Saturday, October 04, 2003
Iraq questions US government spending
Last month the Iraqi Governing Council questioned why the American occupation authority had issued a $20 million contract to buy new revolvers and Kalashnikov rifles for the Iraqi police when the United States military was confiscating tens of thousands of weapons every month from Saddam Hussein's abandoned arsenals.
On Wednesday the Iraqi council, in a testy exchange with the occupation administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, challenged an American decision to spend $1.2 billion to train 35,000 Iraqi police officers in Jordan when such training could be done in Iraq for a fraction of the cost. Germany and France have offered to provide such training free.
These decisions are being questioned by Iraqi officials as Congress is also seeking to examine how the American occupation authority and the military are spending billions of dollars here. Iraqi officials and businessmen charge that millions of dollars in contracts are being awarded without competitive bidding, some of them to former cronies of Mr. Hussein's government.
"There is no transparency," said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the Governing Council, "and something has to be done about it.
"There is mismanagement right and left, and I think we have to sit with Congress face to face to discuss this. A lot of American money is being wasted, I think. We are victims and the American taxpayers are victims." More.
posted by chris at 4:34 PM
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Friday, October 03, 2003
Jobs?
The job market in September showed its strongest signs of turning around since the start of the year, suggesting that the economic recovery might finally be powerful enough to help workers.
Employment rose by 57,000 last month, its first increase since January, and the unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 percent, the Labor Department reported today. But the increase in payrolls outside the farming sector was still not large enough to match the growth of the population, and the percentage of adults with jobs fell to the lowest level in 10 years.
More.
posted by chris at 8:22 PM
What'd I miss?
Project Censored is a project out of Sonoma State University that examines the mass media for stories and issues that require attention but are not covered to the extent that they deserve. Every year, they compile a list of The Top 25 Censored Media Stories that they feel didn't get the attention that they should have. They are well worth a read.
posted by chris at 4:11 PM
Growing Pains
Here's a very interesting article about Indymedia and various challenges they're having to deal with as they grow both older and larger.
Support your local independent media!
posted by chris at 1:38 PM
What will $87 billion buy you?
The Bush administration doesn't seem to get the biggest bang for their (OUR) buck:
Bush has also asked for $100 million for 2,000 trash trucks -- which works out as $50,000 per truck. He wants to spend $400 million on building new jails able to hold 8,000 additional prisoners -- which works out to $50,000 per bed. "I have a lot of constituents in my state of South Dakota who live in homes that don't cost $50,000 per bedroom," Senator Johnson says. Or how about the $30 million we've reportedly set aside to teach Iraqis English as a second language. "Undoubtedly there will be a contract to be 'bid' out, surely to that great educational institution, Halliburton, to provide ESL teachers from the US at wartime salaries," writes Tom Englehardt, editor of the indispensable TomDispatch.com.
Once the Iraqis at the Baghdad Fire Department's largest station learn English, they'll be able to read the English-language "Baghdad Fire Department" T-shirts we've decked their employees in. The BFD seems to be a symbol for our whole approach, by the way: US taxpayers have paid for a repainting of the station, new beds, air conditioners, office equipment, a television and a DVD player, reports ABC Nightly News. So the BFD probably on the surface looks more luxurious than most American fire stations. But ABC reports, that "after doing their best for the cameras, the firefighters told us there were still no replacements for the fire engines and protective gear taken by looters just after the war. 'I'm happy the Americans helped us,' said one of them. 'But if I'm going to fight fires, I'm going to need better clothing than a T-shirt. It's nylon and will burn right off.' "
The Bush Administration request also includes $164 million "to improve the curriculum for training Iraq's new army," Associated Press reports. Not "to improve the new Army," simply to improve "the curriculum" for it. It includes $4 million to establish telephone area codes and a 911-emergency response number. It includes $100 million to hide the families of 100 Iraqis in the witness protection program, $19 million for post office Wi-Fi, $50 million for traffic cops. It includes $150 million "to begin work on a $500 million to $700 million children's hospital with all the latest technology." (Because there's no shortage of $700 million children's hospitals in America, right?)
For some other very interesting budget breakdowns (literally), check out the National Priorties Project's
state-by-state analysis of how $87 billion could be better spent. Also, the Center for American Progress has a handy chart comparing the price of various items (like satellite phones) in the US and the price they'd cost in Iraq.
posted by chris at 10:49 AM
Kay Report shows nothing
The man in charge of a £180m ($300m) hunt for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction last night admitted that no weapon stocks had been found, and that all a three-month search had uncovered was a single vial containing a possible strain of biological agent.
