White House sides against emissions law October 11, 2002 By Elizabeth Shogren In legal brief, administration says state overstepped bounds with rule Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON -- For three decades, the federal government has allowed California to plot its own course in fighting air pollution. But on Wednesday, the Bush administration filed a brief siding with DaimlerChrysler and General Motors in a lawsuit that charges California overstepped its authority in revising its "zero emissions" vehicle rule last year. "This is an impermissible intrusion into the federal government's jurisdiction," said Chet Lunner, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation, explaining why the federal government intervened in the case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. State officials and environmentalists said the action was significant because it marked a departure from the federal government's long-held practice of supporting California's efforts to clean up its smoggy air. "I am disappointed that the federal government would intervene with our efforts to protect our air quality," Gov. Gray Davis said. California is the only state that has the right under federal sanmateocountytimes.com sanmateocountytimes.com sanmateocountytimes.com sanmateocountytimes.com

Condoleezza Rice at the Waldorf Astoria October 11, 2002 by KURT NIMMO On October 1, Dubya's National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, delivered a speech at the exclusive Waldorf Astoria in New York. Members of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research were in attendance. The Manhattan Institute is a CIA-sponsored far right "think tank" (founded in 1978 by William Casey, who subsequently became Reagan's CIA director). The Manhattan Institute concerns itself with such things as "welfare reform" (dismantling social programs), "faith-based initiatives" (blurring the distinction between church and state), and "education reform" (destroying public education). It is curious Rice would deliver a speech before the Manhattan Institute, considering the organization's close relationship with Charles Murray, a far right ideologue who wrote The Bell Curve in 1984, a book that essentially argues black people are genetically and intellectually inferior to white people. Rice's speech consisted of a series of generalities related to various aspects of the Dubya Doctrine. These sorely need translation and clarification. counterpunch.org

Revenge of the Accountants October 11, 2002 After a summer in which it seemed as if Harvey Pitt might be getting religion on accounting reforms, he has now reverted to form. Mr. Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is on the verge of botching one of its most pressing missions ˜ the creation of a credible oversight board for the accounting profession. Mr. Pitt appears to be having second thoughts about appointing as board chairman John Biggs, the respected T.I.A.A.-C.R.E.F. pension fund manager who has long favored tightening accounting practices. Mr. Biggs is precisely the kind of tough-minded leader who should be put in charge of the panel. The objections to Mr. Biggs from the accounting industry and its defenders on Capitol Hill only confirm his suitability for the post. nytimes.com

Citizens Use Sit-Ins For Peace Push October 11, 2002 While Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl decides whether to vote yes or no on war in Iraq, people are sitting in at almost every one of his offices throughout the state. An ongoing picket for peace outside Kohl's Madison office began yesterday, along with sit-ins and other constituent visits to his offices in Madison [ 1 ], Milwaukee, Eau Claire, Appleton, and La Crosse. The delegation intends to remain in the office until Senator Kohl agrees to vote no on war on Iraq.  http://indymedia.org/

Bush administration proposes crippling cuts in Medicare 10 October 2002 By Kate Randall The Bush administration is proposing drastic cuts in Medicare payments for a wide range of drugs and medical services beginning next year. The Medicare program, a social insurance program established in 1965, provides medical care to the elderly and the disabled, and is the only source of medical care for the majority of American seniors. Medicare benefits are already woefully inadequate, forcing many to pay for supplemental insurance or go without needed care and medications. The new reductions will undoubtedly result in denial of access to care for hundreds of thousands of American seniors, as government payments are slashed for vitally needed drugs and services, forcing hospitals to stop offering many medical treatments. The new rates are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2003. wsws.org

President Bush's distorted case for war Oct. 10, 2002 By Gary Kamiya U.S. officials say the White House is exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam and pressuring the intelligence community to "cook the books." On Monday, President Bush took to the airwaves to try to convince Americans that Saddam Hussein poses an imminent threat to the United States. He gave a long list of reasons, emphasizing Hussein's ties to al-Qaida and the likelihood that he would acquire nuclear weapons soon. But according to the director of the CIA and numerous intelligence and diplomatic sources within Bush's administration, many of the president's arguments are exaggerated or distorted. You won't hear U.S. officials say that publicly, though, because intelligence sources say they are being leaned on by higher-ups to support the get-Saddam program -- never mind the facts. In a damning article by Knight-Ridder reporters Warren P. Strobel, Jonathan S. Landay and John Walcott that appeared Tuesday, one U.S. official is quoted as saying, "Analysts at the working level in the intelligence community are feeling very strong pressure from the Pentagon to cook the intelligence books." salon.com

