This Was The News That Was, #47
March 29 - April5
Howard J. Ehrlich


Good news, bad news..... Jobs apparently grew by 308,000 in March, but the unemployment rate
increased slightly to 5.7 per cent (Associated Press). The news media have heralded this as a sign
of progress. Another week of double think.

Fallujah is surrounded as part of the U.S. efforts to bring freedom to Iraq. Parts of
Bhagdad are under siege. The Shiites and Sunnis are mobilizing in protest. A new chapter in the
American occupation is being written

President Shrub signed a new bill “protecting” the unborn. It is now a federal crime to
harm a fetus in utero during an assault on the mother during a federal crime. This law defines an
“unborn child” as a child who is in utero at “any stage in development.” (Associated Press)

Shrub-note: In signing the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act,” the Shrub justified the law-
making by repeated mention of the murder of Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant
when she died. Her murder would not be covered by this Act.

The International Court of Justice ordered the U.S. to review 51 cases of Mexicans on
death row. Law enforcement officials failed to advise them of their rights under international law.
(USA Today)

OPEC — the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries – voted this week to cut back
production. The U.S. imports about half of its oil from OPEC. Gas and oil prices are expected to
continue increasing.

Secrets..... The secret energy task force convened by Vice President Dick Cheney may soon
be exposed. A federal district court judge ruled this week that the names of participants and the
content of their deliberations could not be kept secret.

More secrets..... Thousands of pages relating to terrorism generated in the Clinton
administration have been withheld from the 9-11 investigating committee by President Shrub.
Clinton’s former legal advisor estimated that 75 per cent of the existing records were withheld.

And still more..... In yet another act of secrecy, the White House invoked executive
privilege to prevent the former Medicare administrator from testifying before Congress about the
cost of the new prescription drug law. No explanation was given. (NY Times)

The Republicans in the U.S. Senate refused to vote on a minimum wage increase and
preserving overtime pay and unemployment insurance last week.

Solidarity forever?..... Giant and Safeway grocery workers did not strike. They signed a
new contract providing a two-tier wage structure and lesser benefits for new workers.

TV is not healthy for children (and other living things)..... Watching TV before age 3 seems
to result in attentional disorders for children according to the journal Pediatrics. TV watching has
already been linked to obesity and aggression in children. It was speculated that TV before the age
of 3 may have harmful results, regardless of the content. (NPR News, Washington Post))

War is not healthy for children and other living things.....Juan Gonzalez of the NY Daily
News and Democracy Now radio broke a story this week about the first group of soldiers exposure
to depleted uranium poisoning. Most likely they inhaled uranium dust from exploded shells made
with depleted uranium Four of nine soldiers tested by the Daily News displayed signs of radiation
exposure.

Not since Three Mile Island...No nuclear plants have been authorized since the 1979 near
meltdown at Three Mile Island. This week a coalition of energy companies announced their plans
to apply for a new nuclear power plant license in the next four years. Question of the week: What
is the half life of an energy executive’s brain?

This week in history ... Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated while supporting the strike of public sector workers in Memphis (1968).