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

you might not have seen this on the evening news

http://occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=359

DURHAM, N.C. – Leading anti-war activists and organizations launched a new campaign today calling for an end to war profiteering by military contractors, and challenging what they call the “second invasion” of Iraq by powerful corporate interests seeking to control the country’s oil, water and other resources. The Stop the War Profiteers Campaign, initiated by the North Carolina-based Institute for Southern Studies [www.southernstudies.org], has been endorsed by several leading veteran, faith, labor, peace and other organizations, as well as prominent scholars and activists across the country. “A handful of Bush-connected corporations are poised to make billions in profits while U.S. troops are killed almost daily, and Iraq plunges deeper into a colonial nightmare,” said Dr. Rania Masri, a campaign coordinator and program director at the Institute.

...Veterans for Peace, New York Labor Against the War, Global Exchange, United for Peace and Justice, Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, and other groups have signed on to the campaign’s founding statement, as well as well-known activist authors Noam Chomsky, Jim Hightower, and Howard Zinn.

The campaign calls on elected leaders to take several steps to stop war profiteering at taxpayer expense and to end the “corporate looting” of Iraq, including: Holding congressional hearings to investigate war profiteering and the secretive, closed-bid “reconstruction” contracts in Iraq given to a handful of corporations close to the Bush administration... Reigning in war profiteering by military contractors... through an “Excess Profits Tax,” similar to those during the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Korean War... [and] halting the U.S.-led drive to hand over Iraq’s industries, services and resources to powerful multinational corporations.

...Tara Purohit, an Institute associate working on the campaign, noted that during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said “I don’t want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this disaster."

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

frank d., allow me to present one WWII millionaire. originally published in the polish edition of newsweek [do you read polish? see http://newsweek.redakcja.pl/archiwum/artykul.asp?Watek=7159&WatekStr=1&Artykul=4903]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0306/S00055.htm

Prescott Bush, the grandfather of the US President George W Bush, during WW2 had financial links with the Nazis, thanks to whom he made his fortune as a banker.

Prescott Bush was a director and shareholder of the United Banking Corporation, which acquired from the nazi industrialist Fritz Thyssen, the Consolidate Silesian Steel Corporation, where prisoners from Auschwitz worked.

During the summer in 1942, this was reported in the American press and the US government examined the books of UBC. On the 20th of October, the government commenced action against the company under the Trading With the Enemy Act which Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in December 1941.

The company could continue to function under the limitations that its functions would not result in any help being given to the Nazis. Only in 1943 did Prescott Bush distance himself from UBC, and even engaged in the collection of funds for the victims of the war in his role as president of the National War Fund.

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

polish newsweek readers comment on this article

Autor: Data: 02.06.2003 16:29 Why is this article not being published in Newsweek America?

Autor: apierson@gwi.net Data: 02.06.2003 17:23 I agree with others that this should be published in Newsweek USA! What has happened to freedom of the press in America?

Autor: Paul Data: 05.06.2003 15:24 This is a great article that should be printed in the United States.

Autor: Data: 05.06.2003 20:20 Why is there no English translation of this article in the US version of Newsweek? [and so on.]

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

in other protest news. see also http://bringthemhomenow.com

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=3206f46339a4c82e

The families of two soldiers in Iraq, who died after apparently suffering pneumonia-like illnesses, are seeking independent analyses of their deaths. "We as a family are concerned that we are not being told the truth," say the similar Aug. 12 letters to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, facilitated by the National Gulf War Resource Center, a veterans' advocacy group.

...Last week, the father of another soldier, Army Spc. Rachael Lacy, 22, of Lynwood, Ill., complained that the Army had excluded Lacy's death from their investigation. Lacy died following a constellation of symptoms including pneumonia, according to her father. Moses Lacy told UPI that, "the common denominator (in the mysterious deaths) is smallpox and anthrax vaccinations. The government is covering this up and it is a doggone shame." The Army said it is excluding Lacy's death from its investigation because she never made it to Iraq or southwestern Asia where it says the cases are clustered. "She was never deployed to Iraq," Army Surgeon General spokeswoman Virginia Stephanakis told UPI.

A co-author of a government-sponsored study of possible side effects from the anthrax vaccine told UPI last week that the Army should look at whether that vaccine is behind the cluster of pneumonia cases. That study last year found the vaccine was the "possible or probable" cause of pneumonia in two soldiers.

...A group of veterans and parents of soldiers in Iraq called "Bring Them Home Now" held a news conference Wednesday to hammer the Bush administration and the Pentagon for the Iraq war. Parents affiliated with the group, which claims to speak for 600 families, said the White House misled the nation before the war, and now is covering up the causes and number of wounded or ill soldier.

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

http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/news_release.asp?NewsRelease=20030828.txt

August 12, 2003 Release Number: 03-08-28

SOLDIER DIES IN SLEEP

AR RAMADI, Iraq – A soldier attached to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment died while sleeping at a base camp in Ar Ramadi on Aug. 12. The soldier’s name is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin. The incident is under investigation.

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

david kay, former veep at war profiteering corporation SAIC, gets to work

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1016856,00.html

The former UN inspector hired by the Bush administration to find evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction will claim in a report next month that Iraqi forces were ordered to fire chemical shells at invading coalition troops, according to US reports. But David Kay, who heads the 1,400-strong Iraq Survey Group, has admitted he has found no trace of the weapons themselves, and cannot explain why they were never used.

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

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/08/13082003144433.asp

In a contribution to the London-based daily, Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University's Earth Institute says, "The crucial question concerning Iraq is why the motives for war were disguised." The contention that Iraq was a "grave and imminent threat" was "absurd," he says. Today, it "seems increasingly likely that Iraq was attacked because Saudi Arabia was deeply implicated" in the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, while little or no evidence linked Baghdad to the attackers.

