News and Comments, 17 Feb 05

This isn’t nearly enough, but perhaps a start on corporate responsibility? “Conn. to Probe Wal-Mart on Child Labor” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31047-2005Feb16.html

“D.C. Has A 'Deal' To Build Hospital Howard U. to Run SE Medical Center” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30281-2005Feb16.html – In regards to this. I heard that the closing of DC General was bogus. There was an article last week talking about how it wasn’t really “taking money from the city” but instead was doing fine. The article alleged that 500,000 had been essentially stolen from the hospital by the city leading to its closing. It was in that new free DC paper, the Examiner. All I know is, it wouldn’t have happened had this hospital been in Northwest.

Borrow Cautiously, Greenspan Advises Bush May Agree to Raise Social Security Tax Ceiling http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27890-2005Feb16.html?referrer=email – so, if they are agreeing to raise the tax ceiling, why couldn’t that extra money be used to maintain the system as it is? Especially if it is the most effective anti-poverty program we have? Why ruin a (mostly) good thing? Are we that masochistic? (also found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/business/17fed.html?th and here: http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/16/news/economy/fed_greenspan_testimony/index.htm)

I’ve been waiting for this. I don’t know about all of the folks who said that Bush was a “fiscal conservative”. That wasn’t the president I saw. Critical Republicans Look to Cut Bush's $82 Billion War Request http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30679-2005Feb16.html

Now, related to that… Secretary On the Offensive “Two dozen members of the House Armed Services Committee had not yet had their turn to question Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at yesterday's hearings when he decided he had had enough.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30800-2005Feb16.html You would think that someone who’s decisions affect not only the lives of thousands of US soldiers, millions of Iraqi citizens, but also all of the rest of the US and really the world wouldn’t be allowed to act like this. Our ‘decision makers’ have no information on which to base their ‘decisions’. (Maybe that’s why corporate lobbying is so successful, does money speak louder than words?)

War Helps Recruit Terrorists, Hill Told Intelligence Officials Talk Of Growing Insurgency. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28876-2005Feb16.html?referrer=email Who wants to be the first to say ‘duh’?! Throughout history oppressed peoples have reacted to massive brutality in the way that appears most effective. The greater the brutality the greater the resistance. I took a class on terrorism and democracy – the books had interesting insight on this (I can’t say I always agreed). I wrote a paper for it about non-violent ways to resist terrorism… maybe I’ll send it to Rummy.

Sure, act “quickly” two years after this all started (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4268733.stm)… Maybe they went to see Hotel Rwanda. Human Rights Chief Urges U.N. to Act Quickly on Sudan http://query.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?tntget=2005/02/17/international/africa/17nations.html&tntemail0 Speaking of Rwanda, the French are in trouble: Rwanda lawsuit for French troops Six Rwandan citizens have filed a lawsuit in France accusing French soldiers of complicity in genocide. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4272437.stm

And, we’ll end with an op-ed piece. The Gay Child Left Behind http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/opinion/17savage.html?th