According to a progress report by the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), delivered to the US Congress yesterday by its leader, David Kay, Saddam had taken no steps to revive his nuclear weapons plan since 1998, and had abandoned any large-scale chemical weapons programme more than a decade ago.
Instead his report focused on documentary, circumstantial and informers' evidence which, Mr Kay said, pointed to Saddam's intentions to revive a weapons programme.
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But Mr Kay's much awaited report was striking for its admissions on what had not been found.
In particular, the ISG appeared to have been convinced - in marked contrast to prewar claims from Washington and London - that Saddam's chemical weapons (CW) and nuclear programme had been disbanded long before the invasion.
"Multiple sources with varied access and reliability have told ISG that Iraq did not have a large, on-going, centrally controlled CW programme after 1991," Mr Kay told a congressional intelligence committee.
So we attacked Iraq based on Saddam's intention to revive a weapons program?? That's a great precedent to set.
posted by chris at 10:18 AM
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Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Do Not Call list starts today
Government regulators at the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, hampered by court decisions from enforcing a national do-not-call registry, yesterday released information on what you can do if called by telemarketers starting today:
• Tell the caller to put your phone number on each company's do-not-call list and keep a record of the name of the company and the date of the call.
• Tell the caller you are on the national do-not-call registry and ask the telemarketer if he has that list. Make a note for your records in case you decide to file a complaint.
• File a complaint with the FCC by e-mail (donotcall@fcc.gov), telephone (888-CALL-FCC) or mail. The complaint should include your name, address and daytime telephone number, the telephone number involved in the complaint, and as much specific information as possible.
posted by chris at 3:08 PM
Taking our ball and going home
The Bush administration today cut over $89 million in military aid to 32 friendly countries because they refused to exempt U.S. citizens and soldiers from the jurisdiction of the new International Criminal Court (ICC)--the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Among the countries whose aid was cut were a number of new democracies in Central and East Europe--some of which have contributed troops to bolster the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq--as well as Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa, and several other Latin American and African countries.
"This is the first sanction in U.S. diplomatic history targeted exclusively at democracies," said Heather Hamilton of the World Federalist Association (WFA), one of hundreds of non-governmental groups around the world that have joined in a global coalition in support of the ICC.
Making enemies as fast as we can.
posted by chris at 3:06 PM
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Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Bush's America, part 8
The number of people without health insurance shot up last year by 2.4 million, the largest increase in a decade, raising the total to 43.6 million, as health costs soared and many workers lost coverage provided by employers, the Census Bureau reported today.
The increase brought the proportion of people who were uninsured to 15.2 percent, from 14.6 percent in 2001. The figure remained lower than the recent peak of 16.3 percent in 1998.
A continued erosion of employer-sponsored coverage was the main reason for the latest increase, the bureau said. Public programs, especially Medicaid, covered more people and cushioned the loss of employer-sponsored health insurance but "not enough to offset the decline in private coverage," the report said.
The proportion of Americans with insurance from employers declined to 61.3 percent, from 62.6 percent in 2001 and 63.6 percent in 2000. The number of people with employer-sponsored coverage fell last year by 1.3 million, to 175.3 million, even as the total population grew by 3.9 million.
It's absolutely absurd that the richest country in the world doesn't provide universal health care for its citizens.
posted by chris at 8:38 AM
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Monday, September 29, 2003
Telemarketers volunteer to not call you
The nation's largest telemarketing association yesterday said its members would comply with the government's do-not-call list on Wednesday, even though a federal judge has ruled that the registry is unconstitutional.
Direct Marketing Association President H. Robert Wientzen said that after a conference call Saturday with more than 200 of the association's largest members, there was unanimous agreement to voluntarily stop calling the 50 million phone numbers on the national do-not-call list. The DMA, which has been fighting the planned restrictions, represents about 80 percent of the companies making sales calls, industry officials said.
"We will honor the list the best we can," Wientzen said in a telephone interview.
Thank you for not calling me.
posted by chris at 11:29 AM
Rumsfeld knows best, part 2
The U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base inflated budget proposals at the Pentagon's request last year to hide $20-million from Congress, according to documents obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.
Special Operations officials divided the money among six projects so the money would not attract attention. They also instructed their own budget analysts not to mention it during briefings with congressional aides, the documents show.
The Pentagon's inspector general has launched an investigation. House Appropriations Chairman C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, said he will ask Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a hearing Tuesday whether the Pentagon intentionally deceived Congress.
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The plan, according to defense officials and documents obtained by the Times, called for Special Operations to pad its proposed budget by $20-million so the money could be used later by the Pentagon for some other purpose. The Pentagon initially wanted Special Operations to hide $40-million. The Special Operations Command, which oversees the nation's secret commando units, refused.