...First, Riyadh's inferred complicity in 11 September offered "dramatic confirmation" that Saudi Arabian oil was an insecure source, and even demonstrated that Riyadh may pose a threat to U.S. security interests. Iraqi oil was the only "quantitatively significant alternative" to Saudi supplies. Second, a new base had to be found for U.S. troops in the region to replace U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia. Third, following the events of 11 September, the White House sought to make clear that aiding terrorists or otherwise threatening U.S. security interests could result in "regime change" in Saudi Arabia as it did Iraq. Finally, the U.S. administration sought to obscure the Saudi connection for fear its own Saudi associates would be implicated.

Sachs says the U.S. administration seems unwilling to examine the Saudi connection. But the issues involved "are too big to be swept aside."

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

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-08-13-turkey-iraq-oil_x.htm

Iraq began pumping fresh crude oil Wednesday through a pipeline to Turkey's Mediterranean coast for the first time since the war, a Turkish oil official said. Iraq began pumping oil at around 4:30 p.m., said the official.

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

why do they hate us?

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030813-093523-5381r.htm

BAGHDAD — Severe gasoline shortages that contributed to two days of rioting in Basra last weekend are at least partly the result of improving economic conditions that have boosted demand, officials say.

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

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/14/MN94780.DTL

The Pentagon wants to cut the pay of its 148,000 U.S. troops in Iraq... The uniformed Americans in Iraq and the 9,000 in Afghanistan will lose a pay increase approved last April of $75 a month in "imminent danger pay" and $150 a month in "family separation allowances." ...Congress made the April pay increases retroactive to Oct. 1, 2002, but they are set to expire when the federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30 unless Congress votes to keep them as part of its annual defense appropriations legislation... A White House spokesman referred questions about the administration's view on the pay cut to the Pentagon report.

...By the numbers: .U.S. troops in Iraq: 148,000. U.S. troops in Afghanistan: 9,000. Imminent danger pay: $225 per month, but is scheduled to drop to $150 a month. Family separation allowances: $250 per month, but scheduled to drop to $100 per month

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

http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/reuters20030814_644.html

Moving to quash a political firestorm, the Pentagon on Thursday denied that it will cut the pay of nearly 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by $225 on Sept. 30 when special military pay hikes approved by Congress are due to expire. Defense officials said that even if lawmakers do not reinstate increases passed in April in both "imminent danger pay" and "family separation allowances," the Pentagon will make up the pay losses to troops in those countries in other ways.

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

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/08/12/state2025EDT0173.DTL

After eight months in Kuwait and Iraq, Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Dale Racicot just wanted to see his wife and two daughters... Back home three hours later, Racicot collapsed onto his dining room floor, dead of a heart attack at 54... In Kuwait, Racicot headed a six-member intelligence team that analyzed statements from Iraqi prisoners of war. It was not immediately known if the stress of the job contributed to the heart attack.

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

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/3046.htm

The United States said yesterday it had neither an exact count nor all the names of hundreds of people captured in Afghanistan and now detained at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. Federal lawyers made the disclosure during a court hearing in a case on behalf of Falen Gherebi, a Libyan national believed to be in custody in Cuba... "They won't let him out and they won't tell us if he's there," said Stephen Yagman, a lawyer for Gherebi's brother. "This is crazy." The panel of judges expressed shock about the apparent lack of record-keeping on people who have been in custody for 577 days.

...The White House has argued that the court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the legal rights of the captives, since they are being held on foreign soil, in Cuba, on land that is leased to, not owned by, the United States.

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

http://www.unknownnews.net/suicides.html

...Many of these [concentration camp x-ray] prisoners have attempted suicide. Whenever another suicide attempt is reported, journalists ask US military officials how many suicide attempts there have been — and the answers are apparently bogus.

Yesterday, on August 14, 2003, Associated Press reported the latest suicide attempt, and the latest answer to that question: "The prisoner's attempt to kill himself this week brings the number of suicide attempts to 30 since the high-security prison was opened in January 2002, Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Barbara Burfeind said."

But that was also the answer when the same question was asked a year ago. CBS News reported on August 15, 2002: "Doctors at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reportedly say that in the seven months that the U.S. has been keeping al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners there, about thirty have tried to kill themselves."

And in October of 2002, covering news of still more suicide attempts at Guantanamo, BBC News also reported: "Two months ago, doctors said there had been at least 30 suicide attempts at the Guantanamo detention centre."

In May of 2003, after prisoners had been held for sixteen months without charges, trial, or even access to lawyers, the Associated Press reported two more suicide attempts: "These brought the number of suicide attempts to 27, said Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the Camp Delta prison."

And now, on Aug. 14, 2003 — almost a year to the day after CBS News reported there had been "about thirty" suicide attempts — Associated Press reports yet another suicide attempt, which brings the total number of suicide attempts at Guantanamo back to 30.

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

total war, revisited

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/6532118.htm

The United States has no ready answer to calls for action to reverse the upward trend in opium production in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday... "My impression is that in a very real sense it's a demand problem, it's a problem that there are a lot of people who want it, a lot of people with money who will pay for it, a lot of people who will steal from others to pay for it," he said... "It is a whale of a tough problem."

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

duh

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/6527023.htm

Dogs may be man's best friend but rats are closer relatives, according to a new study that compares stretches of DNA for 13 different animals.

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

meanwhile, back in the previously liberated nation

http://www.prolog.net/webnews/wed/bd/Qafghanistan-security.RJv2_DaE.html

Afghanistan pleaded Thursday for more world help to combat country-wide violence after a day of bloodshed that left dozens dead... Wednesday's explosion of violence underscored the absence of law and order that has led to repeated calls from Kabul and the United Nations for the peacekeeping International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be deployed beyond Kabul... The UN refugee agency announced Thursday it was suspending work in northeastern Kunar province after a rocket landed near its office in a weekend attack. There were no casualties. The UN last week suspended road missions across much of Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar provinces because of attacks.

