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.

Right here

One more for the road: How much percholrate can a human drink? That's what the US 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.

Can we just sweep them under the rug? 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.

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.

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)

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. The major auto manufacturers announced they would focus on hybrid cars, that is, gasoline-powered cars which use electric power to boost mileage. (Associated Press)

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 (PDF file) found that college students preferred Bush to a generic Democratic candidate, 39 to 34 percent.

Well, maybe some: The "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 without transportation to the schools of their parents' choice.

Over there

The mélange of mosque and state: 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."

Come on in, the water's enriched: In neighboring Iran, the government, surprisingly, agreed to suspend their uranium enrichment program and open up to a UN inspection team. (Associated Press)

This week in history

The first soviet, or workers council, formed in St. Petersburg during the 1905 Russian Revolution (1905); 40 hour work week takes effect in the US (1940); The founding charter of the United Nations took effect (1945); Hungarian Revolution, based in extensive networks of workers councils, begins (1956); Massive demonstration against US war in Vietnam at the Pentagon (1967).