Peace Actions Escalating Across Country Oct. 10, 2002 The nascent U.S. peace movement continues to build following the 'Not in Our Name' protests during the first weekend of October. Sit-ins at congressional offices across the country are mounting, while protests both against war in Iraq and at Bush appearances continue. Due to continuting constituent pressure, reports indicate that "some Senate staffers have been 'in tears'" over the prospect of war. indymedia.org

CIA in blow to Bush attack plans October 10, 2002 Julian Borger in Washington - President George Bush's attempt to maintain public support for military action against Iraq has taken a fresh blow from an unexpected quarter, with the publication of a letter from the CIA stating that while Saddam Hussein poses little threat to America now, a US invasion could push him into retaliating with chemical or biological weapons. The unusually detailed public statement, in the form of a letter from the CIA director, George Tenet, to Congress, comes at a highly sensitive moment, potentially damaging Mr Bush's attempt to rally an overwhelming congressional mandate for the use of force against Iraq. In a chilling excerpt, Mr Tenet warned that if Saddam was personally threatened he might seize "his last chance to exact vengeance by taking a large number of victims with him". The risk of such an attack, possibly involving weapons of mass destruction, would rise from "low" to "pretty high" were Saddam to feel cornered by US military might. guardian.co.uk

Latest Government Funding of Controversial Religious Programs One More Reason Not to Pass Faith-Based Plan Without Protections, ACLU Says October 10, 2002 WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today said that recent reports that the government is circumventing Congress and doling out taxpayer dollars to religious social services groups that engage in discrimination is one more reason not to pass the White House faith-based plan. "The Bush Administration seems determined to ignore Congress and continues to argue that faith-based organizations should have the right to discriminate in hiring against people based on their religion in publicly funded programs," said Terri Schroeder, an ACLU Legislative Representative. "Instead of rewarding the Administration's actions, the Senate should flatly refuse to support President Bush's initiative for government-funded religion and instead demand clear and explicit protections against discrimination." salon.com

Institute for Public Accuracy Analysis of Bush's Case for War WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As Congress debates war with Iraq, the Institute for Public Accuracy has made available a detailed analysis of President Bush's Cincinnati address. The assessments feature a dozen Middle East, legal, weapons and policy analysts with multifaceted critiques of Bush's claims. Issues covered range from biological weapons to U.N. Security Council resolutions to Congress's constitutional role. The analysis is available at: http://www.accuracy.org/bush Here are some of the points made: CHRIS TOENSING ctoensing@merip.org The editor of Middle East Report, responding to allegations that Iraq is threatening the region, Toensing said: "There is no evidence whatsoever that Iraq is doing so, or has any intention of doing so. Other powers are actively disrupting the peace in the region: Israel is trying to crush Palestinian resistance to occupation with brute force, and the U.S. and Britain have bombed Iraq 46 times in 2002 when their aircraft are 'targeted' by Iraqi air defense systems in the bilaterally enforced no-fly zones." usnewswire.com

Corporate and 'Public' Media Marginalize Dissent October 9, 2002 If your only source of news in the U.S. happened to be the corporate media, such as the big city dailies, the tv networks, National Public Radio, you might be under the mistaken impression that few if any people were protesting the Bush administration's war machine and its ongoing disinformation campaign. As sometimes happens in the U.K., peace demonstrations in the U.S. regularly go unreported in the dominant media. There are some indications, though, that criticism is beginning to take effect, while independent media continues to grow. http://indymedia.org

Inside Account of Mass Illegal Arrests in Washington DC October 8, 2002 by Doug Malkan On September 27, 2002, hundreds of people were "pre-emptively" arrested in downtown Washington DC for having a peaceful gathering at a park to rally against corporate power and war. This is an inside story of  gross violations of civil rights and brutal treatment of hundreds of innocent people by the police in our nation's capital. The term pre-emptive is a new term for law enforcement which had rarely if ever been heard of before. It  means arresting a person who has not committed a crime, but that might commit a crime. The arrest and incarceration of citizens who have not committed a crime is suppose to be illegal and unconstitutional. But a new strategy which is just beginning is apparently taken from a page out of the Bush Administration's new strategy toward suspected terrorists, except now it is being applied to peaceful demonstrations, protests and now even gatherings. summitfreepress.com

Public Says Bush Needs to Pay Heed to Weak Economy October 8, 2002 By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JANET ELDER A majority of Americans say that the nation's economy is in its worst shape in nearly a decade and that President Bush and Congressional leaders are spending too much time talking about Iraq while neglecting problems at home, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. The poll found signs of economic distress that cut across party and geographic lines. Nearly half of all Americans are worried that they or someone in their household will be out of a job within a year. The number of Americans who said they believe the economy is worse than it was just two years ago has increased markedly since the summer. The number of Americans who approved of the way Mr. Bush has handled the economy ˜ 41 percent ˜ was the lowest it has been in his presidency. Many people said they worried that a war in Iraq ˜ which most Americans view as inevitable ˜ would disrupt an already unsettled economy. nytimes.com