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

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=FOP2LRVEY25IECRBAEKSFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=3271564

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Sixty-one people were killed and dozens wounded in outbreaks of violence across Afghanistan in the troubled country's bloodiest 24 hours in more than a year, officials said Wednesday. At least 25 people, most of them factional fighters, were killed after fighting erupted early Wednesday between forces of a sacked provincial official and his successor in a remote district of Uruzgan province, a cabinet minister said.

...The violence comes despite the presence in Afghanistan of a 12,500-strong U.S.-led coalition pursuing Taliban and al Qaeda remnants.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/14/international/worldspecial/14DIPL.html?ei=1&en=893857e456c68f55&ex=1061825257&pagewanted=print&position=

The Bush administration has abandoned the idea of giving the United Nations more of a role in the occupation of Iraq as sought by France, India and other countries as a condition for their participation in peacekeeping there, administration officials said today. Instead, the officials said, the United States would widen its effort to enlist other countries to assist the occupation forces in Iraq.

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

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3270726

U.S. administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer said on Wednesday American troops were "not sitting ducks" in Iraq.

...Speaking in an interview to mark 100 days as U.S. ruler in Iraq, Bremer said he expected the country's new governing council would write a constitution within six to eight months after convening a convention.

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

http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-iraq13aug13001419,0,1136577.story

Concerned about imminent terrorist attacks and other violence, the U.S.-led occupation authority moved Tuesday to hire scores of security guards for the new Iraqi Governing Council and bolster the authority's already extensive security network to protect its own top staff.

...The occupation leadership also expanded its own security. Hundreds of yards of razor-sharp concertina wire and concrete blockades were set up to barricade the already heavily fortified conference center complex where many of the authority's meetings and news conferences are held. Reporters, required to arrive 90 minutes ahead of a briefing by Bremer, underwent two body searches before a third check by heavily armed soldiers, equipped with bomb-sniffing dogs — a more intensive procedure than the White House demanded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

...The council works cloistered in a building set back more than half a mile from the road. Visitors can enter only if they are met by a council member and after they have been checked by U.S. soldiers. Once inside the complex, they must drive past a second American checkpoint, stop their cars and wait while a soldier removes a set of road spikes.

...The request for 120 bodyguards to protect 25 people suggests either around-the-clock coverage or multiple guards for certain members... Despite the presence of nearly 150,000 U.S. troops and the half a dozen U.S. companies here training a new Iraqi army and police force, the document added: "There is no established pool of quality trained bodyguards currently available in Iraq." The training is to be completed by October.

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

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/11/1060588320240.html

Some Iraqi exiles recruited by the Pentagon to help rebuild their homeland are pressing for a bigger role in reconstruction, saying they have been sidelined... One prominent political scientist has resigned from the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council and others are threatening to leave if their concerns are not addressed.

Coalition officials say the grumbling [sic] is limited to a handful of about 130 Iraqi expatriates... "The population of Iraq perceives correctly that it is the occupiers who are running things. Everybody else is there in some secondary or subservient role," said Chicago attorney Feisal Istrabadi, an adviser to Iraqi Governing Council member Adnan Pachachi. "It's just like in the old days under the British mandate," Mr Istrabadi said.

...Dan Senor, a spokesman for civil administrator Paul Bremer, said the coalition's management structure provides plenty of room for council members to take part in policy-making. "They do have a role," Mr Senor said... The debate has been stoked by University of Amsterdam professor Isam Khafaji, who said he resigned from the council in July... Professor Khafaji said many council members had been relegated to carrying out orders, collecting information on Iraqi bureaucrats, serving as translators and go-betweens or reading emails.

He said he found his role consisted of "formally, nothing".

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

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030812/D7SSKC280.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis should measure their progress by the freedoms they enjoy, not the services they don't have, the top U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq said Tuesday. L. Paul Bremer told a news conference that while Iraqis complain of unsafe streets and shortages of power, they must also realize that the fall of Saddam Hussein has made their lives better.

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

http://www.prolog.net/webnews/wed/cp/Qiraq-us-regime-pay.R5WX_DaC.html

BAQUBA, Iraq, Aug 12 (AFP) - Former members of Iraq's once-dreaded secret police warned Tuesday they would take up arms against the US-led coalition running the country if they were not paid their salaries. "We haven't had a penny in five months, we have families to feed," said one man.

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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3023932,00.html

U.S. soldiers shot into a crowd in a Baghdad slum Wednesday, killing one civilian and wounding four, after being fired on with a rocket-propelled grenade, the military said.

The exchange [sic] broke out after about 3,000 demonstrators gathered near a telecommunications tower in Sadr City, where they said American forces in a helicopter tried to tear down an Islamic banner... Amateur video footage obtained by Associated Press Television News showed a Black Hawk helicopter hovering about three feet from the top of the tower and apparently trying to tear down the banner. The footage showed U.S. Humvees driving by and the crowd throwing stones at them. Heavy gunfire broke out and the demonstrators hit the ground [hmm, the rocket-propelled grenade did not appear on the the tape? -mrs. h]... No soldiers were hit.

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

what you don't know won't hurt you?

http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/ap-copter-banner.htm

Associated Press Removes Mention of US Helicopter Purposely Tearing Down Islamic Banner in Iraq: On 13 Aug 2003, 4:17 PM ET, the Associated Press newswire carried an article headlined "U.S. Soldiers Fire Into Crowd, Killing 1" by Tarek al-Issawi. Here's the entire thing... Pay special attention that fourth paragraph, which says that the AP has in its possession amateur footage showing that the US chopper was purposely tearing down the banner.

