Mandela
says Bush 'ready to plunge the world into a holocaust
31 Jan 2003 JOHANNESBURG
- The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela has lashed out at
George W. Bush and Tony Blair, suggesting their Iraq policies may
be in part based on racism. In a speech in Johannesburg, the
former president of South Africa was dismissive of Bush, saying he
is "a president who has no foresight and cannot think
properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust.
"Who are they now to pretend that they are the policemen of
the world, the ones that should decide for the people of Iraq what
should be done with their government and their leadership?"
he said. Mandela said Americans should rise up in protest against
the president's stand on Iraq. He also accused Bush and Blair of
treating the United Nations with contempt and asked whether that's
because Secretary General Kofi Annan is a black man. cbc.ca
/ military
buildup
Bush’s State of the Union
speech: the war fever of a ruling elite in crisis
31 January 2003 By the Editorial Board The State of the
Union speech delivered by George Bush to a joint session of
Congress Tuesday night reflected a government in deep crisis. The
war fever in the chamber and Bush’s litany of lies and threats
created the impression of a ruling elite that feels itself under
siege and overwhelmed by economic contradictions it barely
comprehends. Bush speaks for a regime that is going to war in the
hope that it can somehow extricate itself from its crisis by means
of military aggression and the seizure of Persian Gulf oil. wsws.org
FReep This - How the
right-wing is making itself heard
January 31, 2003 Joyce Slaton Something strange happened
during the 2000 Gore-Bush election fiasco you may have missed.
CNN, which was running 24-hour special election coverage, hosted a
program with conservative columnist Bob Novak shortly after the
disputed election results were returned. Novak was adamant that Al
Gore should quit trying to steal the election and concede. To
bolster his point, he brought up the results of CNN.com's
public-opinion poll "Should Al Gore concede?" Poll
results showed that a full 89 percent of the thousands of people
who had visited CNN.com and voted had agreed -- Gore should give
up the ghost. But had the American people really spoken? Or was
this poll FReeped? sfgate.com
U.S. Economy Slows to 0.7
Percent Rate January 31, 2003 By
Jeannine Aversa WASHINGTON –– The U.S. economy slowed
dramatically in the final quarter of last year, growing at a
annual rate of just 0.7 percent as consumers turned cautious in
the face of war worries, a rollercoaster stock market and a
stagnant job climate and increased their spending by the smallest
amount since 1993. washingtonpost.com
WELCOME TO AMERISRAELISTAN
Observations on the transformation of American Democracy into the
prospectus for Hell January 31
2002 by Chad Powers America is apparently going to
War, embarking on God knows what deadly future for us all. We are
preparing our troops and planes to rush across the world to
slaughter those that dare to resist American Might and Will,
killing them -- with mechanical drones and robots of all sorts --
in the name of Truth and Liberty. It is explained to us by the web
of propagandists throughout our cultural matrix that too many
crazy Arabs don't like "freedom" -- they are jealous of
our whorehouses and criminal drug barons, urban murder rates,
increasing school illiteracy, media monopolies, widening gap
between rich and poor, stuffed prisons, moral decadence, public
condemnation of religious faith, consumerist zombi-ism, endemic
alienation and estrangement, and TV's celebration of mindless
decadence and hedonism. jewishtribalreview.org
Bush
Runs Into Republican and Democratic Resistance on His Medicare
Reform Proposal January
30, 2003 SCOTT LINDLAW President Bush ran into GOP and
Democratic resistance to his Medicare reform proposal Wednesday,
with even White House allies saying they were confused about what
the president intended to propose and a key Republican pledging to
block the plan. 'We fulfilled our promise to the seniors of
America,'" Bush said. He offered no details, but even as he
spoke, on Capitol Hill there was growing criticism of Bush's
proposal. Democrats and some consumer groups contended the plan
would deny the elderly the doctors of their choice by forcing them
into HMOs if they wanted prescription drug coverage. "His
proposal is really a benefit for HMOs," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif. lubbockonline.com