Poll shows widespread disquiet in US over Iraq war 8 October 2002 By Barry Grey A New York Times/CBS News opinion poll published Sunday provides an indication of the widespread concern among Americans—ranging from suspicion and disquiet to outright opposition—to the Bush administration’s drive for war against Iraq. The results of the poll, conducted by telephone from October 3 to October 5, reveal a high degree of resistance among masses of working people to the relentless propaganda from the government and the mass media in favor of an imminent US attack. With both the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as the media, lined up solidly behind the White House war campaign, the poll provides a striking barometer of the degree to which the concerns of the vast majority of the population are unable to find even a faint reflection within the political establishment. wsws.org

BUSH GIVES TV PREACHER ROBERTSON "FAITH-BASED" GRANT October 8, 2002 OiA Newswire Giving TV preacher Pat Robertson and other religious leaders control over the distribution of public funds through the Bush "faith-based" initiative violates the Constitution, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that Robertson's Operation Blessing and 20 other charities -- many of them religious -- will be given demonstration grants through the so-called Compassion Capital Fund. Robertson's organization and the other "intermediaries" will in turn distribute the public money to religious and community groups of their choice to provide social services. "Giving religious groups control over public funds is a blatant violation of the Constitution," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "Under the First Amendment, religious ministries shouldn't become an arm of the government." Lynn said the grant to Robertson illustrates one of the problems with the faith-based initiative. "Robertson is one of the chief purveyors of religious bigotry in America," said AU's Lynn. "To reward his outfit with government funding is an insult to every American taxpayer. "Robertson was one of the earliest critics of the 'faith-based' scheme," Lynn continued, "but I guess 30 pieces of silver was enough to change his mind." outinamerica.com

Website to Provide Grassroots Media from Iraq October 8, 2002 As the Bush administration threatens a massive attack on Iraq, many within the corporate media have chosen to become cheerleaders for the war cause. The words "we" and "us" and "our forces" are used so frequently by major corporate media personalities that it has become difficult to figure out if it is the Bush Administration or the corporate media that are gearing up to bomb Iraq. With Washington on the verge of seeking to destroy an already devastated country, a group of independent journalists and activists - spearheaded by ,Voices in the Wilderness and the internationally acclaimed Iraq Peace Team - are breaking ranks with the war chorus. Coordinated by independent journalist Jeremy Scahill on the ground in Baghdad, IraqJournal provides a forum for the distribution of independent information and views from Iraq. http://indymedia.org/

The Calm Before The Storm October 8, 2002 by Rebecca Knight by Rebecca Knight "Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running and robbing the country. That's our problem."-- Howard Zinn. Here we are just a few short weeks from perhaps the most critical midterm elections in our history and the "war chickenhawks" continue to push their demands. Their portfolio on international diplomacy is quite lacking in substance and so is their evidence against Iraq. They cannot find a foreign nation to back their war, except for Great Britain, without some type of bribery, whether monetary or weapons. Still they demand that Congress debate and pass resolutions of historical importance allowing Bush a free hand to use military force. Why? Why now? We know the answer is to distract from concerns more relevant to the American people in order to sway votes in the upcoming elections. We also know the answer is to achieve American dominance over the world, especially in the oil rich Middle East. Their motives are extremely transparent, selfish, and morally wrong. Bush has found the perfect vehicle for perpetually high approval buzzflash.com

New York to California Tens of thousands in US rally against war on Iraq 7 October 2002 By reporting team On the eve of President Bush’s televised address to the nation urging support for a war of aggression against Iraq, tens of thousands turned out at demonstrations from New York to California to oppose US military action. More than 20,000 people protested the plans for war at an October 6 rally in New York City’s Central Park. In Los Angeles over 10,000 assembled at the Federal Building, located near the UCLA campus in Westwood. Similar protests took place the same day in San Francisco, Chicago and other cities around the country.The larger-than-expected turnouts, in the face of a virtual blackout of the planned protests by the media, showed the depth of opposition to the Bush administration’s policies. The demonstration in New York City, the site of the worst of the terrorist attacks of last year, had particular significance, given Bush’s attempts to invoke September 11 to justify a war of aggression to seize control of Iraq’s oilfields. Among those who joined the rally were relatives of people who were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center as well as emergency service workers who participated in the rescue and recovery operation precipitated by the collapse of the Twin Towers. “It’s become increasingly clear to me that they are trying to use the families to build up support for war,” said Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother William in the disaster at the trade center. wsws.org