The next day, at 2:00 PM EST, the Associated Press released a follow-up article, "US Military Apologizes to Shiite Muslims" by Sameer N. Yacoub. Although it goes into detail about the incident, it completely leaves out mention of the video footage.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/international/worldspecial/15IRAQ.html?pagewanted=print&position=

The United States military apologized today for an incident that deeply angered Iraqi religious leaders on Wednesday when soldiers in a helicopter forced down a flag near a mosque in an overwhelmingly Shiite district of Baghdad... The flag episode outraged residents of Sadr City, a poor but fervent Shiite neighborhood in northeast Baghdad. They poured out in droves on Wednesday to demonstrate against what they considered the desecration of an important religious symbol... "Any American soldier who comes to Sadr City, we will kill him," said Saleh Obeid, 50, a fireman who works at the fire station near the mosque.

..."Apparently, the helicopter did either blow down the flag, or somehow, that flag was taken down," Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the commander of ground troops in Iraq, said during a news conference today. "We are taking steps to ensure that that doesn't happen again," General Sanchez said.

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

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s922112.htm

The US military is investigating claims that American troops have mistakenly shot dead at least six Iraqi civilians and two local police officers in recent days... The head of the US-appointed Iraqi provisional government, Ibrahim Al Jaffri, says he has heard numerous complaints that US soldiers are 'trigger happy'. He says US troops should exercise more care before firing.

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

http://occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=438

On Saturday, August 2, at 11:30 p.m., Baghdad local time, U.S. occupation forces arrested Qasim Hadi and fifty-four other Iraqi leaders and members of the Union of the Unemployed in Iraq who had been engaged in a five-day sit-in protest of the treatment of unemployed Iraqi workers by occupation forces and U.S. corporations granted contracts for work in Iraq. We are informed that the detained workers were released only after the intervention of representatives of the United Nations.

These were not armed combatants. They were not terrorists. These were unemployed workers peacefully protesting, exercising their democratic right to seek redress for their grievances.

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

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030812/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_us_media_expel&cid=1514&ncid=1480

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The editor of Iraq Today, a leading English-language daily, said the US military had handcuffed him, thrown him to the ground and banned him from one of its main Baghdad headquarters. Hussein Fattah Pasha, said he had gone to attend a press conference at the Baghdad convention centre on Monday and had arrived... 30 minutes before it started. But a US military officer told him he had missed the deadline to attend the conference... The US officer did not impose the one-hour deadline on other journalists who arrived after Pasha and were allowed attend the conference, Pasha said.

Pasha said that, after a brief argument, involving some shouting, he was handcuffed, thrown to the ground and escorted from the building by seven soldiers, and that his press card was confiscated.

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

http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030814/API/308140859

The U.S. military briefly issued an order Thursday that could have restricted journalists from accompanying American troops on all but routine missions in Iraq, including operations aimed at capturing or killing Saddam Hussein.

The directive told commanders throughout Iraq that reporters, photographers and television crews would be prohibited from traveling with the military on some operations as so-called "embedded" journalists. The U.S. military headquarters in Baghdad rescinded the order shortly after The Associated Press reported on it. No explanation was given.

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

enduring freedom of the press

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/media_watch/july-dec03/palestinehotel_08-13-03.html

A U.S. military inquiry into the shelling that killed two foreign journalists at a Baghdad hotel April 8 has concluded that the troops were justified in firing at what they had reason to believe was an enemy position, the U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday.

...Soldiers saw what they believed to be an enemy observer and sniper on an upper-story balcony of the 18-story building, and "they also witnessed flashes of light, consistent with enemy fire, coming from the same general location as the building," according to the Central Command statement... "Baghdad was a high intensity combat area and some journalists had elected to remain there despite repeated warnings of the extreme danger of doing so," according to a summary of the military's report.

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

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7739

Reporters Without Borders today rejected a US military enquiry which has reportedly concluded that a tank crew acted in self-defence when it fired on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad on 8 April, killing Taras Protsyuk, a Ukrainian cameraman working for Reuters, and José Couso, a Spanish cameraman with the commercial TV station Telecinquo... "All the facts at our disposal indicate exactly the opposite, that there are no grounds for claiming self-defence, and saying this is a lie," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard said. "These findings are the umpteenth US military version of what happened on 8 April and they all contradict each other," he said.

...Reporters Without Borders has meanwhile been conducting its own investigation in Baghdad and Washington since April, and the findings will be issued at the end of September.

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

those pesky media

http://www.msnbc.com/news/950176.asp?cp1=1

The Transportation Security Administration is conducting a “witch hunt” to ferret out and discipline employees in the federal air marshal program who have talked to the media, several sources within the program told MSNBC.com. Some air marshals are even being threatened with having the USA Patriot Act, a law enacted to help fight terrorism, used against them. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, denies that any such investigation is taking place. [tiresome details in original article -mrs.h]

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

what we have here is a failure to communicate

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/6527609.htm

NEW YORK - (AP) -- A New York Times reporter and photographer who were following up on a story about lost boaters breaching security at Kennedy International Airport were themselves picked up by police near the airport Wednesday... Times spokesman Toby Usnik said the newspaper was cooperating with authorities.

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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,12809,1017347,00.html

Anti-war activists who visited Iraq before the US invasion have discovered that they could face up to 12 years in prison and $1,000,000.00 in fines... A spokesman denied any suggestion that the enforcement effort was politically motivated.

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

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3265810

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Over objections from some Muslim American groups, President Bush plans to sidestep Congress and appoint a Middle East scholar who has been derided by critics as anti-Muslim to a federally funded think tank, congressional sources said on Tuesday.

...[Daniel] Pipe's nomination has been stalled for months in the Senate, where key Democrats objected to his controversial statements and writings defending racial and religious profiling and suggestions that mosques in America should be targets of police surveillance. Bush has stood by his nominee despite the uproar and, according to sources, plans to issue a recess appointment as early as this week. In so doing, Pipes would bypass the Senate confirmation process and could serve on the institute's board through next year.