Bush's scorched-earth march through
California January
30, 2003 By Katharine Mieszkowski The feds are ramping
up their assault on the environment -- and the cash-strapped state
is finding it hard to fight back. SACRAMENTO, Calif. --
In the middle of a $36 billion state budget crisis, California state
legislators convened a special hearing on Monday afternoon at the
capital to address another state disaster: President Bush's Hum-Vee assault
on California's environmental policies. "Not since General
Sherman's march on Georgia has the federal government been so
aggressive with a state, and we're not even at war with them,"
state Attorney General Bill Lockyer testified before members of the
Assembly's natural resources committee. salon.com
ACLU
Says New Intelligence Umbrella Agency Poses Serious Questions
January 30,
2003 WASHINGTON - In response to President Bush’s
announcement last night that he will integrate federal intelligence
units under one umbrella agency headed by the Central Intelligence
Agency, the American Civil Liberties Union today expressed concern
that the initiative would put the CIA back in the business of spying
on Americans. aclu.org
Big Oil pushes the White House for a
war with Iraq January
30, 2003 Never has there been a
better time to be an oil baron. The car-owning masses of the world
pay whatever it takes to fill their tanks. The money flows so freely
it can buy and sell even the most destructive environmental policy.
And if interests are threatened, just ask your old friend George to
rally the troops and march into war. We'd just like to ask: after
US$200 billion and unknown military and civilian casualties, will
the world be a safer place? Or just an even better place to be an
oil baron? greenpeace.org
Stocks
and dollar fall after Bush speech
January 29, 2003 The US dollar and Asian stock markets fell after US
President George W Bush said "crucial hours may lie ahead"
for US troops in the Gulf. Oil
and gold prices remained steady. All
over the world, financial markets had been in the doldrums in the
days leading up to Mr Bush's speech. In
Tokyo, shares dropped to an 11-week low on worries that military
conflict in the Gulf was imminent. "We
are close to war in Iraq and the North Korea issue remains unsolved.
"Investors are worried these
problems will hurt the global economy and are selling stocks,"
said Yoshihisa Okamoto, senior vice president at Fuji Investment
Management. In South Korea, shares fell to
15-month lows, while the market in Singapore hit lows not seen since
September 2001. bbc.co.uk
President to
Propose New Faith-Based Initiative in State of the Union; ACLU Says
Plan Would Jeopardize Quality of Care for Neediest Americans January
29,
2003 The President’s State of
the Union address included a request for Congress to fund a new
voucher program for religious social service providers, the American
Civil Liberties Union today said that the White House plan would
dramatically diminish the quality of care for beneficiaries.
"By all accounts, this is just another plank in the
President’s unpopular faith-based initiative being pushed through
by executive fiat," said Christopher Anders, an ACLU
Legislative Counsel. "What’s worse though is that this new
scheme would force the neediest Americans to potentially submit to
substandard treatment by unlicensed amateurs." aclu.org
Disability Groups Protest Nominee
to Federal Appeals Court; Point to Sutton's Activism in Rolling Back
Federal Disability, Civil Rights Protections
January 29, 2003 National Coalition for Disability Rights, Web site:
http://www.adawatch.org
News Advisory: The National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR)
is an alliance of more than 500 national, state, and local
disability organizations joined to protect and strengthen the civil
rights of people with disabilities. NCDR's ADA Watch has united
hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals in opposition
to the confirmation of Jeffrey Sutton to the Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals and has organized opposition events in Washington, D.C. and
in Columbus, Ohio. NCDR's president, Jim Ward explains:
"Sutton's career has been highlighted by aggressive -- and
often successful -- efforts to dismantle federal disability rights
and civil rights protections. He has actively worked to weaken
Federal protections for people with disabilities, minorities,
seniors, women victims of violence, Medicaid recipients and others.
