttab08092003.html

[Daoud Kuttab is a leading activist in Jerusalem and a respected commentator on Palestinian matters.] For most teenagers, the world over, the age of sixteen is supposed to be a happy one. However, reaching 16 for Palestinians, especially those living in East Jerusalem, is not much fun. This is the age that they are supposed to start carrying the dreaded identification card... My daughter Tamara who spent her 16th birthday as a senior in an Ohio High School as an exchange student, came home for the summer to obtain her ID... Unlike Israelis who get a five or ten year passport, Palestinians in Jerusalem can travel only on a laisser passier which can be issued for only a year, thus adding to an exasperating problem where 250,000 Palestinians are served by a single office of the Ministry of Interior and are denied the right to use any other office to get official document they need... [and] face the impossible task of simply entering the Interior Ministry offices.

A few months ago, my brother had to move the Israeli supreme court to enter these premises without having to wait all day in line - even that doesn't guarantee you get a turn that day. Entering the Ministry's office has become next to impossible for years because of a policy of lack of regard for the population, leaving frustrated Palestinians to fight tooth and nail just to preserve a place in line, while scores of Israeli police and private security staff watch in amusement.

...When my daughter wanted to brave the lines, I supported her, discounting all those who raised concerns that the queues outside the ministry have become nothing short of what a typical crime-festered inner city is like. People were telling me that we would be better off simply paying a lawyer (1,500 shekels and up) or one of the Jerusalem thugs to muscle their way in front of the line and sell their place in queue for a couple of hundred shekels.

...A day before our target date, I visited the location and pleasantly discovered that the problem was being taken care of. A bearded man was sitting across the street from the Interior Ministry offices with paper and pen, taking names in order. When I enquired, he told me that he and a few other Muslim faithfulls had taken it upon themselves to help organise the queue... Great, I thought, and duly registered. Our number was 16. I needed to return when names are announced at 10.00pm and the following day at 5.00am and we are home free.

At 10.00pm the bearded man was gone. A well-muscled young man was rewriting the list. It had been torn in a fight. Not to worry, I was told. We registered again, this in 46th spot. Not good, but if things went well we could go in with the second round. At 5.00am the following day, even this young muscular man was gone, and line was already backed up. The list was no longer valid. Everyone for himself, we were told.

...No sooner had the gate opened [at 8 a.m.] than a spate of fights started. By 11.00am more than eight separate fights for places in line had taken place, both on the men's as well as the women's sides... For some reason, the [women's] line seemed to stop. For hours, Tamara would plead with the guards to find out when she could get in and they would motion to her to wait. But it was a bluff. No one else would be allowed in after the last group that entered at 10:30am... By 3.00pm, dejected and angry, Tamara returned home with her cousin who also failed to make it into the fortress of a building titled the Ministry of Interior.

...Because of her college orientation in a few days, she will be travelling without having taken her ID card, with the hope that maybe next summer she can make into the building and get her personal ID card. Our children were tired and angry. The main question they repeated was simply: isn't there anyone that cares? A more sinister person might say that this is part of the "transfer" policy which right-winger Israelis support - making life so difficult that Palestinians leave voluntarily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

howe to rite

http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm

Here are some concrete tips from TV reporter Jake Lynch of the London-based Reporting the World about how reporters can promote peace instead of war...

1) AVOID portraying a conflict as consisting of only two parties contesting one goal. The logical outcome is for one to win and the other to lose. INSTEAD, a Peace Journalist would DISAGGREGATE the two parties into many smaller groups, pursuing many goals, opening up more creative potential for a range of outcomes.

2) AVOID accepting stark distinctions between "self" and "other." These can be used to build the sense that another party is a "threat" or "beyond the pale" of civilized behavior -- both key justifications for violence. INSTEAD, seek the "other" in the "self" and vice versa. If a party is presenting itself as "the goodies," ask questions about how different its behavior really is to that it ascribes to "the baddies" ?

3) AVOID blaming someone for starting it. INSTEAD, try looking at how shared problems and issues are leading to consequences that all the parties say they never intended.

4) AVOID waiting for leaders on "our" side to suggest solutions. INSTEAD, pick up and explore peace initiatives wherever they come from. Ask questions from ministers, for example, about ideas put forward by grassroots organizations. Assess peace perspectives concerning issues the parties are trying to address. Do not simply ignore them because they do not coincide with established positions. [see also pij.org]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

an alternative approach

http://www.larryflynt.com/national_prayer_day.html

HUSTLER Magazine invites you to join us in prayer. On Tuesday, August 5th at 12:45pm, we have organized a special gathering to pray to God for Fox News Channel blowhard Bill O'Reilly's death. The service will be held in Los Angeles at Cornerstone Plaza, 1990 S. Bundy Drive. Located on the corner of Bundy Drive and LaGrange Ave. DISCLAIMER: This serious gathering will truly take place, however if O'Reilly dies, it must be God's will. For more information, please contact: Sean Carney 323-651-5400 ext. 7361

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from harper's weekly review

http://www.harpers.org/weekly-review/

...Scientists in New York found that kind people are more likely to yawn when someone else does. [note: kind people! --mrs.h]

...General Richard Sanchez said that he was scaling back aggressive roundups of Iraqis in the search for Saddam Hussein and Baath Party loyalists because he was afraid that "maybe our iron-fisted approach to the conduct of ops was beginning to alienate Iraqis. I started to get those sensings from multiple sources."

...Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and announced his candidacy for governor in the California recall election; other candidates include the former child-actor Gary Coleman, the pornographer Larry Flynt, a porn star named Mary Carey, and Arianna Huffington, a newspaper columnist... Jerry Springer, the talk-show host, decided not to run for the Senate in Ohio.

...Leaders of the Episcopal Church approved a gay bishop and said that individual churches could choose to bless same-sex unions; a group of conservative bishops called for the creation of a new Anglican province in the United States where homosexuality would remain a bona fide sin.

...A forty-year-old Vatican document was discovered that commands "perpetual silence" and secrecy in dealing with priests who have sexual contact with "youths of either sex or with brute animals."

The United States Army began incinerating millions of pounds of chemical weapons in a small town in Alabama; nearby residents, who have been assured that the process is completely safe, were issued protective hoods

...The Pentagon has awarded a $500,000 grant to researchers to develop genetically engineered trees that will change color in the event of a biological- or chemical-weapons attack.

West Nile virus cases in the United States tripled in one week.

...Australian and American researchers created a robot, located in Perth, Australia, that is controlled by a rat brain in Atlanta; they called their creation a "semi-living artist."

It was hot in Europe, and wild fires were spreading across western Canada.

Scientists discovered that the sky is rising.