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

the wit and wisdom of daniel pipes

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2003/22/we_420_01.html

...The Israeli military must force what Pipes describes as a "change of heart" by the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza -- a sapping of the Palestinian will to fight which can lead to a complete surrender. "How is a change of heart achieved? It is achieved by an Israeli victory and a Palestinian defeat," Pipes continued. "The Palestinians need to be defeated even more than Israel needs to defeat them."

...President Bush nominated Pipes to the board of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally sponsored think tank dedicated to "the peaceful resolution of international conflicts." ...Pipes is also a founder of Campus Watch, a website that compiles public files on college professors who are critical of Israel or certain aspects of American Foreign policy. Several weeks ago he penned a column arguing that the Bush administration should install a "democratically-minded Iraqi strongman" in Iraq.

...He has criticized Bush for suggesting in public that Islam is a peaceful religion. "All Muslims, unfortunately, are suspect," he wrote in a recent book... He also finds Muslim immigration problematic: "All immigrants bring exotic customs and attitudes, but Muslim customs are more troublesome than most." [and so on.]

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

speaking of exotic customs and attitudes

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=ea2946f94265182e

A United Nations panel has urged Israel to repeal a new law forcing Palestinians who marry Israelis to live separate lives. The Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination unanimously approved a resolution saying the Israeli law violated an international human rights treaty... On 31 July the Israeli parliament approved a law preventing Palestinians married to Israelis from gaining Israeli citizenship or residency. Arabs make up about 20% of Israel's population of 6 million... The Israeli Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yaakov Levy, said the resolution showed "a biased approach which singles out Israel".

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

things that make you go hm

http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2003/august/08_14_2.html

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The Bush administration has again assured Hamas that it would not be targeted for elimination in the U.S.-led war against terrorism... In an interview with Egypt's Nile Television on Tuesday, [Secretary of State Colin] Powell rejected the prospect of a crackdown on Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Instead, he stressed dialogue with Hamas in an effort to persuade the group to end attacks against Israel.

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

http://www.unknownnews.net/030815foreignpolicy.html

KIEV, Ukraine — Just last year, the United States was denouncing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma for allegedly authorizing the $100 million sale of a sophisticated radar system to Saddam Hussein. Kuchma [was] revealed discussing the sale on secret tapes authenticated by the FBI... That was before the war in Iraq. Today, Kuchma is a valued new recruit in the U.S.-led occupation there, preparing to send a force of as many as 1,800 Ukrainian soldiers — at mostly American expense — to serve south of Baghdad. The illegal arms sale charges have been shelved. [see this article for more about life in the ukraine -mrs.h]

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

http://www.latimes.com/la-na-poindexter13aug13,0,4883935.story

John M. Poindexter took issue Tuesday with critics of his Pentagon efforts to develop new data scanning systems and an online futures market... In a letter of resignation ending a controversial 20-month Pentagon tenure, Poindexter pressed his case for employing new technologies to discern terrorists' plans in such everyday transactions as credit card purchases, travel reservations and e-mail.

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

http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5062617.html

A government report that urges the U.S. Postal Service [USPS] to create "smart stamps" to track the identity of people who send mail is eliciting concern... USPS already offers mail-tracking services to corporate customers. The report proposes a broad expansion of the concept to all mail for national security purposes. It also suggests USPS work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop the system.

...Major high-tech companies, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Pitney Bowes, Symbol Technologies and Stamps.com, are pushing the Postal Service to adopt intelligent mail systems.

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

http://www.nupge.ca/news_2003/n14au03a.htm

Washington - Nearly 8,000 American doctors, arguing that U.S. health care is collapsing, have called for a national health insurance system... Their appeal was made this week in an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association... More than 41 million Americans have no health insurance and millions more have inadequate coverage. "How bad does it have to get?," asks Dr. Steffie Woolhandler of Harvard Medical School. "How many patients have to die from lack of health insurance? How many seniors have to choose between medicine and food before our legislators enact national health insurance?"

...The group says a national program would mean an increase in taxes but this would be offset in many cases by wiping out the need for private health insurance that can cost families up to $10,000 (US) a year - or more. The group says problems such as waiting lines, causing problems in Canada, could be avoided by maintaining the same proportionate amount of spending on health care that the U.S. now lavishes on its inefficient and unequal private system. "If (Canadians) were to put the same amount of money as we do into their systems, there would be no waits," says Dr. Marcia Angell. "For them, the problem is not the system; it's the money. For us, it's not the money; it's the system."

Past attempts to reform the U.S. system have been defeated by two of the most power lobby groups on earth - the U.S. insurance and the pharmaceutical industries. Currently, about 26 cents on every U.S. health care dollar is spent on paperwork and administration. Replacing private health insurance companies with a single, government insurer like Medicare, which spends about 3% on administration, would save the U.S. $200 billion dollars annually.

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

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&ncid=751&e=9&u=/nm/20030814/hl_nm/cancer_childhood_dc

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of childhood cancer, can be cured and kids who survive it can have a normal lifespan, new research suggests.

..."We were interested in determining whether patients with ALL could be cured," lead author Dr. Ching-Hon Pui, from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, told Reuters Health. "The disease is associated with late relapses, but now with 30 years of follow-up, I think we can confidently say that indeed ALL can be cured." ...SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, August 14, 2003.

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

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.cfm?Id=874&yr=2003

The World Health Organization (WHO) will submit its findings today from its study in Denmark following the voluntary ban on use of growth promoters in livestock in 1998. WHO will recommend that nations phase out the widespread use of antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed, saying the move will help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for medicine and can be done without significant expense or health consequences to farm animals. WHO concluded that the use of low-dosage antibiotics "for the sole purpose of growth promotion can be discontinued."