Sutton -- like too many of the Bush judicial nominees -- has
targeted the New Deal, the Great Society, Medicaid, the ADA,
Olmstead, and the authority of a democratically elected Congress to
legislate remedies when petitioned by American citizens." usnewswire.com
"Shock
and Awe": Guernica Revisited January
28, 2003 By Gar Smith Forget Osama. Forget Saddam. The
Pentagon's newest target is the city of Baghdad. US military
strategists have announced a plan to pummel the Iraqi capital with
as many as 800 cruise missiles in the space of two days. If George
W. Bush gets the war he wants, Baghdad could become the 21st
Century's Guernica. On April 26, 1937, 25 Nazi bombers dropped
100,000 pounds of bombs and incendiaries on the peaceful Basque
village. Seventy percent of the town was destroyed and 1,500 people,
a third of the population, were killed. The Pentagon now predicts
that its Baghdad blitzkrieg could approximate the devastation of a
nuclear explosion. "The sheer size of this has never been...
contemplated before," one Pentagon strategist boasted to CBS
News. "There will not be a safe place in Baghdad," a city
of 5 million people. alternet.org
Israel's Kill's One Palestinian
Every Two Hours. No Serious Objections
January 28, 2003 The Palestine Monitor "The Israelis
have now killed 24 Palestinians in the last 48 hours - an average of
one Palestinian every two hours - with no serious objections coming
from the international community," said Palestinian human
rights activist Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, speaking from Ramallah today.
"This silence in the face of such whole-scale slaughter is
simply unconscionable." Yesterday Israeli forces launched a
deadly raid on Gaza - killing 12 Palestinians and injuring 65 (five
of whom are in intensive care) -- just two days before the Israeli
election. The incursion was the deepest in years, with Israeli
troops nearly reaching Palestine Square, in the center of Gaza City.
More than 100 buildings were demolished by the Israelis when they
invaded using about 50 tanks, armoured vehicles and helicopters.
Soon after the attack on Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
said that Israel was considering a complete reoccupation of Gaza.
Hours later, in Rafah. a seven-year-old Palestinian boy, Ali Talab
Aziz, was murdered by an Israeli soldier who opened fire at him from
a tank; his five-year-old bother Ala was wounded in the attack.
According to eyewitnesses, Ali and his bother were playing in front
of their house when Israeli tanks suddenly started firing randomly
at civilians in the neighborhood. The eyewitnesses said that the
soldiers appeared to be aiming to kill. members.cox.net
More Than 1,000 Historians
Announce National Antiwar Network
Jan. 28, 2003 (AScribe Newswire) CHICAGO, -- At the 117th
Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association in January,
historians from more than forty colleges and universities agreed to
form a new national network, "Historians Against the War."
A committee was appointed to draft the following statement, which
has been circulated for other historians to sign: We historians call
for a halt to the march towards war against Iraq. We are deeply
concerned about the needless destruction of human life, the
undermining of constitutional government in the U.S., the egregious
curtailment of civil liberties and human rights at home and abroad,
and the obstruction of world peace for the indefinite future. Since
that meeting, more than one thousand historians, from 250 colleges
and universities in 47 states, have endorsed the HAW statement. ascribe.org
Whither Colin Powell? January
28, 2003 BY ROBERT NOVAK Because Colin Powell has been relied
upon to impede the nation's march to war in Iraq, apprehensive
Republicans were startled last week by his suddenly bellicose
rhetoric. So were investors, and they sent the Dow Jones average
into a 238-point swoon Friday. Yet, the secretary of state had not
yet joined the war hawks pressing for the military overthrow of
Saddam Hussein. suntimes.com
Europe urges restraint, but
Bush knows best January 28, 2003 By
ERIC MARGOLIS Time's European edition asked its readers what
nation posed the greatest threat to world peace. Of the 268,000
respondents (as of this writing), 7.8% replied North Korea, 8.9%
named Iraq and a shocking 83.3% said the United States. Good work,
President Bush. The Time poll mirrors feeling around the globe, with
the exceptions of Israel and Britain. American neo-conservatives,
however, will dismiss this poll as just another example of European
wimpiness, irrelevance and anti-American prejudice. So will George
Bush and his hawkish entourage, who have made it plain they don't
care what the rest of the world thinks so long as America and Israel
get their way. canoe.ca
U.S. Offers Turkey $4 Billion
January 28, 2003 By ALAN FRIEDMAN and THOMAS CRAMPTON DAVOS,
Switzerland, The United States, seeking to ensure Turkish military
cooperation in any war against Iraq, is offering at least $4 billion
to compensate Turkey for economic damage it might suffer as a result
of playing an active role in an American-led coalition. "If
Turkey helps us in the war, we want to help Turkey with the economic
consequences of its role in that war," a senior American
official said today. Separately, a top international financial
official said today that Washington was offering "at least $4
billion, and possibly a great deal more over a period of three
years." nytimes.com
Poll: War
with Iraq January
28, 2003 Tell us what you think about
President George W. Bush and the possibility of war with Iraq. Click
the “Vote” button at the bottom to submit your results and see
others’ response msnbc.com
In Britain, War
Concern Grows Into Resentment of U.S.