1.5 Million March Against Attack on Iraq Anti-War Rallies October 7, 2002 by Eric J. Lyman Published on Sunday, ROME -- More than 1.5 million Italians took to the streets of dozens of cities Saturday afternoon and evening to protest possible U.S. military action against Iraq -- a surprise show of discord that could be fervent enough for the Italian government to re-think its support of Washington. The larger-than-expected protests took place without violence, despite speculation from some fronts that the gatherings could become dangerous, especially to U.S. citizens. On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Rome circulated a warning to citizens residing in or visiting Italy to stay away from the demonstrations because of fears that they could become targets for violence. But even though the protests were peaceful, demonstrators made it clear that they opposed U.S. action against Baghdad. commondreams.org

Kennedy calls Bush doctrine 'imperialism' October 7, 2002 Cambridge, Massachusetts-AP -- Senator Edward Kennedy says President Bush's new policy of pre-emptive war is "21st century American imperialism." The Democratic senator says "America cannot write its own rules" and antagonize close allies whose support it needs. Kennedy spoke at Harvard University, where he and more than 200 other politicians, scientists, authors and academics were inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences today. wcax.com

Global crash fears as German bank sinks October 7, 2002 Faisal Islam, economics correspondent and Will Hutton Stockbrokers around the world are braced for a potentially calamitous week as alarm mounts over a looming, Thirties-style global financial crisis. A leaked email about the credit-worthiness of Commerzbank, Germany's third largest bank, yesterday increased fears of the international stock market malaise exploding into a fully-fledged banking crisis. Commerzbank lost a quarter of its value last week, raising the spectre of Credit-anstalt, the Austrian bank that collapsed in 1931, sparking global depression. US stock markets have fallen for six consecutive weeks, to their lowest levels in five years. European markets have collapsed even further, wiping out nearly half of the value of European corporations in this year alone. Japan is struggling to put together a plan to save its banking system, riddled with bad debt after a decade of recession and falling prices. Now the German economy threatens to follow. observer.co.uk

Turned Off by Triviality October 7, 2002 By David S. Broder LOS ALTOS, Calif. -- In the past two weeks, I have been mingling with voters from Jacksonville, Fla., to this suburb of San Francisco, with stops in between in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Minnesota. If there is one common complaint among them, it is the trivialization of important issues, both in campaigns and in government. The people I met have a lot of serious concerns on their minds: a far-from-finished war on terrorism; a looming war with Iraq; a prolonged stall in economic growth that has boosted unemployment; a bust in the stock market that has wiped out trillions of dollars of retirement savings; a health care system whose costs are spinning out of control, leaving more millions uninsured; an airline and passenger railroad system threatened with bankruptcy; a return to borrowing by the federal government, draining Social Security instead of bolstering it for the retirement needs of the baby boomers; shortfalls in state budgets that have cut programs and forced tax increases; and schools that in too many communities are failing children. You might think all this would heighten interest in the elections just a month away -- especially since even a slight shift in the balance of power could dramatically alter the agendas of the House and Senate and change the prospects for the balance of President Bush's term. October 7, 2002 By David S. Broder LOS ALTOS, Calif. -- In the past two weeks, I have been mingling with voters from Jacksonville, Fla., to this suburb of San Francisco, with stops in between in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Minnesota. If there is one common complaint among them, it is the trivialization of important issues, both in campaigns and in government. The people I met have a lot of serious concerns on their minds: a far-from-finished war on terrorism; a looming war with Iraq; a prolonged stall in economic growth that has boosted unemployment; a bust in the stock market that has wiped out trillions of dollars of retirement savings; a health care system whose costs are spinning out of control, leaving more millions uninsured; an airline and passenger railroad system threatened with bankruptcy; a return to borrowing by the federal government, draining Social Security instead of bolstering it for the retirement needs of the baby boomers; shortfalls in state budgets that have cut programs and forced tax increases; and schools that in too many communities are failing children. You might think all this would heighten interest in the elections just a month away -- especially since even a slight shift in the balance of power could dramatically alter the agendas of the House and Senate and change the prospects for the balance of President Bush's term. washingtonpost.com

The war against Iraq and America’s drive for world domination October 6, 2002 By David North On September 17, 2002 the Bush administration published its “National Security Strategy of the United States of America.” So far, there has been no serious examination of this important document in the establishment media. This is unfortunate, to say the least, because this document advances the political and theoretical justification for a colossal escalation of American militarism. The United States government asserts the right to bomb, invade and destroy whatever country it chooses. It refuses to respect as a matter of international law the sovereignty of any other country, and reserves the right to get rid of any regime, in any part of the world, that is, appears to be, or might some day become, hostile to what the United States considers to be its vital interests. Its threats are directed, in the short term, against so-called “failed states”—that is, former colonies and impoverished Third World countries ravaged by the predatory policies of imperialism. But larger competitors of the United States, whom the document refers to, in a revival of pre-World War II imperialist jargon, as “Great Powers,” are by no means out of the gun sights of the Bush administration. The wars against small and defenseless states that the United States is now preparing—first of all against Iraq—will prove to be the preparation for military onslaughts against more formidable targets. wsws.org