...The report also found that once growth promoters were dropped, the amount of resistant bacteria in pork and chicken declined "dramatically."

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

what does it all mean?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52340-2003Aug12.html

Marvel Enterprises, publisher of Spider-Man and X-Men comics, said second-quarter earnings rose to $32.8 million, from $8.38 million in the second quarter of 2002.

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

we all live in three mile island

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/14/power.outage/index.html

NEW YORK -- Power began to flicker on late Thursday evening, hours after a major power outage struck simultaneously across dozens of cities in the eastern United States and Canada. By 11 p.m. in New Jersey, power had been restored to all but 250,000 of the nearly 1 million customers who had been in the dark since just after 4 p.m., a spokeswoman for Public Service Energy and Gas said... Cities affected included New York, Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto and Ottawa, Canada.

It was unclear what caused the outage, although state and federal officials agreed that it was not terrorism.

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

no little round bombs found in power plants

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=a6afca75ee80b359

Michehl Gent, the NERC president, said he was fairly confident terrorism wasn't involved. Federal officials earlier said there is no evidence of terrorism. "We don't have any indication of blown-up equipment," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "So, we're almost certain it's not terrorism of any kind."

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

you don't know what you bought until you lose it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61117-2003Aug15.html

The country's halting moves toward electricity deregulation over the past decade have dramatically increased the volume of power flowing on the grids... While the system is linked together with advanced computer systems, much of the equipment that opens and closes connections around the nation's three major grids is 1950s vintage, officials said... As deregulation flourished, investment dwindled in transmission lines, whose profits are limited by regulation.

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

greg palast explains it all

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=257&row=0

Before I was a journalist, I worked for a living, as an investigator of corporate racketeers. In the 1980s, "NiMo" [the niagra mohawk power co] built a nuclear plant, Nine Mile Point, a brutally costly piece of hot junk... In 1988, I showed a jury a memo from an executive from one partner, Long Island Lighting, giving a lesson to a NiMo honcho on how to lie to government regulators. The jury ordered LILCO to pay $4.3 billion and, ultimately, put them out of business. And that's why, if you're in the Northeast, you're reading this by candlelight tonight.

Here's what happened. After LILCO was hammered by the law, after government regulators slammed Niagara Mohawk and dozens of other [power companies]... the industry leaders got together to swear never to break the regulations again. Their plan was not to follow the rules, but to ELIMINATE the rules. They called it "deregulation."

...But they dare not launch the scheme in the USA. Rather, in 1990, one devious little bunch of operators out of Texas, Houston Natural Gas, operating under the alias "Enron," talked an over-the-edge free-market fanatic, Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, into licensing the first completely deregulated power plant in the hemisphere.

...The power elite first moved on England because they knew Americans wouldn't swallow the deregulation snake oil easily. The USA had gotten used to cheap power available at the flick of switch. This was the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt... FDR gave us the Federal Power Commission and the Public Utilities Holding Company Act which told electricity companies where to stand and salute. Detailed regulations limited charges to real expenditures plus a government-set profit. The laws banned "power markets" and required companies to keep the lights on under threat of arrest -- no blackout blackmail to hike rates... Most important, FDR banned political contributions from utility companies.

...But then came George the First. In 1992, just prior to his departure from the White House, President Bush Senior gave the power industry... federal deregulation of electricity. It was a legacy he wanted to leave for his son, the gratitude of power companies which ponied up $16 million for the Republican campaign of 2000, seven times the sum they gave Democrats.

But Poppy Bush's gift of deregulating of wholesale prices set by the feds only got the power pirates halfway... For the big payday they needed deregulation at the state level... California fell first. The power companies spent $39 million to defeat a 1998 referendum pushed by Ralph Nadar which would have blocked the de-reg scam... Enron and its comrades played the system like a broken ATM machine, yanking out the bills. For example, in the shamelessly fixed "auctions" for electricity held by the state, Enron bid, in one instance, to supply 500 megawatts of electricity over a 15 megawatt line... Faced with blackout because of Enron's destructive bid, the state was willing to pay anything to keep the lights on.

And the state did. According to Dr. Anjali Sheffrin, economist with the California state Independent System Operator which directed power movements, between May and November 2000, three power giants physically or "economically" withheld power from the state and concocted enough false bids to cost the California customers over $6.2 billion in excess charges.

...Enron, Reliant (aka Houston Industries), TXU (aka Texas Utilities) and the others who had economically snipped California's wires knew they could count on Dubya, who as governor of the Lone Star state cut them the richest deregulation deal in America. Meanwhile, the deregulation bug made it to New York where Republican Governor George Pataki and his industry-picked utility commissioners... relieved my old friends at Niagara Mohawk of the expensive obligation to properly fund the maintenance of the grid system.

And the Pataki-Bush Axis of Weasels permitted something that must have former New York governor Roosevelt spinning in his wheelchair in Heaven: They allowed a foreign company, the notoriously incompetent National Grid of England, to buy up NiMo, get rid of 800 workers and pocket most of their wages - producing a bonus for NiMo stockholders approaching $90 million.

...Californians have found the solution to the deregulation disaster: re-call the only governor in the nation with the cojones to stand up to the electricity price fixers... Davis called Reliant Corp of Houston a pack of "pirates" --and now he'll walk the plank for daring to stand up to the Texas marauders. So where's the President? Just before he landed on the deck of the Abe Lincoln, the White House was so concerned about our brave troops facing the foe that they used the cover of war for a new push in Congress for yet more electricity deregulation. This has a certain logic: there's no sense defeating Iraq if a hostile regime remains in California.

Sitting in the dark, as my laptop battery runs low, I don't know if the truth about deregulation will ever see the light --until we change the dim bulb in the White House.