January 28, 2003 By Glenn Frankel
LONDON Anxiety Over Attack on Iraq Moves to Political Mainstream. In
a recently televised satire here titled "Between Iraq and a
Hard Place," George W. Bush is depicted as an idiot who can't
seem to grasp why Saddam Hussein isn't cooperating with the U.S.
timetable for war. American democracy is defined as "where
there are two candidates and the one with the most votes
loses," and Britain's role in the forthcoming military campaign
is starkly simple: "What is it that the Americans want from
us?" asks a British official. "From us?" replies an
army general. "Dead bodies." washingtonpost.com
Big Brother getting bigger January
28, 2003 By JULIE MASON President presides over burgeoning
government, aggravated by concerns over security after 9/11.
Addressing the delegates more than two years ago at the Republican
National Convention, President Bush invoked a line that had become a
sort of mantra. "Big government is not the answer," he
said. Now, just past the midway point of his first term in office,
Bush is presiding over the largest, most expensive -- and, some
would say, most intrusive -- federal government in history. chron.com
Iraq accuses
Powell of 'series of lies'
January 28, 2003 Foreign ministers says
co-operation with UN has been complete BAGHDAD,
Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi foreign minister today accused U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell of a "series of lies" alleging Iraq
has not cooperated with U.N. arms monitors, and said he hoped the
chief inspectors would deliver an "objective" report later
in the day. thestar.com
Daschle accuses Bush
of lying over economy Jan. 28,
2003 By P. Mitchell Prothero (UPI) President Bush has been
"saying all the right things, but doing very few of them,"
since Sept. 11, 2001, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South
Dakota said Monday. Daschle and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., also find the Bush administration wanting on other key
issues. Speaking to reporters for the Democrat view of the State of
the Union before Bush's Tuesday speech, the congressional leaders
laid out what they call a series of broken promises by the president
and the failure of his economic policies. "While promising
relief to hard-pressed middle-class families, the White House
delivers a reward to wealthy investors," Daschle said of the
Bush economic proposal. "While promising to bring new
accountability and responsibility to government, the White House
runs up huge deficits - and then blames it on the war."
"While promising to protect the homeland, the White House
blocks billions of dollars to fund first responders and other
homeland security priorities. While promising to promote diversity,
the White House files a lawsuit to prevent a university from
achieving it," he added. Pelosi called upon Bush to meet the
promise of his own rhetoric on how to handle an economy that
Democrats say has floundered under his stewardship. "For the
millions of Americans who do not have jobs, or do not have health
insurance, or even have seen their retirement savings disappear,
their state of the union is anxious," she said. "They do
not want to hear lofty rhetoric from the president. They want jobs.