Protestors to Converge on Pine Gap October 6, 2002
Pine Gap is a U.S. military intelligence and communications base located in the middle of Australia near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It was established in the 1960s, and has played a major role in many U.S. military operations, including the 1991 Gulf War and the current "war on terror." It is planned to be an integral part of the proposed U.S. National Missle Defense (NMD), or 'Star Wars' system, which is explicitly intended to enable the U.S. to dominate and control space. Its presence in Australia makes the nation complicit in U.S. military strikes, and is a likely nuclear target. indymedia.org

Bush: War may be 'unavoidable' Sunday, 6 October, 2002 US President George W Bush has warned that war with Iraq may be "unavoidable" to ensure the regime of Saddam Hussein is not developing weapons which could threaten entire populations. Mr Bush used his weekly radio address to tell Americans that the danger to them was "grave and growing", and that he could be left with no choice but to strike. But European and Arab leaders are challenging the US desire for a "regime change" that would see Saddam Hussein toppled and are warning of dire consequences of any conflict in Iraq. bbc.co.uk

Bush Administration Plan Would Cut Health Insurance For 600,000 Children October 5, 2002 The Bush Administration is urging that a proposal it has developed be included in the CR. A new Center analysis, based on the model of SCHIP developed by the actuaries of HHS, finds that under the Administration proposal, the number of children insured through SCHIP would decline by 600,000 between 2003 and 2007 under the proposal. This would happen because the proposal would leave large sums of SCHIP funds in states that cannot use them, rather than redistributing these funds to other states that will need them to avert sharp cutbacks in their SCHIP programs. Other bipartisan proposals before Congress would address this problem in a manner that would avoid reductions in the numbers of low-income children who are insured. The Center's analysis finds that under the Administration's proposal, 18   states would face SCHIP funding shortages: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. usnewswire.com

The president's real goal in Iraq Posted October 04, 2002 By JAY BOOKMAN The official story on Iraq has never made sense. The connection that the Bush administration has tried to draw between Iraq and al-Qaida has always seemed contrived and artificial. In fact, it was hard to believe that smart people in the Bush administration would start a major war based on such flimsy evidence. The pieces just didn't fit. Something else had to be going on; something was missing. In recent days, those missing pieces have finally begun to fall into place. As it turns out, this is not really about Iraq. It is not about weapons of mass destruction, or terrorism, or Saddam, or U.N. resolutions. This war, should it come, is intended to mark the official emergence of the United States as a full-fledged global empire, seizing sole responsibility and authority as planetary policeman. Thepeoplesvoice.org

Bush White House embraces assassination 3 October 2002 By Bill Vann “The Bush administration represents the coming to power of a criminal element in the American ruling class ... in its political methods, social base and foreign policy, the Bush administration is gangsterism personified. ”Speaking from a podium bearing the presidential seal, Ari Fleischer publicly advocated political assassination as a means of realizing US foreign policy. Asked about the estimated $9 billion-a-month price tag for a war against Iraq, the presidential spokesman replied: “The cost of a one-way ticket is substantially less than that. The cost of one bullet, if the Iraqi people takes it on themselves, is substantially less than that.” wsws.org

Is the President Nuts? Diagnosing Dubya October 3, 2002 by CAROL WOLMAN, M.D. Many people, inside and especially outside this country, believe that the American president is nuts, and is taking the world on a suicidal path. As a board-certified psychiatrist, I feel it's my duty to share my understanding of his psychopathology. He's a complicated man, under tremendous pressure from both his family/junta, and from the world at large. So the following is offered with humility and questioning, in the form of a differential diagnosis.
From the Freudian point of view: Dubya may be acting out a classical Oedipal drama--overcome Daddy to get Mommy. By deposing Saddam, when his father did not, he may want to prove himself more worthy of his mother's love. His rationale that he is avenging the assassination attempt on George, Sr., may be a reaction formation- his way of hiding the true motive from himself.
From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fourth Edition:
Antisocial Personality Disorder--301.7 There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others since age 15 years as indicated by at least three of the following: 1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest; 2) deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure; 5) reckless disregard for safety of self or others; 7) lack of remorse by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated or stolen from others. counterpunch.org

