This was the week that was
January 6 – January 12
#36

The news last week was dominated by the exposure of governmental misfeasance and by the
exposure of outright lying on the part of President Shrub and his coterie. Possibly the most
explosive news came in the remarks of former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill in a just-released
book by Ron Suskind, “The Price of Liberty.” O’Neill describes the Shrub as disengaged from
policy planning, but was actively involved with staff in planning the Iraqi war eight months before
the attack of 9/11.

Bush knew....There were growing discussions in the alternative press that the White House knew
that al Qaeda was planning to hijack US planes weeks before 9/11. National Security Advisor
Condoleeza Rice has refused to testify under oath to the September 11 investigating commission.
She also insisted that her testimony not be public. (www.truthout.com)

Logic 101...Colin Powell responded to a report released this week by the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace that the Iraqi weapons program “did not pose an immediate threat to the
United States, to the region, or to global security.” Powell admitted that there was no proof of a
link between Iraq and terrorists and that even if no serious weapons were found that “America
was in danger.” (New York Times)

1,000 jobs created, 1.6 million to go. ... The Shrub administration missed the mark they set in
justifying their economic policy by this much. (Economic Policy Institute)

Reducing unemployment...The official figures indicated a drop in unemployment from 5.9 to 5.7
per cent. Unofficially, the drop was due to the fact that increasing numbers of people have
become so discouraged that they have stopped looking for jobs. Statisticians only count those
who looked for a job last week. As the economy has worsened consumer debt has increased.
Exclusive of home mortgages, our indebtedness amounts to $18,000 per household. (Associated
Press)

The IMF this week made news through a 60-page report warning the US and the Shrub
administration that the growing US trade imbalance threatens the financial stability of the world
economy. The US deficit reached $374 billion last year. (New York Times)

Back at the ranch...When columnist Robert Novak published the name of an undercover CIA
agent, Shrub assured his personal cooperation in tracking down the leak. Accordingly, the Justice
department has asked the White House staff to sign forms releasing Novak and other reporters
from a pledge of confidentiality. This week, the Shrub refused to ask his staff to do so.

Cabal in Kabul.....The Afghani grand council approved a constitution this week for the “Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan.” Under its terms there will be a directly elected president and a two-
chamber national assembly. Women were recognized as equal citizens though allocated 25% of
the seats in the lower chamber. Although obviously a breakthrough, the problems of warlords
and their small armies, corrupt police, and an agricultural dependency on opium poppies
remain.(New York Times)

Pakistan and India agreed to hold diplomatic talks directed toward ending over 50 years of
sporadic wars. The main focus of the talks presumably will be the governance of Kashmir.
(Washington Post)

On the environmental front....The mad cow outbreak has led, once again, to a look at the food
inspection system. James Ridgeway, in the Village Voice, notes that most meat is not inspected,
and most of the meat that is recalled (about 60%) is not recovered.

With the discovery of the positive effects of omega 3 fatty acids and the American Heart
Association’s recommendation that such fatty fish should be eaten three times a week, Americans
began eating salmon in large enough quantities that a huge farm-raised salmon industry
developed. According to a report in Science (the magazine of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science), the farm-raised salmon contains as many as 14 dangerous chemical
residues including dioxin, PCBs, and miscellaneous toxic pesticides.

Using computer projections to estimate the future of 1,103 types of animals, frogs, birds,
butterflies from the Amazon to Scotland to Australia (which covers one-fifth of the earth’s
surface) environmental scientists projected a 30% loss of species due to global warming. (Nature)
www.food.gov.uk

On the local scene....Governor Ehrlich threatened the state legislature saying that if they don’t pass
his bill legalizing slot machines, he would cut back on the state budget for education.

A Baltimore Sun statewide poll yielded the outstanding finding that people are committed to
protecting the environment at the expense of job growth. Fifty nine per cent opted to protect the
environment compared to 20 per cent who opted for job growth.

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