Axis of Whining: Increasingly Unpopular Blair Plays the Religion Card, Bush Style

In the past few months, the world has watched Tony Blair use, one by one, every political trick he had stuffed up his sleeve. We've gone from "I have SMOKING GUN evidence of WMDs," to "Iraq must have a regime change to keep the world safe," to "Well I tried to work out an alternative to war, really I did!." Now, most pathetic by far, we have Blair invoking God, in true rightwing Bush Christian fundy style. The Scotsman reports "Blair said he would be able to justify to his "Maker" the momentous decision to wage war on Iraq, which ultimately led to the loss of hundreds of lives. The Prime Minister declared that he was ready to answer to God for the people "who have died or have been horribly maimed as a result of my decisions". So, just like "good Christian" Ken Lay (or Saddam's righthand man, a Catholic), Blair is on the "buy now [with other people's blood and money], pay later [by making "deals" with God]."

www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm

Axis of Spite: Spain's Aznar Wants to Punish 9 out 10 Countrymen for Not Going Along with the Bush Plan

Boy, you can tell Spanish PM José Aznar has hung around Bush too long. He has turned into a spiteful, belligerently posturing little Mussolini. His popularity in the cellar, and 9 out of 10 Spaniards having failed to back his decision on Spain, his solution: Make them pay! (the Bush philosophy). Aznar wants to make it punishable by up to six years in prison to participate in anti-war protests - which, of course, would have tossed about 2 million of his countrymen in jail. But Aznar is clearly on his way out and, as the Spanish defense minister confided to a reporter, there isn't much chance of a change in Spain laws, Aznar tantrum notwithstanding.

www.wsws.org/articles/2003/may2003/spai-m01.shtml

Axis of Flimflam: Italian PM Berlusconi Investigated for Corruption - Now Wants to Change Laws to Give Himself Immunity

If you are an American under the Bush regime, then this bit from the "Financial Times" ought to sound disturbingly familiar: "The billionaire businessman [Berlusconi] ...defended his role in a 1985 business deal that led to the graft charges. Berlusconi...and four others are accused of bribing judges to influence the sale of food and catering company SME in a privatisation involving Italy's political and business elite...Berlusconi has threatened to call snap elections if he is convicted. That could spark a constitutional crisis...Berlusconi, whose coalition enjoys a majority in both houses of parliament, is pressing lawmakers to reinstate immunity from prosecution for leading state figures in a step that would remove the legal threat to his government." Another star Bush pupil!!

news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer

Axis of Coverup: Bush Spectacle on USS Abraham Lincoln Staged to Overshadow Jobless Rate Report Released the Next Day

While the press was having a feeding frenzy over Bush's day of playing pilot and "commander-in-chief" aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to a captive audience, they somehow "overlooked" (yeah, right!) the fact that just hours after the full page spreads and TV top story slots were shoved under the public's noses, the latest stats on America's job situation were released. Turns out April layoffs had skyrocketed - up a whopping 71%, and that the jobless rate had hit the highest point in 20 years - a whopping 6.0%. So, who out there in Wonderland besides Tweedle dumb actually thinks the pre-bad-news timing of the USS Lincoln stunt was a just a great big coincidence? Or that it's an "accident" that coverage of this economic bombshell has been slight and fleeting in the mainstream media?

www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr2_2003/0502-108.html

Axis of Blame: Iraq 'Vice-Overseer' Garner Says Iraq's Gas Shortages (and Every other Problem) Are All Due to UN

Nope, the shortages of food, gas, and everything else have NOTHING to do with being invaded, having supply lines cut off, and having the sh-t bombed out the country. Nope. It's all the UN's fault, according to "retired general" and "unretired weapons peddler" Jay Garner. Garner says the UN is being a pain by failing to lift sanctions. Of course Garner and his bosses conveniently forget that the UN uses sanctions to discourage rogue nations from using their resources to foment instability and war and create despotic, abusive regimes. So, sorry Jay, guess as long as the US is in Iraq, guess the sanctions will have to stay in place!