The Sun Can't Set on This Empire Too Soon The U.S. has no right to indulge in imperialis by Robert Scheerm October 3, 2002 It sure smells like imperialism. That's the word historians use when powerful nations grab control of desired resources, be it the gold of the New World or the oil of the Middle East. Imperialist greed is what "regime change" in Iraq and "anticipatory self-defense" are all about, and all of the rest of the Bush administration's talk about security and democracy is a bunch of malarkey. In the laundry list of reasons the Bush team has been trotting out in defense of a unilateral invasion of Iraq, oil is never mentioned. Is the fact that Iraq holds a huge pool of oil a piddling footnote to this debate? Is that Gulf War protest sign, "No Blood for Oil," too cynical, even passe? Perhaps we should ask National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who served as a Chevron director and had an oil tanker named after her. Despite her corporate connections, Rice is a scholar, and she should know her history: For 50 years, we and the British before us have assumed the same neocolonial posture vis-a-vis Iraq as we do with Saudi Arabia and its surrounding sheikdoms and Iran. The Gulf War, fought to save U.S. corporate interests in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, was only the latest example of this heavy-handed policy. Think Halliburton and Vice President Dick Cheney. The strategy is pretty much the same as that drawn up by the Romans: Find and support local strongmen who can deliver the goods to the imperial capital, come hell or high water. How they treat their own people is not our business; we have never cared about democracy in the Mideast unless one of its dictators happened to fail to toe our line. October 3, 2002 It sure smells like imperialism. That's the word historians use when powerful nations grab control of desired resources, be it the gold of the New World or the oil of the Middle East. Imperialist greed is what "regime change" in Iraq and "anticipatory self-defense" are all about, and all of the rest of the Bush administration's talk about security and democracy is a bunch of malarkey. In the laundry list of reasons the Bush team has been trotting out in defense of a unilateral invasion of Iraq, oil is never mentioned. Is the fact that Iraq holds a huge pool of oil a piddling footnote to this debate? Is that Gulf War protest sign, "No Blood for Oil," too cynical, even passe? Perhaps we should ask National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who served as a Chevron director and had an oil tanker named after her. Despite her corporate connections, Rice is a scholar, and she should know her history: For 50 years, we and the British before us have assumed the same neocolonial posture vis-a-vis Iraq as we do with Saudi Arabia and its surrounding sheikdoms and Iran. The Gulf War, fought to save U.S. corporate interests in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, was only the latest example of this heavy-handed policy. Think Halliburton and Vice President Dick Cheney. The strategy is pretty much the same as that drawn up by the Romans: Find and support local strongmen who can deliver the goods to the imperial capital, come hell or high water. How they treat their own people is not our business; we have never cared about democracy in the Mideast unless one of its dictators happened to fail to toe our line. commondreams.org

Retailers urge Bush to reopen West Coast Ports October 3, 2002 Washington - The National Retail Federation (NRF) sent a letter to President George Bush urging him to reopen West Coast ports, warning that the shutdown could trigger layoffs, retail closings and a shortage of products in stores during the upcoming holiday season. The closings could cost retailers up to $1 billion a day, according to a study by the University of California at Berkley. "We cannot overstate the gravity of the current situation," said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO for the NRF, a trade association made up of distributor and retail members including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet and independent stores. "The West Coast ports handle a substantial portion of the nation's trade, which accounts for one quarter of U.S. gross domestic product," said Mullin. Their closure will deliver a serious blow to the U.S. economy." homechannelnews.com

A NATION IN NEED OF SOME INSPIRATION October 2, 2002 by Randolph T. Holhut DORCHESTER, Mass. -- Some say the reason so many people watch "The West Wing" is that they want to see - even if it's only in a television drama - a White House with a honest, intelligent and competent president leading an administration that works hard to do the right thing for the nation. It's a great fantasy to indulge in, especially when we're confronted daily with the reality of a dishonest, unintelligent, incompetent, fraudulently elected usurper and an administration that works hard to do the wrong thing for the nation. With each passing week, I get more and more discouraged with the direction in which President George W. Bush is taking the nation. In seeking relief from it all, I paid a visit to the John F. Kennedy Museum and Library to remind myself that it wasn't that long ago that we had real presidents in charge of our nation. american-reporter.com

