Friday, January 30, 2004
Bait and Switch
The Bush administration said on Thursday that the new Medicare law offering prescription drug benefits and private health plans to the elderly would cost at least $530 billion over 10 years, or one-third more than the price tag used when Congress passed the legislation two months ago.
Conservative Republicans said the new estimate confirmed their worst fears, while Democrats said it vindicated their view that the law gave far too much money to drug manufacturers and insurance companies. The bill passed narrowly in the House after Republican leaders gave assurances that the cost would not exceed $400 billion.
Just like always. Say whatever's necessary to get the bill passed and then come out with the truth once it's too late.
posted by chris at 1:41 PM
Where does the blame lay?
The House and Senate intelligence committees have unearthed a series of failures in prewar intelligence on Iraq similar to those identified by former weapons inspector David Kay, leading them to believe that CIA analysts and their superiors did not seriously consider the possibility Saddam Hussein no longer possessed weapons of mass destruction, congressional officials said.
The committees, working separately for the past seven months, have determined that the CIA relied too heavily on circumstantial, outdated intelligence and became overly dependent on satellite and spy-plane imagery and communications intercepts.
Like Kay, the committees have found that CIA operatives and analysts failed to detect that the Iraqi chain of command for developing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons had fallen apart, and that Iraqi scientists and others were engaged in their own campaign to deceive the Iraqi leader, telling him they had weapons that did not exist.
Maybe intelligence was poor because the Bush administration was forcing the CIA to come up with something, anything that they could use to attack Iraq. And the neocons refused to listen to any other kind of evidence. Story.
posted by chris at 1:25 PM
Diebold machines need work
Electronic voting machines from Diebold Inc. have computer security and physical security problems that might allow corrupt insiders or determined outsiders to disrupt or even steal an election, according to a report presented yesterday to Maryland state legislators.
But authors of the report — which described the first official effort to hack Diebold voting systems under election conditions — were careful to say the machines, if not hacked, count votes correctly. And they said the vulnerabilities the exercise found could be addressed in a preliminary way in time for the state's primaries in March.
"I don't want to beat people up," said Michael Wertheimer, a security expert for RABA Technologies in Columbia, Md., who oversaw the exercise. "I want to get an election that people can feel good about."
Further steps could be taken to ensure a safe general election in November, the report concluded. But ultimately, it said, Diebold election software had to be rewritten to meet industry security standards and limited use of paper receipts to verify votes would be needed.
More.
posted by chris at 1:11 PM
Evolu-what-tion?
Georgia students could graduate from high school without learning much about evolution, and may never even hear the word uttered in class.
New middle and high school science standards proposed by state Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox strike references to "evolution" and replace them with the term "biological changes over time," a revision critics say will further weaken learning in a critical subject.
Outraged teachers already have told the state it is undercutting the science education of young Georgians.
It makes me wonder . . . is Cox's faith in her god so weak that she's worried about a competing idea? It seems to me that if her religion is the One True Answer, then she shouldn't have any concerns about children learning about evolution cause they'll eventually see the Truth in Cox's religious beliefs.
Via August.
posted by chris at 1:01 PM
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Thursday, January 29, 2004
Whoops
Pentagon adviser Richard N. Perle, a strong advocate of war against Iraq, spoke last weekend at a charity event that U.S. officials say may have had ties to an alleged terrorist group seeking to topple the Iranian government and backed by Saddam Hussein.
The event, attended by more than 3,000 people Saturday at the Washington Convention Center, generated enough concerns within the administration that officials debated whether they had the legal authority to block the event, U.S. officials said yesterday. FBI agents attended it and, as part of a continuing investigation, the Treasury Department on Monday froze the assets of the event's prime organizer, the Iranian-American Community of Northern Virginia.
Perle, in an interview, said he was unaware of any involvement by the terrorist group, known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), and believed he was assisting the victims of the Bam earthquake when he delivered the paid speech.
Story.
posted by chris at 3:08 PM
What has your 401(k) been up to lately?
60 Minutes reports:
Just about everyone with a 401(k) pension plan or mutual fund has money invested in companies that are doing business in so-called rogue states.
In other words, there are U.S. companies that are helping drive the economies of countries like Iran, Syria and Libya that have sponsored terrorists.
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[William Thompson, the New York City comptroller who oversees the $80 billion in pension funds for all city workers]
has actually identified specific companies that have invested in these rogue countries, including Halliburton, Conoco-Phillips and General Electric. And he points out that New York's pension funds own nearly a billion dollars worth of stock in these three Fortune 500 companies, which have operations in Iran and Syria.
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In fact, U.S. law does ban virtually all commerce with the rogue nations, but there's a loophole that G.E., Conoco-Phillips and Halliburton have exploited: The law does not apply to any foreign or offshore subsidiary so long as it is run by non-Americans.
“These three companies, as far as we were concerned, appear to have violated the spirit of the law,” says Thompson. “In the case of Halliburton, as an example, they have an offshore subsidiary in the Cayman Islands. That subsidiary is doing business with Iran.”
That subsidiary, Halliburton Products and Services, Ltd., is wholly owned by the U.S.-based Halliburton and is registered in a building in the capital of the Cayman Islands – a building owned by the local Calidonian Bank. Halliburton and other companies set up in this Caribbean Island, because of tax and secrecy laws that are corporate friendly.