www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/international/worldspecial/05IRAQ.html

National Study Reveals Teachers, Police, Firefighters, LPNs, Janitors, and Salespeople Cannot Afford to Buy Homes

I guess the public servants Bush is so fond of having PR shots and soundbytes with will just have to be content with Bush lip service, and pernanent apartment living. According to a study by the National Housing Conference:"None of America's
elementary school teachers, police officers, licensed practical
nurses, retail salespersons or janitors would qualify to purchase
a median priced home based on median income,...findings for the nation as a whole reveal that the median annual salaries for each of these five occupations
fall short of the nearly $50,000 necessary to qualify for the
median priced home of $156,000. Of particular concern, families dependent
solely on the salary of a janitor or retail salesperson pay in
excess of what is considered affordable for a two-bedroom
apartment in all of the 60 individual metropolitan areas studied."

www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr2_2003/0505-134.html

Actress Sally Fields Steps in to Protect Women and Children from War's Ravages - While Bush Continues to Ignore the Problem

The Flying Nun has come to bat for women and children caught in war's crossfire, by working with Sen. Joe Biden to introduce legislation that would protect women and children caught in the cross fire of war.
OF course, this is a good idea. However, I think two rather glaring facts should be pointed out: First, if we didn't insist on declaring war on nations and thus catching women and children in the crossfire, we would not need "rescue legislation." Instead, we could focus on improving, rather than just preserving life for women and children.
Second, special legislation would not be necessary if G.lobal W.reckingball Bush would get off his dead ass and sign the Geneva Protocols and the UN's Convention for the Rights of the Child. In these documents, spurned by His Heinous, all of the issues Fields and Biden are attempting to address are already covered. What a pathetic pass America's come to that private citizens must come forward and try to do with blood, sweat, tears and lobbying what their so-called "leader" could do with the stroke of a pen.

www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr2_2003/0505-129.html

What's Wrong With This Picture? DAV Donates Vans to VA to Transport Disabled Vets to Clinics and Hospitals

First, here's the story: "The Disabled American
Veterans (DAV) will donate 59 new Ford Econoline and 152 Windstar
vans, valued at nearly $4.9 million, to the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) following a "Drive Away" ceremony at Ford
Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., May 6.

The event will celebrate Ford's 100th anniversary and send DAV
volunteer drivers on their way to deliver the new vans to VA
medical centers in 42 states. The vans join a nationwide fleet
previously donated by the DAV and already at work transporting sick
and disabled veterans to and from VA medical facilities for
much-needed treatment."

So what's the problem? First, the DAV should NOT HAVE TO DONATE VEHICLES to the VA make sure vets get the care they need! They have no choice, however: thanks to cuts to the REAL VA budget (the part of the budget that actually serves vets, not VA administrators), things like transportation to medical facilities as well as many medical services are now out of the reach of thousands of vets. This problem began in the Reagan administration and has grown dramatically worse in the past two years, thanks to Bush. So, the DAV, always in the front lines for vets, stepped into the breach, just like Sally Field Isee story above) and took the initiative.

(see www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr2_2003/0505-113.html)

Doctors Without Borders Blast US Negligence of Human Suffering in Iraq in Past Two Months

"The United States-led
coalition has failed to meet its responsibility under international
humanitarian law to ensure that the health and well being of the
Iraqi people is being provided for, stated the international
medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins
Sans Frontieres (MSF) today. Urgent medical needs are not being
addressed and disorganization in hospitals is posing a threat to
the health of people in the country. MSF again demands that the
US-led coalition, as the occupying power, immediately fulfill its
obligation to provide for the medical needs of the Iraqi people
which it has thus far not done. "Despite three weeks of the US occupation and many months of
planning for this war, Baghdad, a city the size of Houston and
Chicago combined, still does not have any fully functioning
hospitals," said Morten Rostrup, MD, MSF International Council
president, who has just returned from 6 weeks in Baghdad. " - Press release from Doctors without Borders, May 3, 2003

www.usnewswire.com/topnews/qtr2_2003/0502-145.html