Week in Review
April to May 4, 2003

May Day in Puerto Rico—After 60 years, the US Navy halted its use of the island of Vieques for bombing practice. The event, while heralded by its resident population, leaves the bombing range an environmental disaster covering as much as two-thirds of the land. The Navy’s departure follows years of protest.

The Sweet Life---The sugar industry last week threatened to lobby congress to cut off the $406 million the US budgets annually to support the World Health Organization (WHO). The attack on WHO is a result of their April report which recommends that people limit their daily caloric intake of added sugars to not more than 10 percent of their total intake. Under WHO's a person should limit themselves to 200 calories a day in added sugars, the equivalent to a package of M&Ms. The sugar industry would like to see a limit of three packages a day.

Ashcroft uber alles---Attorney General John Ashcroft announced last week that ethnic discrimination is permissible for the US government. In what could be a landmark ruling, Ashcroft said that "categories" of foreigners can be detained indefinitely if the government defines them as security risks.

More spies---The Attorney General and the Bush administration have introduced a proposal to the Senate Intelligence Committee which would expand the spy powers of the CIA and the Pentagon. Under this proposal, these agencies would be allowed to issue "administrative subpoenas" allowing them secret access to the personal and financial records of anyone supposedly involved in supporting terrorist activities.

Muzzle tough---The Thomas Jefferson Center on the Freedom of Expression of the University of Virginia issued its muzzle awards this week with the top prize going to John Ashcroft for "keeping the activities of the Department Of Justice hidden from public scrutiny while simultaneously expanding the Department of Justice's authority to find out as much as possible about the private lives of the American public." Nine other awards were issued.

Corporate Crime Scene—two crimes dominated the news over the last two weeks. First, this week, there were the revelations of American Airline executives establishing a special trust fund to protect their pensions and giving themselves a big bonus while at the same time they were demanding pay cuts from their workers. Next came the fines of $1.4 billion assessed against ten investment banks who were found to have been fraudulently representing stocks in order to assist their corporate clients in misrepresenting their profits.

MTV abolishes War---MTV has told some musicians , according to Pacifica radio radio program, Democracy Now, that it will no longer play any music videos that have the word "war" in them.

Shrubbery---Bush, displaying his loss of contact with the reality of his proposed tax cut, referred to Senator George Voinovich's counter proposal of a cut of $350 billion as unacceptably low. In his best Texas twang, he put it down as "an itty-bitty tax relief package."

Fly me to the moon---The ACLU has filed suit against the FBI and other agencies in behalf of of people detained at airports because they were on a secret "no fly" list. The FBI cites thousands of people having been detained and is asking for disclosure of who is on the list and is asking for disclosure of who is on the list, how they got there, and how they can get off.

Middle East---In what appears to be a shift in power in Palestine and a possible precursor to negotiations with Israel on peace plans, Yassir Arafat and the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed on a compromise cabinet. The “road map” to peace presented by the US and European countries was greeted skeptically by both sides. As in so many instances before, the peace overtures were greeted by a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and a day long battle in Gaza.

Judging the Judges---President Shrub paraded out another conservative judicial candidate, for the federal circuit court, Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who has a record for supporting racial discrimination, ignoring cases of sexual harassment, and opposing abortion.)

The Death Penalty---Amnesty International issued a new report this month on the death penalty, showing its unfair application. As of mid-April 290 Blacks have been put to death and now account for 31 per cent of those on death row. (amnestyusa.org)

Officer Friendly Strikes Out---The Los Angeles County police once again paid for their abusive behavior. County supervisors agreed to a $2.7 million settlement with 71 activists who were arrested and treated abusively for staging a a bicycle ride demonstrating for a bike-friendly environment during the Democratic national convention in 2000.