They want real solutions to our pressing challenges and a real
strategy to make our economy stronger and our nation more
secure." upi.com
Syrians brand Bush 'butcher'
in protest January 28, 2003
DAMASCUS: Thousands of Syrians, branding US President George W Bush
a "butcher", on Monday protested in the streets of
Damascus against a possible US military strike against fellow Arab
nation Iraq. The demonstrators gathered in front of a United Nations
office in the Syrian capital hours before a deadline for a report by
UN arms inspectors on Iraq's cooperation in their hunt for weapons
of mass destruction. The protesters chanted slogans, calling Bush a
"criminal and a butcher" and demanding Washington ditch
its "plan" to attack Iraq. "We sacrifice our souls
and blood for Iraq," chanted young demonstrators. "America
wants to dominate us, it wants to weaken us and to destroy Iraq to
control its oil," said student Housam Halabi, echoing a view
shared by many Syrians and Arabs. jang.com
Dow Dips Below
8,000 In Advance Of Bush Speech
January 28, 2003 By AMY BALDWIN NEW YORK (AP) - War
fears roiled Wall Street on Monday, pushing the Dow Jones
industrials below 8,000 for the first time in three months. Investors
unloaded stock as U.N. weapons inspectors reported that Iraq was
failing to cooperate with searches for weapons of mass destruction.
Investors were also cautious ahead of President Bush's State of the
Union address Tuesday. The Dow closed
down 141.45 points, or 1.7 percent, at 7,989.56, according to
preliminary calculations. The blue chips last traded below 8,000 on
Oct. 15 and last closed below that level Oct. 14, when they stood at
7,877.40. kolotv.com
US faces record budget
deficits, new spending cuts 28
January 2003 By Patrick Martin US budget director Mitchell
Daniels said that the Bush administration expected the federal
budget deficit to shoot past the $200 billion mark during the
current fiscal year. He predicted it would hit $300 billion next
year, the largest amount in US history. Both figures exclude the
impact of a war with Iraq. Daniels released these estimates during a
question-and-answer session after he appeared before the US Chamber
of Commerce to lobby for the administration’s proposed $674
billion tax cut, largely targeted to the wealthy. He added that the
Office of Management and Budget was now projecting budget deficits
for the next decade—a stark contrast to the fiscal position when
Bush entered the White House two years ago. wsws.org
Vatican
Criticism Of War Plans Chills Relations With U.S.
January 27, 2003
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
John
Paul II repeatedly pleaded for peace over the Christmas holidays,
joining his voice to his senior aides who for months have been
expressing increasingly strident opposition to a U.S.-led military
attack on Iraq. Though the pope only once mentioned Iraq by name, he
used the platform offered by the holiday events to deliver a pointed
antiwar message. Senior Vatican officials, meanwhile, have been far
more blunt, complaining about U.S. “unilateralism” and warning
that an American strike in the Middle East would arouse anger across
the Islamic world. members.cox
World rebels against America
January 27, 2003 HAROON
SIDDIQUI DUBAI, United Arab
Emirates—Having positioned enough U.S. troops and equipment all
around this Persian Gulf neighbourhood, George W. Bush can launch a
war on Iraq any time, with or without United Nations' approval. But
he has already lost the political war. That
came through loud and clear in my journey through Europe, the Middle
East and Asia in the last three weeks. It should become evident to
North Americans in the days ahead. Tomorrow,
the United Nations arms inspectors will call for a continuation of
their work to disarm Iraq peacefully. On
Tuesday, Bush will deliver his State of the Union address and be
applauded on Capitol Hill and in the obeisant American and copycat
neo-con Canadian media. But around the world, his words likely will
bring public derision, so eroded is American credibility. A similar
fate awaits the promised American "evidence" against Iraq.
On Wednesday, when the Security Council meets,
France, assisted by Germany, will lead Russia, China and others in
resisting American calls for a U.N. mandate for war. For the first
time in its history, the council may be confronted with an
anti-American resolution. thestar.com
Bush's popularity hits low 27
January 2003, President George W Bush's popularity has hit its
lowest point since he took office, shows a poll released amid signs
of slackening public support for a war with Iraq. Of those polled in
the US, 59 per cent said the United States should give UN weapons
inspectors "several more months" to do their jobs in Iraq
before Bush makes a military move, according to a poll conducted by
Newsweek. US allies Germany and France expressed similar sentiments
this week. theage.com
In Just Two Weeks, Rumsfeld
Insults, Disparages and Demeans Veterans, the French, the Germans
and the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
January 27, 2003 By BUZZFLASH The Ship of Fools is Running
Our Ship of State. There he is, our macho Secretary of Defense trash
talking the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to a Washington Times
story (see http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030124-14721132.htm).