BIG OIL, BIN LADEN, THE BUSH TEAM AND SEPT 11. October 2, 2002 by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I used to think that President Richard Nixon set the gold standard for secrecy, paranoia and corruption. But President George W. Bush is coming up fast on the rail. Maybe it's because there are Nixon alumni on the president's team such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Maybe it's because of the political lessons learned from his father, the first President Bush, another Nixon alum. Maybe it's because the methods of Nixon - thecynicism, the lying, the political trickery and the bullying of opponents - are still effective. Whatever the reason, the present Bush administration seems determined to "out Nixon" Nixon. They have succeeded in making even the mildest criticism or question of the administration's "war on terror" tantamount to treason. They have rebuffed all attempts to obtain information on the extent of intelligence information prior the Sept. 11 attacks. They have been relentless in trying to control what the public knows about what's going on in the White House. Secrecy, paranoia and corruption. Except this isn't about illegal campaign contributions and "black bag" jobs against political enemies, as in Watergate. Or secretly selling weapons to terrorists to illegally fund a proxy army, as in the Iran-Contra affair. It's about something bigger than oral sex in the Oval Office. It's about national security and whether or not negligence and/or incompetence by the Bush administration led to the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11. american-reporter.com

Bush's Name Game Making a List & Checking It Twice October 2, 2002 by BEN TRIPP The Men in Charge are making lists again. Lists of Americans who may not fly on airplanes. Lists of Americans who visit libraries, and what books they read. Lists of Americans who attend protests, and lists of Americans with names similar to the names of convicted felons, or who were born around the same time. Most Americans aren't concerned: they don't fly on airplanes. They don't visit the library or read books. They sure as hell don't go to protests, and they've never gotten a felon's birthday card by mistake. What's the problem? The problem is lists are like rat's teeth: they never stop growing. Our nation learned this once when the Red Scare happened, and anybody with the faintest affiliation to anything even remotely a gauche of center ended up on a list. It could be a list of members of the Pasadena Lawn Bowling Club, didn't matter. You ended up on one of those lists, and the next thing your application for credit at the mattress store was turned down. "We don't bed Reds," the clerk would darkly intone, and there you were, sleeping on the davenport without any idea why. counterpunch.org

Capital markets are “not functioning” Wall Street suffers worst quarter since 1987 2 October 2002 By Nick Beams The US stock market has completed its worst quarter since the crash of 1987 and seems set to record three years of consecutive decline for the first time in more than 60 years. At the close of trade on Monday, the Dow Jones was down 17.9 percent for the three months to the end of September, its biggest drop since the 25.3 percent fall in the fourth quarter of 1987. The S&P index was down by 17.6 percent and the Nasdaq by 19.9 percent. The Wilshire 5000 total market index dropped 17 percent in the quarter, wiping out about $1.9 trillion in market value, and bringing to more than $8 trillion the total loss of share market wealth since the peak in early 2000. The nervousness in financial markets has been reflected, not just in the share market decline, but also in the rising price of Treasury bonds, regarded as a safe haven in troubled times. Interest yields on the bonds, which move in the opposite direction to price, have fallen to their lowest point in more than 40 years. wsws.org

Market's September is worst since 1937 October 2, 2002 By DANIEL DUNAIEF The stock market wound up its worst September since the Great Depression yesterday. Uncertainty about a possible war with Iraq, a steep decline in expectations for corporate earnings and worries about a sluggish economy wreaked havoc on stocks. The Dow posted its steepest September loss since 1937, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President and Adolf Hitler was gearing up to launch World War II. The Dow fell 12.4% in September and has plunged 16.7% since July. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also has shed 16.5% since July. The two indexes are now on a six-month losing streak. Yesterday, the Dow dropped 109.52, to 7,591.93, and the Nasdaq lost 27.10, to 1,172.06. "There's a tremendously negative mood that is pervasive in the marketplace," said Al Goldman, the chief market strategist at A.G. Edwards & Sons. "The mood today is that the glass is totally empty." nydailynews.com

Going Backwards Market Releases Study Showing Big Drop in EPA Policing October 2, 2002 by Glen Johnson WASHINGTON - Enforcement of the nation's environmental laws has fallen precipitously under the Bush administration, US Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Malden, said yesterday. Markey asked Christie Whitman, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to return to much higher enforcement levels seen during the Clinton administration. A study by Markey's staff showed a huge decline in costs to polluters resulting from EPA enforcement. Using the agency's data, the study found that the total amount of penalties and remedies for EPA administrative actions in the first 14 months of the Bush administration fell 80 percent from the total recovered during the last 131/2 months of the Clinton administration, from $845.1 million to $165.1 million. October 2, 2002 by Glen Johnson WASHINGTON - Enforcement of the nation's environmental laws has fallen precipitously under the Bush administration, US Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Malden, said yesterday. Markey asked Christie Whitman, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to return to much higher enforcement levels seen during the Clinton administration. A study by Markey's staff showed a huge decline in costs to polluters resulting from EPA enforcement. Using the agency's data, the study found that the total amount of penalties and remedies for EPA administrative actions in the first 14 months of the Bush administration fell 80 percent from the total recovered during the last 131/2 months of the Clinton administration, from $845.1 million to $165.1 million. commondreams.org