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

cnn anchorwoman has her own special perspective

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0308/14/se.02.html

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I am told Arianna Huffington is stepping up to the mics. Let's listen in. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (I), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: ... Enron held a secret meeting with prominent Republicans, among them Mike Milken and Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, we have a few questions we would like the media to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger about this meeting... Given the billions of dollars that Lay, Enron and the other crooked have cost the state of California, it is very important to put in context the Bush administration's policies and the connection with the energy crisis. So far, in the little he has said in his campaign, Arnold Schwarzenegger has positioned himself as the people's governor who is not going to be, basically, driven by political interests on either side of the isle. Then what was he doing cozying up with Ken Lay, Mr. Special Interest himself?

...As you know, Schwarzenegger has campaigned for President Bush. He's held a meeting, a private meeting with Karl Rove in April. and Karl Rove was quoted saying that having Arnold Schwarzenegger as a governor would be nice. It would be really nice, he said. It would be really, really nice. Clearly, Schwarzenegger is a very good friend of the Bush administration.

But this administration is no friend to the people of California... The White House repeatedly rejected the state's plea for help during the crisis, preferring to side, instead, with the likes of Enron and Ken Lay. Dick Cheney even went so far as to blame California for causing its own problems. And it was the president who appointed energy company-friendly members to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who turned a blind eye when all the crisis was unfolding. They also refused to impose wholesale energy price caps and they forced California to honor $12 billion in long-term energy contracts even after it was proven that the corporate energy crooks had gained assistance.

...So here are some of the questions I urge you to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger. And now I'm ready to take your questions. Thank you.

...PHILLIPS: OK. Arianna Huffington, let the mud-slinging begin.

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

a bit more about cnn anchor kyra phillips

http://www.prwatch.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=2262

http://www.salon.com/opinion/featur...bbas/index.html

Just when you thought American TV couldn't stoop any lower, now we have the plight of Ali Abbas, a 12-year-old Iraqi boy who lost both of his arms, along with his parents, three siblings and ten other relatives, in a missile strike on Baghdad... CNN hit bottom Wednesday morning, when anchor Kyra Phillips asked Ali's physician, "Doctor, does he understand why this war took place? Has he talked about Operation Iraqi Freedom and the meaning? Does he understand it?" SOURCE: Salon.com, April 17, 2003

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

a bit more about arianna huffington

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A60207-2003Aug14?language=printer

As Huffington spoke, a silver BMW slowed to a crawl on Sunset Boulevard. Its driver rolled down the windows and screamed: "Pay your taxes!" The heckler was referring to a Los Angles Times story published today that said Huffington, who lives in a Brentwood mansion worth $7 million and who castigates corporate titans as greedy pigs at a trough, had paid virtually no state or federal income taxes in 2001 and 2002. Huffington defended her tax payments, denying they were derived from "loopholes."

...It was clear the media liked the tax story better than Huffington's accusations that Schwarzenegger was up to no good when he and other GOP heavyweights met with Kenneth L. Lay, then-CEO of Enron, in May 2001 during the California energy crisis.

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

for more about ah-node, enron, the california blackouts, and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) - see this comprehensive review: http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=343

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

you do remember enron, don't you?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52340-2003Aug12.html

Federal prosecutors gave up a claim to nearly $4 million surrendered by Michael Kopper, the first former Enron executive to plead guilty to crimes in the company's 2001 collapse. The sum is part of the $11.8 million that Kopper, 38, of Houston relinquished to the government when he pleaded guilty in August 2002 to money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in several partnerships that earned him and others millions of dollars while hiding debt and inflating profits at Enron. About $8 million of the money returned is in an account overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission to be distributed to investors left with worthless stock when Enron imploded. The other $3.8 million was to go to the Justice Department for the same purpose.

But the money was in a Charles Schwab account in the name of LJM2 Capital Management, one of the partnerships linked to the Enron scandal. In March, LJM2 filed court documents arguing that the $3.8 million was the partnership's property.

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

ruh-roh

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52340-2003Aug12.html

Corporate insiders have been unloading shares at a fast clip this summer, raising concerns among some analysts about the outlook for the stock market and the economy. Last month, officers, directors and big individual shareholders at U.S. companies sold more than $32 of company stock for every $1 they bought on the open market -- making July the heaviest selling month in more than two years, data tracker Thomson Financial said. The early trend for August is negative as well, with insider sales outstripping purchases by about 22 to 1 so far this month.

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

speaking of blackouts

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030814/UIRAQN/Health/Idx

BASRA, IRAQ -- The ice sellers are making a killing in Iraq... With temperatures that can soar into the 50s [note: 52 centigrade = 126 farenheit -mrs.h], there is no respite for Iraqis, left to swelter as the U.S.-led occupation administration struggles to provide basic utilities. Not only is there no power for air conditioners and fans, but there is no electricity to activate the central water system... Dehydrated young children are brought to the hospitals daily. "This is a common problem now among small children," [local resident] Mr. Abdubnabi said, "because we have no way of cooling them." Earlier this week, his youngest child, 1½-year-old Rihab, spent two nights in the hospital getting saline infusions after uncontrollable bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.

...The only ones who remain cool are the occupation troops, most of whom have air conditioning on their bases, which never run out of electricity because they run on generators supplied by Iraqi diesel, to which the forces have priority.

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

speaking of friends of the public service

http://www.statesman.com/legislature/content/coxnet/texas/legislature/0803/0815water_update.html

Gov. Rick Perry said today that the federal government should consider shutting off the flow of water to Mexico until that nation provides water it has withheld in violation of an international treaty.