He's piling it on now. Just a short time ago, he trash talked
soldiers who had, in the past, been drafted into the military,
implying that they were an inferior kind of cannon fodder. Then,
Rumsfeld, following the Bush Cartel "My Way or the Highway -- I
Am Never Wrong" credo, issued a non-apology apology. Like Trent
Lott, he was sorry if people "misinterpreted" his remarks.
In short, he wasn't sorry about what he said about draftees. If you
fought for your country in the rice paddies of Vietnam and
misunderstood Rummy, it's your problem. Let's see, in two weeks,
he's managed to insult and anger men who fought for America in
Vietnam and other wars (unlike Bush and Cheney who ran yellow from
fighting in Vietnam), impugn the capabilities of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, and tick off the two largest nations in Europe. That's quite
an accomplishment, even for the oversized brazen egos of the Bush
Cartel. I mean, Clinton would have been ousted from office for any
of these three statements, but our Little Caesar, Bush, has full
confidence in his Rummy. buzzflash.com
Oil price soars as American stocks shrink
27 January 2003 By Leo Lewis, Markets Editor US stocks of
crude oil, one of the crucial factors in setting global prices, have
plunged close to a 30-year low and threaten to further destabilise a
market now in turmoil. Oil prices, now soaring above $33 (£22) a
barrel, have been pushed sky-high as traders and producers react to
strikes in Venezuela and the threat of war in Iraq. But while both
of those threats contribute to the so-called war premium built into
crude prices, City analysts argue that the fundamentals behind oil
are in serious trouble. independent.co.uk
A Movement of Truth Covered Up by Media Lies
01/27/03 By Mike Kress There
have been plenty of articles and photos posted on independent and
corporate media websites where the protests of last weekend are
concerned. What I wish to discuss here is how the corporate media
are lying more about the demonstrations in Washington DC than about
any other demonstration I've attended. To hear or see numbers
like 10,000 or 30,000 or "tens of thousands" used by the
media in connection with the DC event is to witness nothing less
than a blatant Orwellian lie. It is a slap in the face to every man,
woman and child who attended - as well as those who wanted to but
could not. It's a sad time for truth and democracy, and the lies of
the corporate media demand nothing less than an utter dismantling
and reconstruction of the US press. liberalslant.com
Bush's Solution to Economic
Woes January 27, 2003 D. Grant Haynes
As in most else supply-sider Bush and his economic advisers
have done to "stimulate" the economy, the 2001 tax package
was weighted heavily in favor of the wealthy on the basis of the
so-called "trickle down" theory of economics. The trickle
down idea is, of course, that if you put more money into the pockets
of excessively prosperous investment capitalists at the top of the
heap--those who live off their dividends and the labors of
others--they will, in turn, make more investment capital available
to open more shops, expand more enterprises, and hire more drudges
at the bottom of the heap, thereby stimulating the economy. The
trickle down theory of economics apparently doesn't work as well in
the real world as on paper in the president's rarefied world of
excess and privilege... enter.net
Evidence
piles up against TV guru Martha Stewart
January 27: The legal net was closing around America's domestic diva
Martha Stewart yesterday, after investigators claimed they had
"sufficient information" to file charges against her. guardian.co.uk/usa
This
pampered pet person, this house cat of a human being will be
inconvenienced momentarily by our little laws. She has
become a billionaire making flower arrangements on TV,
yet millions of noble Americans perform veritable miracles on a daily
basis for slaves wages and do not even have medical
insurance for themselves and their families. Paradoxically, we
ridicule India for their beloved sacred cows and monkeys
existing well fed amidst their starving people. editor
US considering nuking Iraq
26 January 2003 The United States is considering using nuclear
weapons in a possible future war against Iraq to destroy underground
command posts and stop Iraqi forces from using weapons of mass
destruction, a top US private military expert warned. Citing
multiple sources, William Arkin said plans for using nuclear weapons
against Iraq are being fleshed out at the US Strategic Command in
Omaha, Nebraska; inside planning offices of the Joint Staff at the
Pentagon and at an "undisclosed location" in Pennsylvania
where US Vice-President Dick Cheney used to spend time during
terrorism alerts. theage.com.au
Jobs
Woes Worsening, New Analysis Shows
Jan. 26 /U.S. Newswire/
-- The news on the jobs front is bad
and getting worse, according to a new analysis by EPI's
Research Co-Director Jared Bernstein. That report, "The Jobless
Recovery," presents a stark picture of the continuing weakening
in the U.S. labor market which,
despite claims that a recovery is
underway, is plagued by mounting job losses and lengthening
unemployment.
