October 21 – 27
News of the Week in Review

Once again the news of the US occupation of Iraq dominated the news as attacks on American
troops peaked at 35 this week. Here at home some 40,000 people marched around the White
House and assembled at the Washington monument to voice their protest of the continuing
occupation. Similar demonstrations took place in cities over the world from Anchorage to Paris.

This week the Washington Post reported on a poll conducted in Iraq by the Coalition Provisional
Authority which asked Iraqis what form of government they would prefer. As expected religion
was the fulcrum: “the public divides itself among those who support a democracy based on human
rights, those who support an Islamic state based on Islamic Sharia law, and those who support a
mix.”

In neighboring Iran, the government, surprisingly, agreed to suspend their uranium enrichment
program and open up to a UN inspection team. (Associated Press)

Business as usual..... When confronted with its understatement of $125 million in unreported
costs, ATT chief financial officer said that given their gross income, that this was a matter of
“financial immateriality.” (Washington Post)



Pulling the plug....It appears that the electric car is no more. Th major auto manufacturers
announced they would focus on hybrid cars, that is gasoline-powered cars which use electric
power to boost mileage. (Associated Press)

They must have gotten their signals crossed.....The US Senate blocked President Shrub’s attempt
to limit class action suits and large damage awards against corporations. (USA Today)

Cuba si.... Even more, the Senate joined the House in voting against restrictions on travel to
Cuba. It will likely be vetoed by Shrub, who targeted Cuba last month presumably to distract
people from American failures in Central Asia.(Washington Post)

May the Midnight Special shine its light on me....Several studies of the American prison
population were made public this week. Human Rights Watch reported that 1 in 6 prisoners is
mentally ill, many with very serious psychological disorders. This is three times higher than the
general population. In a another study, the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit
reported that three-fourths of Maryland prisoners are Black and that 9 out of 10 incarcerated for
drug crimes are Black.

Experience tells......The Journal of the American Medical Association, in a largely unreported
article dealing with needless biopsies and call-backs for further testing following mammography,
found that American women were twice as likely as women in Britain to be called back. The
report suggested that American doctors were less experienced than their British counterparts who
may evaluate 8 to 9 times more women than those in the US.

School daze....A Harvard Institute national survey found that college students preferred Bush to a
generic Democratic candidate, 39 to 34 percent. (www.IOP.harvard.edu/)

One more for the road....How much percholrate can a human drink? That's what the U.S. EPA
and the Pentagon are fighting over, while the chemical seeps into the wells of
people living in Aberdeen. Too much of the chemical, a chemical in rocket
fuel, can damage fetuses, and cause developmental problems in infants and
young children. But, the military won't clean it up until there is a
national standard set by the EPA. Residents have fought for two years to
push for the clean-up through the Aberdeen Proving Ground Superfund Citizens
Coalition.
www.sunspot.net/news/local/harford/bal-md.perchlorate22oct22,0,565821
9.story?coll=bal-local-harford

In another fit of "nimbyism" Harford County residents in Abingdon are
fighting to keep a homeless shelter out of their neighborhood. The transitional shelter will house 8 homeless men. The men would be screened
to prohibit drug addicts, felons or sex offenders.
www.sunspot.net/news/local/harford/bal-md.homeless23oct23,0,7174769.s
tory?coll=bal-local-harford

"No Child Left Behind Act" is leaving children behind while tax dollars flows to the military. According to a Sunpaper report families may select a better performing public school for their child, at the school system's
expense. However, at least 128 children have been left behind withouttransportation to the schools of their parents' choice.
www.sunspot.net/news/education/bal-te.md.opportunity23oct23,0,1995138
.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

This week in history....The founding charter of the United Nations took effect (1945)