August 2005

Following the worst hurricane on record, Bush is working to insure it happens
again. His efforts to help the hurricanes out is simple - increase pollution.

While there seems to be growing debate over the cause and effects of global
warming, we are seeing the early signs of a climate shift. We have had a record
hurricane season, deadly heat waves, devastating droughts and record snow fall
last winter. Also we can not forget the shrinking size of the polar ice caps.

Global warming is a misleading term. While the planet is getting warmer, it
also leads to more drastic changes in climate. Green house gases are the number
one cause of the decrease in our ozone layer. This causes the planet to warm and
cool at greater extremes, as the ozone layer provides a level of insulation to
the entire planet.

So how is Bush responding to this threat against the globe? From today's

Washington Post:

The Bush administration has drafted regulations that would ease pollution
controls on older, dirtier power plants and could allow those that modernize
to emit more pollution, rather than less.

In the name of saving corporate dollars, Bush is allowing the power industry
to further pollute the planet. John Walke, the director of clean air for the
National Resources Defense Council told the post:

 "This radical proposal is a 180-degree flip-flop from what the
administration has been arguing in court. Instead of protecting public
health, now EPA wants to protect the polluters. The proposal would
completely sabotage clean-air law enforcement, and it would be open season
for power plants to pollute even more than they do now."

Via The Independent

Iraqi activist taken up by Bush recants her views

By Andrew Buncombe / The Independent

She was the Iraqi activist who became a symbol of the possibility of a brighter future for Iraq.

Back in February, with blue ink on her finger symbolising the recent Iraqi election in which she had just voted, Safia Taleb al-Souhail was invited to sit with the first lady, Laura Bush, and listen to the President claim in his state of the union address that success was being achieved in Iraq. Her picture went round the world after she turned to hug Janet Norwood, a Texas woman whose son had been killed in Iraq.

But now it appears Ms Souhail, an anti-Saddam activist who became Iraq's ambassador to Egypt, may be having second thoughts about the "success" she celebrated with a two-fingered victory sign.

Having seen the negotiations for the country's constitution fall into disarray and the prospect of a secular constitution severely undermined, she expressed her concerns last week.

"When we came back from exile, we thought we were going to improve rights and the position of women. But look what has happened: we have lost all the gains we made over the past 30 years. It's a big disappointment. Human rights should not be linked to Islamic sharia law at all. They should be listed separately in the constitution."

Although, in practice, many Iraqis end up having recourse to religious authorities or informal tribal law, the idea of a united civil code is central to the modern state, she said.

Ms Souhail, whose actions during Mr Bush's February address were noted by Billmon.Org, a political website, added: "This will lead to creating religious courts. But we should be giving priority to the law."

Via the
Associated Press

Couple weds at anti-war campsite

By Angela K. Brown / Associated Press

CRAWFORD, Texas - The aisle was strewn with hay. A few flies buzzed
around. There was no organ; the crowd hummed "Here Comes the Bride."

But Genevieve Van Cleve and Peter Ravella had their dream wedding Sunday
under a giant tent at the makeshift campsite of peace activists and military
families protesting the war with Iraq.

"This is meaningful. This has substance," Van Cleve said. "We completely
support what they're doing, and we just wanted to add whatever love,
fidelity, loyalty and honor that we could."

The Austin couple, who have been dating since 2003 and got engaged in
March, had planned to marry in November. They had talked about a church
wedding, then thought of tying the knot in a relative's backyard. It is the
second marriage for both.

"We couldn't find something that really felt right for us," said Ravella,
46, an attorney who works in environmental consulting.

But when they went to the campsite near President Bush's ranch last
weekend, they were moved to tears after meeting parents of fallen soldiers,
including Cindy Sheehan, who started the protest Aug. 6 and vowed to remain
until Bush talked to her.

Van Cleve and Ravella got to know many of the hundreds at the camp, then
realized that was where they wanted to start their life together.

"When we met those families, the wedding planning all seemed a little
frivolous at that point," said Van Cleve, 34, who works for a software
company and has participated in other peace rallies.

In June of this year, a panel of congressional Democrats
held a hearing into the overspending and contracts involving Halliburton. During
this hearing, testimony was given by some prominent individuals who are close to
the situation.

Rory Mayberry, who was a supervisor for Halliburton’s
subsidiary Kellogg Root and Brown gave video testimony about rancid food being
served to the soldiers in Iraq. Sometimes this food would be a year past its
expiration date. His testimony also included how KR&B would charge the
government for 10,000 meals a day which were never served.

Those are some severe allegations about the Vice
President’s former company. What has been done about it? Well apparently the
government doesn’t care about the frivolous spending or the treatment of our
troops because they have done nothing yet.

The government has taken actions on other testimony
however. Bunnatine H. Greenhouse has worked for the Army Corp of Engineers for
over 20 years in the procurement office. During the past several years she was
the top Army official when it came to Army contracts. Now she has been demoted.

During the June hearing she gave testimony that KBR was
given an unusual amount of “sway” over the terms of its no-bid contract. She
further testified that Don Rumsfeld’s office intervened on the company’s behalf.
She summed it up as:

"I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to
contracts awarded to KBR represents the most blatant and improper abuse I
have witnessed during the course of my professional career,"