"As far as the
job market is concerned, the recession drags on," said
Bernstein. "The Bush Administration and Congress need
to appreciate the urgency of this
situation and quickly enact an economic
plan that makes jobs the first and immediate priority."
Bernstein's report, which examines and
compares trends over the past two
years, notes: --
The jobless rolls have expanded by 2.8 million since the fourth
quarter of 2000, the most recent economic peak. --
There are now 2.1 million fewer private sector jobs than there
were at the end of 2000. Payrolls
contracted not only over the
recessionary year of 2001, but also over the purported recovery
year of 2002. --
The decline in private sector jobs at this point in the recovery
is greater than in any of the past three recessions/recoveries.
usnewswire.com
Why Bush is sunk without Europe
January 26, 2003 Will Hutton Even while George Bush growls
out his bellicose message, his country has never been in such an
enfeebled state WHEN THE STOCK market falls for a record 10
consecutive days, as it just has done, you take notice. Falls like
these are usually the portent of something bad, even calamitous,
ahead. The worry is obvious; Bush's intentions on Iraq could have
potentially disastrous economic repercussions. The US's economic
position is far too vulnerable to allow it to go war without
cast-iron multilateral support that could underpin it economically
as well as diplomatically and militarily. The multi-lateralism Bush
scorns is, in truth, an economic necessity. America may be a
superpower that spends more on defence than the next nine countries
combined and is preparing to increase defence spending this year by
an enormous $48 billion, equivalent to Britain's entire defence
budget, but it is a strategic position built on economic sand. observer.co.uk
Dollar
Falls A Record Ninth Day Against The Euro On War Concern January 26, 2003 By Heather Bandur New York,
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell for a record ninth straight
day against the euro on concern the U.S. will lead an attack against
Iraq, hurting foreign demand for assets in the world's biggest
economy. The U.S. currency weakened to a three-year low
of $1.08 per euro at 10:09 a.m. in New York from $1.0745 yesterday,
and has dropped every day since Jan. 14, the longest losing streak
since the 12-nation currency started trading four years ago. The
dollar lost 1.2 percent against the euro this week. A
war to disarm Iraq may damp economic growth and make it harder for
the U.S. to attract the $1.4 billion a day in foreign investment it
needs to offset its current-account shortfall, the broadest measure
of international trade, some analysts said. members.cox.net
800 missiles to hit Iraq in first 48 hours
January 26 2003 By Andrew West
The US intends to shatter Iraq
"physically, emotionally and psychologically" by raining
down on its people as many as 800 cruise missiles in two days.
