This was the week that was
December 9 – December 15
#33


Americans woke up Sunday morning to hear the news that Saddam had been captured. By a little after noon, the Shrub was on television declaring that all Iraqis can now come together and “reject violence.” Of course the violence continues.

Phoenix rising: Robert Dreyfuss, writing in the American Prospect magazine, uncovered a “hidden” $3 billion dollar line in the recent $87 billion Iraq appropriation passed by Congress that establishes an Iraqi-CIA paramilitary group. Its purpose is to engage in covert activities presumably similar to Operation Phoenix, the assassination squads of the Vietnam war. (www.prospect.org/print/V15/dreyfuss-r.html)

Cluster bombs Human Rights Watch reported this week on the remaining unexploded cluster weapons dropped in Iraq by American and British military. They estimated that over 1.8 million US bomblets were contained in the bombs many of which targeted civilian areas. At least 1,000 civilians were killed or injured (www.hrw.org)

A report of the General Accounting Office portrayed the various “intelligence” agencies and the Treasury and Justice Departments as being unable to deal with terrorist group raising funds, laundering money, peddling black-market diamonds, gold, even cigarettes and household appliances. (New York Times)

The Pentagon, not to be outdone in the outrage of the week department, was revealed to have overpaid $61 million dollars to a Halliburton subsidiary for gasoline. Actually, they didn’t overpay, they were overcharged. Well, actually they weren’t overcharged, it just cost a lot of money to ship gasoline from Kuwait –- security risks and all that.

Working for the Yankee dollar As corporate profiteers line up to establish American-style capitalism in Iraq, the Shrub administration made it clear (for now) that France, Germany, Russia, and possibly Canada, can not participate in competing for the almost $19 billion in reconstruction projects. Meanwhile, old-time warhawk and Bush family supporter, Paul Baker, has been sent on a mission to these countries asking them to forgive all or part of the money which Iraq owes them.

On the other side of the world ...the US appears to be ignoring the latest peace overture from North Korea which announced that it would freeze its nuclear weapons program if the US would provide energy aid and take the country off of Shrub’s list of terrorist states. (Washington Post)

On the domestic front Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) will begin to receive compensation for being “shortchanged” in repayments in the past under the new Medicare law. The industry will get $1.3 billion in payments for 2004-05, but the prescription drug benefit to people won’t begin until 2006. (Associated Press)

If voting could change the system, would it be outlawed? Gore endorsed Dean; Kucinich assailed Ted Koppel for his failure as debate moderator to address the important issues of the campaign; ABC removed its embedded reporters from the campaigns of Kucinich, Sharpton, and Braun; Congress adjourned without completing the budget, and the Supremes upheld the centerpieces of the campaign financing law. The Court upheld the ban on soft money (mainly corporate funds) and restricted political advertising around election time. (New York Times)

News from the Hawkeye state An Iowa judge issued a divorce decree for two women who had entered into a civil union in Vermont in March 2002. Conservatives who otherwise oppose same gender marriages are highly disturbed by the divorce. (www.ACLU.org; www.iowaprofamily.org)

Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? Edward Norris the Superintendent of the Maryland State Police and former commissioner of the Baltimore City Police department resigned his post after he and his chief of staff, John Stendrini, were charged with illegally spending $20,000 in city department funds. The prosecutor identified more than 40 transactions for personal goods and services including food, alcohol, personal travel, gifts, and what the Sun coyly referred to as “romantic encounters.” Governor Ehrlich said “Maryland is a safer place today because of Colonel Norris’s performance as superintendent.”

This week in history Daniel DeLeon, a co-founder of the Industrial Workers of the World, born (1852); Knights of Labor, which espoused solidarity among all workers--white/black, skilled/unskilled, men/women, founded (1869); American Federation of Labor formed (1886); The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund --UNICEF -- was established (1946); Mumia Abu Jamal shot and accused of killing a cop (1981); Solidarnosc, the militant workers movement, was suppressed and martial law declared in Poland (1981); 300,000 coal miners strike protesting policies of the "Solidarity" government in Poland (1992); 1.5 million workers and citizens in France demonstrate against austerity plans forcing the government to negotiate (1995); 150 countries agreed to control greenhouse gases at a meeting in Kyoto, Japan (1997); the Supreme Court appointed George W. Bush as president (2000).