Over here

Buckle Up, and Shut Up, Or Else: Despite assurances, many years ago, that seat belt requirement laws would never serve as a reason for pulling over drivers, Maryland is now implementing over 100 "seat belt checkpoints" to help protect drivers from themselves. They've been spotted recently on Charles Street near the BMA -- with seven patrol cars in attendance -- pulling over and fining drivers. We have reports that a nearby Charles Village resident asked about the need for such overwhelming police presence and was promptly placed into custody and taken to the police station for "disorderly conduct". Charges were reportedly never filed in the incident.

If Mussolini were in charge, at least they'd run on time: Although Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan initially indicated that MTA fares would have to be raised to $1.50, his current plan is to raise the standard fare to $1.60, causing a public backlash. In Baltimore, public hearings on the increase are scheduled for noon to 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the State Office Building at 300 W. Preston Street. Several transit advocacy groups plan to rally outside the building at 5:30 p.m.

Imminent vote on Media Conglomeration: . FCC Chairman Michael Powell still plans on going ahead with a June 2nd vote to eradicate various limitations on media conglomeration despite the obvious damage to public interest.

Hunt Valley, home of Minneapolis local news?: A bit of press about the Sinclair Broadcast Group in Hunt Valley, called the "Clear Channel of local news". This Republican-funding organization is responsible for the news being broadcast to 24% of the national audience, and they know it.

A fish story: A major study issued by ecologists at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia indicates that 90 percent of the large ocean food fish have been decimated by overfishing. This includes cod, halibut, marlin, swordfish and tuna.

We all know that guns don't kill people: Republicans in Congress announced that they would allow the present ban on semi-automatic weapons to expire as it reaches its limit this year.

Be well: If you thought your blood pressure was normal...well, who knows. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has just added 45 million people to their new category called prehypertension, which seems to be anything over 115/75. So eat well, exercise, cut back on salt, limit alcohol, and impeach George Bush.

It's so difficult to count: Another reason for Americans to stay healthy is that they can't afford getting sick. A Congressional Budget Office report this week estimates that approximately 60 million people lack health insurance some time this year.

Over there

The week has been marked by terrorist bombings in Riyadh, Casablanca, Jerusalem, and in Chechnya; by scares about health; US threats to Iran and North Korea; and Iraqi protests against the American occupation. Rumors persist that Iran not only has nuclear weapons, but also anthrax, and a program to develop smallpox and other biological weapons.

Take a Baath: American and British occupying forces have banned close to 30,000 members of the Baath party from employment in the public sector. More significantly, previous plans for Iraqi self-rule have been abandoned. In a great semantic leap sideways, the new colonial administrators announced that they were not ready to establish a provisional government but would create an "interim authority" instead. By the end of the week, thousands of protestors in Baghdad staged an old-fashioned "yankee go home" demonstration.

War crimes: Under a Belgian law that permits courts to try persons of any nationality for war crimes, a Belgian lawyer filed suit against General Tommy Franks and others. Specific charges include the use of cluster bombs against civilians and firing upon ambulances. Since recent changes in the Belgian law allow the courts to refer trials back to the jurisdiction of the accused, it is expected that the trial will be sent to the US, where we're pretty sure it will be promptly discarded.

This week in history: The Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v the Board of Education which declared racially segregated schools to be inherently unequal (1954); French students lead a general strike that involved close to 10 million participants (1968); Denmark became the first country to outlaw the trade of slaves (1792); the first women's anti-slavery conference was convened (1838); Mother's Day was begun by Julia Ward Howe as an anti-war protest (1882); This week saw the name day of Michael Bakunin (1814) and Malcolm X (1925); the Catonsville 9 raided a local draft board, destroying their records (1968). Their action set a pattern of opposition for the next several years that was to result in draft boards being raided once every two days. (And yes, we were joking last week about Betsey Ross being arrested for debauchery.)