The Pentagon battle plan aims not only to
crush Iraqi troops, but also wipe out power and water supplies in
the capital, Baghdad. It is based on a
strategy known as "Shock and Awe", conceived at the
National Defense University in Washington, in which between 300 and
400 cruise missiles would fall on Iraq each day for two consecutive
days. It would be more than twice the number of missiles launched
during the entire 40 days of the 1991 Gulf War. "There
will not be a safe place in Baghdad," a Pentagon official told
America's CBS News after a briefing on the plan. "The sheer
size of this has never been seen before, never been contemplated
before." The plan has emerged
just as American diplomats at the United Nations hinted that the US
Administration might be willing to give UN weapons inspectors
another month to complete their task. Chief inspector Hans Blix is
due to report back to the UN on Tuesday. President
George Bush has been displaying increasing impatience with the pace
of inspections and is eager to start the bombing. smh.com.au
Pentagon eyes mass graves Option
would fight contamination after bioterror deaths
January 26, 2003 By
Greg Seigle The bodies of U.S. soldiers killed by chemical
or biological weapons in Iraq or future wars may be bulldozed into
mass graves and burned to save the lives of surviving troops, under
an option being considered by the Pentagon. Since the Korean War,
the U.S. military has taken great pride in bringing home its war
dead, returning bodies to next of kin for flag-draped, taps-sounding
funerals complete with 21-gun salutes. But the 53-year-old tradition
could come to an abrupt halt if large numbers of soldiers are killed
by chemical or biological agents, according to a proposal quietly
circulating through Pentagon corridors. Would
you be able to accept having your loved one burned in a mass grave
if he or she were killed by a biological weapon? Vote and see the
results at denverpost.com
Bush Will Attack Iraq
Chemical Warheads or Not January
26, 2003 by KURT NIMMO Okay, so the Bushites had their yesmen
at the UN find a few empty "chemical warheads," which are
not warheads (those fit on missiles) but artillery shells, and now
we're supposed to think this is evidence of Saddam's homicidal
intent when in fact under the terms of the 12-year old sanctions
Iraq is allowed to have short range missiles (150 km) and artillery
pieces for self-defense. The corporate media wants us to believe
these empty shells -- which contained absolutely nothing and if they
had contained deadly chemicals not one UN inspector would have gone
near them without a chem suit -- these measly empty green artillery
shells are more than enough evidence for Bush to "trigger"
his long planned attack (not war, mind you, because in a war two
sides slug it out and Iraq is simply incapable of slugging anything
out with anybody). So this is it. Finally Dubya will get his war (or
lopsided attack). counterpunch.org
Innsurers scrap life cover for Gulf troops
January 26, 2003 By Helen Nugent and David
Charter Decision
to withdraw policies condemned as insult to the Forces BRITAIN’S
biggest insurance companies are refusing life cover for thousands of
troops and reservists who want to safeguard their families’
security as they head off to possible war in the Gulf.
Household
names such as Norwich Union, Legal & General, Prudential and
Standard Life declared yesterday that it was “too risky” to
offer life assurance to Service personnel likely to be posted to the
Middle East. timesonline.co.uk
Pulling
Out: Boycotting the New World Order
January 26, 2003 By Liberty Rogue The Globalist Elite have
gained control of education, politics and mainstream media. There is
no doubt about that anymore. The Globalist Elite have also
infiltrated large corporations. Talking about it is not enough by
itself; the people must do something about it. I remember reading
Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. In the novel the tyrants were
choking out the producers with socialistic laws and directives. What
did the hero John Galt do? He had everybody pull out of the system.
Without the producers the whole socialistic system collapsed upon
itself. Our situation is similar as it was in the novel Atlas
Shrugged. The Globalist tyrants are choking us out. The boot of the
Fourth Reich is being pressed on liberty. Super rich elite and large
corporations are going along with it. They have no respect for
free-market because it allows everybody a chance to work hard and
smart and earn a decent living. They just want all the wealth
exclusively for themselves. These are not capitalists. They are not
Free-Marketers. They are aristocrats and they want all of us as poor
slaves to them. disc.server.com
Rush Limbaugh calls War Protesters "Fascists and
Anti-American"!! January
26, 2003 Haven't we had
enough of this bellicose burden on the American airwaves? Are you
sick and tired of the Hateful chortling and guffawing - while
smearing everything that most decent
people consider the very Freedoms our ancestors or Founding Fathers
Died to Protect and Honor? There is something we can
do about it. We can complain directly to the companies that sell
advertising on his show. We can also boycott the same products or
institutions he promotes with his hateful, abhorrent speech and
behavior. We've made a list for your convenience below. takebackthemedia.com