It is unclear what the Pentagon intended to do with the $20-million, or what became of the money. Young surmised that the money could have been used as a contingency fund, available to Rumsfeld to use at his discretion. While $20-million is relatively modest in a Pentagon budget of almost $400-billion, Young said, if all the armed services are doing it the amount could grow significantly.
What the hell is going on at the Pentagon?
Via Atrios.
posted by chris at 11:23 AM
Rumsfeld knows best
Franks and most of the Pentagon were focused on winning the war, which they did. But, the newsweekly said, the occupation was a second thought.
One example is the Coalition Provisional Authority.
"CPA stands for the Condescending and Patronizing Americans," a Baghdad diplomat told Newsweek.
"So there they are, sitting in their palace: 800 people, 17 of whom speak Arabic. One is an expert on Iraq."
What happened to the Iraq experts? According to Newsweek, Rumsfeld ordered 16 of the 20 Pentagon staffers picked to go to Baghdad be cut because they were "Arab apologists," had positive opinions of the United Nations or other opinions not acceptable to the neo-conservatives running the US government.
Rumsfeld's interference "got so bad that even doctors sent to restore medical services had to be anti-abortion," a member of the original team said.
story via Atrios.
posted by chris at 11:13 AM
Memory loss
From Condoleeza Rice's appearance on Meet the Press yesterday. Turns out that the false Niger uranium story made it into the State of the Union address because everyone just, well, forgot that it was discredited:
MR. RUSSERT: But when you say that no one in our circles, and it was maybe down in the bowels of the Intelligence Agency, a month after that appearance, you said this, “The CIA cleared the speech in its entirety.”
And then your top deputy, Stephen Hadley, on July 23, said this.
“Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters that he received two memos from the CIA in October that cast doubt on intelligence reports that Iraq had sough to buy uranium from Niger to use in developing nuclear weapons. Both memos were also sent to chief speechwriter Michael Gerson and one was sent to national security adviser, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Hadley said.”
And George Tenet called Mr. Hadley directly and put—issued a warning on that information. Were you aware of any concerns by the CIA about this incident?
DR. RICE: First of all, the CIA did clear the speech in its entirety and George Tenet has said that. He’s also said that he believes that it should not have been cleared. And we apparently, with the—in October for the Cincinnati speech, not for the State of the Union, but the Cincinnati speech, George Tenet asked that this be taken out of the Cincinnati speech, the reference to yellow cake. It was taken out of the Cincinnati speech because whenever the director of Central Intelligence wants something out, it’s gone.
MR. RUSSERT: How’d it get back in?
DR. RICE: It’s not a matter of getting back in. It’s a matter, Tim, that three-plus months later, people didn’t remember that George Tenet had asked that it be taken out of the Cincinnati speech and then it was cleared by the agency. I didn’t remember. Steve Hadley didn’t remember. We are trying to put now in place methods so you don’t have to be dependent on people’s memories for something like that.
You know, like you sometimes forget where you put your keys, or whether you left the oven on, or what day it is, or how you woke up in a strange motel room tied to the bed . . .
From Tom Tomorrow.
posted by chris at 10:49 AM
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Sunday, September 28, 2003
Investigation of a leak
At CIA Director George J. Tenet's request, the Justice Department is looking into an allegation that administration officials leaked the name of an undercover CIA officer to a journalist, government sources said yesterday.
The operative's identity was published in July after her husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, publicly challenged President Bush's claim that Iraq had tried to buy "yellowcake" uranium ore from Africa for possible use in nuclear weapons. Bush later backed away from the claim.
The intentional disclosure of a covert operative's identity is a violation of federal law.
The officer's name was disclosed on July 14 in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak, who said his sources were two senior administration officials.
Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. Wilson had just revealed that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson's account touched off a political fracas over Bush's use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.
"Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge," the senior official said of the alleged leak.
This could be HUGE!
posted by chris at 4:25 PM
Old News
Leaders of the House intelligence committee have criticized the U.S. intelligence community for using largely outdated, "circumstantial" and "fragmentary" information with "too many uncertainties" to conclude that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda.
Top members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which spent four months combing through 19 volumes of classified material used by the Bush administration to make its case for the war on Iraq, found "significant deficiencies" in the community's ability to collect fresh intelligence on Iraq, and said it had to rely on "past assessments" dating to when U.N. inspectors left Iraq in 1998 and on "some new 'piecemeal' intelligence," both of which "were not challenged as a routine matter."
"The absence of proof that chemical and biological weapons and their related development programs had been destroyed was considered proof that they continued to exist," the two committee members said in a letter Thursday to CIA Director George J. Tenet. The Washington Post obtained a copy this weekend.
Outdated link here.
posted by chris at 4:22 PM
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