In Legal First, ACLU Asks Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Protect Anonymous Online Speakers from Legal Intimidation October 2, 2002 PITTSBURGH--In the first case of its kind ever to reach a state supreme court, the American Civil Liberties Union today asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to protect anonymous speakers in cyberspace who face legal intimidation from public officials whom they criticize. "Unless the freedom to criticize anonymously is safeguarded, a vital democratizing element of the Internet will be lost," said Witold Walczak, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh ACLU and one of the lawyers for the defendant, known only as "John Doe" to protect his anonymity. Walczak noted that anonymous speech has historically played a crucial role in promoting democracy. "Not only did The Federalist Papers and Thomas Paine's Common Sense, both printed pseudonymously, change the course of American history, but evidence today suggests that anonymous Internet speech played a role in the collapse of the Soviet Union." aclu.org

Civil Rights Groups Urge Senate Judiciary Committee to Reject Nomination of Dennis Shedd to U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Twenty national civil rights organizations who oppose the nomination of Dennis Shedd to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held a press conference today to urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject this nomination. Scheduled for a committee vote this Thursday, Oct. 3, Shedd's nomination has drawn strong criticism from groups all over the country who believe that Shedd has demonstrated hostility in civil rights cases involving minorities, women and persons with disabilities. "We know that the communities that we represent and the American people want moderate federal judges who will fairly interpret the law based on judicial precedent and common sense - not activist judges who will decide cases based on their personal ideological goals to seriously harm civil rights protections for all Americans," said Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. "The country and the 4th Circuit deserve better than Dennis Shedd." Other organizations at the press conference criticized Shedd's judicial record, saying he has continually demonstrated a disregard for established civil rights laws. usnewswire.com

Jessica Lange: "I hate Bush" Oct. 1, 2002 With Ashley Pearson MSNBC —  Add Jessica Lange to the growing list of celebs speaking out against George W. Bush’s policies. The star of “Tootsie” — receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Sebastian film festival in Madrid, Spain — declared that she “hates” the U.S. president and said his call for an attack on Iraq is “unconstitutional, immoral and illegal.”  “I HATE BUSH. I despise him and his entire administration — not only because of its international policy, but also the national,” Lange told the audience, according to various reports coming from Spain.
       “It makes me feel ashamed to come from the United States — it is humiliating.” “Bush stole the elections and since then we have all been suffering the consequences,” Lange told the enthusiastic crowd.
        Lange joins a growing list of stars who have questioned or condemned Bush’s proposed attack on Iraq, including Barbra Streisand, Susan Sarandon and Alec Baldwin. Lange’s spokeswoman had no further comment. msnbc.com

Are you ready for this national humiliation? October 1, 2002 Nick Cohen Why is New Labour willing to comply to American demands to sabotage the International Criminal Court? Tomorrow could mark the end of an independent British foreign policy. With irrational obsequiousness, New Labour looks ready to comply to American demands to sabotage the International Criminal Court, whose foundation was one of the party's foreign policy triumphs. As I've mentioned before, the US wants to compel all countries which it has a hold over - which is pretty much every country on the planet - to sign treaties that promise never to send an alleged US war criminal to face charges at the court. Against them was the European Union, which warned that states could not legally give immunity to Americans. guardian.co.uk

Number of Uninsured Americans Growing; CAHI Calls Upon Congress to Make Health Insurance Affordable for All Americans October 1, 2002 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Census Bureau just announced that the number of Americans without health insurance grew by 1.4 million to a total of 41.2 million people -- a result of rising insurance premiums and a downturn in the economy. "The number of uninsured is growing and Congress and the state legislatures are largely to blame," said Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) Director Merrill Matthews. "Beginning with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, which required insurers to accept any small employer who applies for coverage, Congress and state governments have tried to impose more and more restrictions and regulations on health insurance. As a result, the price of health insurance has risen significantly for the past four years, which means more people go uninsured." usnewswire.com

Support fades for military action against Iraq October 1, 2002 Alan Travis Support for military action against Iraq has dropped four points to only 33% of voters in the last seven days, suggesting that Tony Blair's dossier of evidence has failed to impress the voters, according to the results of the Guardian/ICM weekly tracker poll published today. The survey shows that the gap between those who disapprove of military action and those who believe it necessary has risen to 11 points - he widest margin since the Guardian started tracking public opinion on the issue four weeks ago. October 1, 2002 Alan Travis Support for military action against Iraq has dropped four points to only 33% of voters in the last seven days, suggesting that Tony Blair's dossier of evidence has failed to impress the voters, according to the results of the Guardian/ICM weekly tracker poll published today. The survey shows that the gap between those who disapprove of military action and those who believe it necessary has risen to 11 points - he widest margin since the Guardian started tracking public opinion on the issue four weeks ago. guardian.co.uk