...In January, Mexico agreed to release 114 billion gallons of water as the first part of a five-year obligation spelled out in a 1944 treaty. The releases, however, have not occurred. Texas and federal officials claim Mexico owes more than 500 billion gallons of water from the shared supply in the Rio Grande. Perry indicated he was irked last week, during a trip to the city of Chihuahua for a border governors conference, when he saw "lush green vegetation."

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

why do they hate us?

http://www.mediawhoresonline.com/

The French react to the brutal and tragic deaths of 3000 Americans: "...I arrived at the Embassy at 11:30a to find hundreds of people. The shrine of flowers, letters, posters, flags, and candles had grown 10-fold since I saw it yesterday at 4p... One gentleman had a large American flag draped around his shoulders. Another had one on a flag pole and was silently praying while holding it over the ever-growing shine. And not only Americans were present. Many wore badges that read in bold letters "TODAY I AM AMERICAN."

The Washington Post editorial writers and other right-wingers react to the brutal and tragic deaths of 3000 in France: [Washington] Post Editorial: Can't Stand the Heat? "Okay, so maybe it's a bit warmer than usual. Temperatures across the continent have shot up into the 90s and once or twice have topped 100 degrees in London and Paris. But is this really hot... ? Last time we checked, the weather here in Washington was in the upper 80s, which is average to low for this time of year. Temperatures in Houston and Dallas in the past couple of days have topped 100, as they usually do in summer. Yet somehow, no one's talking about extraordinary measures being taken by Texans or Washingtonians.

"...Maybe they will now at least stop turning up their noses at those American summer inventions they've loved to mock: The office windows that doesn't open, the air conditioner that produces sub-arctic temperatures and the tall glasses of water, served in a restaurant, filled to the brim with ice."

[A Post reader responds:] "This asshole doesn't have a clue! Most of France is about 1,500 miles NORTH of Washington!"

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

woah! dude!

http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2248171

The Bush administration is appealing to the Supreme Court a Pennsylvania appeals court March ruling barring the enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), the controversial 1998 law intended to make it a crime to place sexually explicit material on the Internet where minors could view it.

...COPA imposes criminal and civil penalties of up to $50,000 per day for violations. COPA has not been enforced since the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit opposing it. The Philadelphia court. has twice ruled that COPA unconstitutionally restricts free speech... In its second rejection of COPA, the appeals court said the law was not narrowly tailored to punish commercial pornographers but "instead prohibits a wide range of protected expression."

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

privacy in the news

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/auto/epaper/editions/thursday/business_f3b333e4c15501b6001d.html

LOS ANGELES -- After serving Internet providers with more than 1,000 subpoenas demanding the names and addresses of people who share pirated music and video online, the Recording Industry Association of America has run into someone who wants to fight for her anonymity. The unidentified woman has hired a lawyer to try to prevent Verizon Internet Services from disclosing her identity to the record companies' trade association.

...Sarah Deutsch, associate general counsel for Verizon Communications Inc., said the company, which unsuccessfully challenged the subpoenas, has notified all customers whose names have been sought by the recording association. One of them retained an attorney, Daniel Ballard of McDonough Holland & Allen in Sacramento, Calif., who asked Verizon last month not to comply with the subpoena because he planned to contest it. Verizon informed the recording association of Ballard's request.

Last week, the recording association asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to compel Verizon to release the woman's name.

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

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/11/1060454123127.html

An attacker gained access to one of the world's largest consumer databases last week and was able to download information about some customers of the company's clients, according to a report at SecurityNewsPortal. The report said access was gained to private files at Acxiom Corp, a company based in Little Rock, Arkansas, that counts among its clients Microsoft Corp, IBM, Sears Roebuck, AT&T, General Electric and Bank of America. Acxiom's website says it services 14 of the top 15 credit card issuers, seven of the top 10 automotive manufacturers and seven of the top 10 media entertainment companies, among others.

The company's chief private officer, Jennifer Barrett, admitted the company was unaware of the breach until it was contacted by a law enforcement agency from Ohio. Acxiom has not specified which data was accessed unlawfully.

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

and in local special-rights news

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/7221733p-8167070c.html

A Boy Scout troop in Sebastopol [california] has lost its charter... The Boy Scouts of America pulled the charter because the troop refused to drop an anti-discrimination statement that runs counter to the Boy Scouts national policy banning homosexuals... It pledged the troop would not discriminate on the basis of race, religion - or sexual orientation.

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

http://www.usscouts.org/advance/boyscout/bslaw.html

A Scout is Obedient. A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobeying them.

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

or else.

http://uk.gay.com/headlines/4863

Justin Bogdanik was found unconscious in a ditch in Grand Rapids, Michigan last month, with his wrists bound and eyes glued shut. He died in hospital... The local community is worried the death may be a repeat of the [Matt] Shepard case, where the 21 year old student [gay man] was lured to a field by two straight men, who then violently assaulted him and tied him to a fence naked in freezing temperatures... Local anti violence and civil rights group The Triangle Foundation director Jeff Montgomery says Bogdanik’s murder shares “broad similarities” with the Shepard case.

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

"signs" o'the times

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/131/story_13109_1.html

Director Mel Gibson, under heavy fire from Jewish groups for his $25 million movie on the death of Jesus, has "softened the story" and made changes to make "The Passion" more palatable to critics, according to a spokesman... Gibson has edited the film to show more "sympathetic" Jewish characters who were not calling for Jesus to be crucified... A shouting mob will include voices opposing the execution, [spokesperson] Lauer said.

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

do unto others

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3150921.stm

The ailing former President of Uganda Idi Amin Dada is seeking a kidney to keep him alive, according to his son, Hashim Amin.

...The Ugandan Minister for the Presidency, Kirunda Kivejinja, said on Thursday that the government would not prevent any Ugandan from donating their kidneys to the man whose regime was one of the bloodiest in African history, with up to 400,000 deaths and disappearances.

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

okay it is clear that mrs. henry has been reading the news too long