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60 Minutes decided to ask Halliburton's subsidiary about its work in Iran. But we weren't allowed to enter the building with a camera. So we went in with a hidden camera, and were introduced to David Walker, manager of the local Calidonian Bank, where the subsidiary is registered.
60 Minutes was expecting to find a bustling business, but, to our surprise, Walker told us that while Halliburton Products and Services was registered at this address, it was in name only. There is no actual office here or anywhere else in the Caymans. And there are no employees on site.
We were told that if mail for the Halliburton subsidiary comes to this address, they re-route it to Halliburton headquarters in Houston.
More.
posted by chris at 2:30 PM
Can you say "imminent threat"? I knew you could.
The White House has been insisting lately that they never said that Iraq presented an "imminent threat" in the lead up to bombing the hell out of them. The Center for American Progress begs to differ.
"There's no question that Iraq was a threat to the people of the United States."
- White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan, 8/26/03
"We ended the threat from Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction."
- President Bush, 7/17/03
Iraq was "the most dangerous threat of our time."
- White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 7/17/03
"Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to the United States because we removed him, but he was a threat...He was a threat. He's not a threat now."
- President Bush, 7/2/03
"Absolutely."
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer answering whether Iraq was an "imminent threat," 5/7/03
Etcetera.
posted by chris at 1:10 PM
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Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Those that forget the past . . .
The White House retreated Monday from its once-confident claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and Democrats swiftly sought to turn the about-face into an election-year issue against President Bush.
The administration's switch came after retired chief U.S. weapons inspector David Kay said he had concluded, after nine months of searching, that Saddam Hussein did not have stockpiles of forbidden weapons. Asked about Kay's remarks, White House spokesman Scott McClellan refused to repeat oft-stated assertions that prohibited weapons eventually would be found.
We can't let them change the goalposts.
posted by chris at 2:19 PM
Quote of the day
"Weapons of mass destruction including evil chemistry and evil biology are all matters of great concern, not only to the United States but also to the world community. They were the subject of U.N. resolutions," Ashcroft said.
Evil chemistry and biology?? Are you kidding me? How can you debate people that call science "evil"? (Thanks to Tom.)
posted by chris at 2:01 PM
Inflating the balloon
The federal deficit will reach $477 billion this year, up sharply from last year's $375 billion level, and the government is on track to accumulate nearly $2.4 trillion in additional debt over the next decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said yesterday.
The government's $4 trillion debt could more than double if President Bush succeeds in making permanent an array of tax cuts that are set to expire by 2011, the CBO's annual budget report added.
Measured against the size of the economy, this year's deficit -- a record in dollar terms -- will still be smaller than those in six deficit years under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. CBO officials acknowledged that the cumulative deficit would shrink dramatically from 2005 to 2014 -- from $1.9 trillion to $785 billion -- if all spending in Iraq and Afghanistan were to end this year. That is a scenario the White House and Congress do not envision.
George, you're just not living up to the legacy.
posted by chris at 12:44 PM
AFL-CIO calls for Safeway boycott
Since mid-October, 70,000 grocery workers have courageously kept up the picket lines in Southern California. These brave workers are holding the line for health care and good jobs in the face of stubborn employer greed. The stand they have taken is not just for their own families, but for all families, at a time when too many employers are shredding the standards for decent benefits we worked long and hard to build. They're on strike or have been locked out by their employers, including Safeway-owned Vons, Kroger-owned Ralphs and Albertsons for nearly four months now.
We're asking you to change your everyday routine and not shop at Safeway during the strike. The striking grocery workers are asking you to do this because the company that owns Safeway is stubbornly refusing to negotiate a reasonable contract. We all need to vote with our shopping choices and tell these giant grocery corporations that their actions are unacceptable and we will not support them with our business.
Please don't shop at Safeway and help get the word by forwarding this e-mail to your friends, family and co-workers.
Why is this strike so important? The grocery chains are demanding the workers accept what amounts to a 75 percent cut in health coverage for new workers and a 50 percent cut for current employees. Like too many employers across America, they are trying to boost their profits at the expense of workers and their families. If the grocery chains win, we'll all have a harder time holding on to health care benefits. The workers must win.
What can you do? You can send a fax to Safeway CEO Steve Burd expressing support for the striking workers. You can also donate to a support fund that helps the striking workers with bills, food, health care and other needs. More information can be found here and here.
posted by chris at 10:06 AM
Breaking 2: Papal Boogaloo
In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box.
The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed a move, then applauding for the entire group. He watched the performance from a raised throne.
"For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said.
He didn't approve Mel's new movie, but apparently the Pope digs
breakdancing.
UPDATE: Apparently, Vice-President Cheney was in line right behind the breakdancers for an audience with the Pope.
posted by chris at 9:45 AM
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Monday, January 26, 2004
One cookie = $10 billion
Although I'm not so sure how I feel about them using Oreos for this little project, True Majority has developed a great flash animation with Ben Cohen. Besides informing people about their organization, it also shows in a very graphic way, how easy it could be to shift some funds from the military budget to important social programs. Check it out.
Thanks, Jason for the link.
posted by chris at 11:36 AM
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