Early Abu Ghraib Reports Went Unheeded

This story seems to be related to yesterday's story about the Army bringing in a higher ranked officer to preside over the investigation. Despite multiple US military complaints about the abuse at Abu Ghraib the complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears, leading some to believe that the decision to use abuse was more extensive than admitted so far. Read More......

Cheney's Halliburton formally under SEC investigation for bribery

The beauty of this is that even if the SEC was told to back down (as happened with W when daddy was president) the French are also on this case. That's going to keep the investigation honest, or at least balanced. I'm still wondering if there will be any investigation to Halliburton selling to Iraq during the sanction years. Anyway, this story has serious potential to get ugly. Bribing officials in Nigeria to the tune of $180M and blocking out a French competitor will get noticed. As an American who has worked in international business since the early 90's, bribery is a nasty charge and if found guilty, people can go to jail. This one just might have legs. Read More......

Gorbachev: We all lost the Cold War

I mentioned in a comment box about this article from the Post and I think that Gorby was more on target about Reagan than those who scream that Reagan won the Cold War by himself with one arm tied behind his back. Sure, perhaps Gorby is also doing some face saving but nevertheless, I find it an interesting read. Read More......

Chris, what are Europeans saying about Reagan?

What are the Europeans saying this week about Reagan? Read More......

Chris, what are Europeans saying about Reagan?

I'm just curious what the European reaction has been to Reagan's death. What do they think of the outpouring of sympathy, of the press coverage, of his legacy? I imagine some Europeans love him for his stance against the Soviets, and others hate him for it. What's been the reaction from your "foreign" friends? Read More......

Shameful: Mental health parity gets nixed again

Who says that the GOP is not mean spirited? How can they justify not having parity in healthcare for mentally and physically handicapped? Republicans are using the old "cost concerns" crutch, though they don't seem to mind over spending when it is with defense contractors. Bush supported it two years ago, but that was before his war becoming more expensive than first reported. Where is the compassion?

"Aided by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, insurance companies successfully have blocked legislation to make them provide equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses if their policies include both.

The bill would expand a 1996 law prohibiting health plans that offer mental health coverage from setting lower annual and lifetime spending limits for mental treatments than for physical ailments. The proposed legislation also would require equal treatment for co-payments, deductibles and limits on doctor visits.

In an April 2002 speech to mental health professionals in New Mexico, Bush said the health insurance system must treat mental illness like any other ailments.

"Americans with mental illness deserve our understanding and they deserve excellent care," Bush said. "They deserve a health care system that treats their illness with the same urgency as a physical illness."

Bush added: "Health plans should not be allowed to apply unfair treatment limitations or financial requirements on mental health benefits."

Officials with the White House and the Health and Human Services Department did not return phone messages, nor did Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee." - AP

Read More......

About "Chris in Paris"

In case anyone is totally confused as to why this guy named "Chris in Paris" keeps posting on this blog, I've asked Chris (and a few other friends) to occasionally post on the blog to add a different perspective, and to help me fill in when I'm out of town and not very near a computer (like today, when I'm in Chicago). Chris is an American ex-pat living in Paris. I'll also soon be having my friend "Michael in NYC" checking in as well from time to time. You can figure out where Michael is from. I think it will be kind of interesting have a blog with posts from DC, NY, and Paris. Or maybe not. :-) Read More......

New defense budget: diplomacy by the gun

I now am starting to see the similarities between Bush and Reagan. The new budget has defense spending at $500 BILLION for 2005 which is $50 BILLION more than this year. Ker-plunk. When was the last time that a "guns and butter" plan worked? Where's the sacrifice for this spending? Where's the vision and discipline with spending? Does this budget mean that diplomacy is dead for this bunch?

"The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the long-term price tag for all the planes, ships and weapons the military services want will be at least $770 billion above what the Bush administration's long-term defense plan calls for.

The current defense budget, said Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), "is consistent with the Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz view of the world that we will essentially abandon 'soft' power -- diplomacy and the use of international institutions -- and will concentrate on 'hard' power -- military strength that we exercise alone."

Read More......

User of dogs at Abu Ghraib okayed by senior official

Not surprisingly, that "rogue" group of soldiers wasn't so rogue after all. According to today's Washington Post, they got approval from the senior intelligence officer at the prison. But even more shocking than that, the Washington Post has THE REST OF THE PHOTOS. Remember all the talk of the photo of the guy with the chunk taken out of his leg? The Post now has that photo, and more. They unfortunately don't provide a link you can really link to (bad Post), but if you go to this page, look for the "Dogs at Abu Ghraib" link in the right column and check out the new photos. Man, Bush is lucky the nation is distracted this week. Read More......

US military camp may have damaged archaeological sites

Looks like another PR mess in Iraq. Let's hope nothing was damaged to the historical sites around the ancient city of Babylon. Read More......

Who has the bill for this show?

Since Reagan hated government spending and only wanted to cut waste (so the legend goes, at least) I am wondering who is footing the bill for this massive event in Washington. Since it is a partisan event, does this mean that the RNC is picking up the tab? What about the friends of the former president that gave him a lovely multi-million dollar retirement home? Surely a simple, down home fella that hated everything about Washington would not make American taxpayers dish out millions for an elaborate ceremony, right? I mean, with budgets already tight for police and fire departments around the nation and the US being at war, surely some generous Republicans are keeping the government out of this process because we all know that government is the problem. Anyone have any idea how much this is costing taxpayers?

JOHN JOINS IN: Actually, this is quite interesting. I saw an article the other day that the Reagan funeral was costing DC over $2m. Yes, our little town of half a million people is forced to foot the bill, not the feds. But even more intereresting, the news was showing how much the funeral was costing all the state, in terms of time off given employees, etc., and it was ENORMOUS. We're talking on the order of several hundred million dollars. I remember being a bit shocked by the figure, but hey, what a better way to honor Reagan than to put the states further in debt :-) Read More......

Xenophobia and extremist religion at the Texas GOP convention

From Buzzflash, coverage of the creepy extremists in the Texas GOP. Real-life Archie Bunker types, defense contractors thanking the GOP for fat contracts, France bashing, talk of liberal media consipiracy, and of course, plenty of extremist religion. Ahhh, it's all so GOP Americana. Read More......

Beatles were right: money can't by me love...or at least sex

I always thought that people like Trump were just show boating for the press. According to this study, he's probably just a lonely old geezer. So for the rest of us is this good news or bad news? What do you want, money or sex and happiness? Decisions, decisions.

"More money does not lead to more sex, economic researchers concluded in a study released by a major US economic institute.

The survey found 19 percent of the "low-income" group reported having sex two to three times a week, compared with 21 percent of the "high-income" group. But only six percent of the high-income group reported sex four or more times a week, compared with eight percent of the low-income respondents." - AFP

Read More......

The Reagan economic legend questioned

"Here's a sample version of the legend: according to a recent article in The Washington Times, Ronald Reagan "crushed inflation along with left-wing Keynesian economics and launched the longest economic expansion in U.S. history." Actually, the 1982-90 economic expansion ranks third, after 1991-2001 and 1961-69 — but even that comparison overstates the degree of real economic success.

And the economic expansion under President Reagan did not validate his economic doctrine. His supply-side advisers didn't promise a one-time growth spurt as the economy emerged from recession; they promised, but failed to deliver, a sustained acceleration in economic growth.

For much of the Reagan era, the economy suffered from very high unemployment. Despite the rapid growth of 1983 and 1984, over the whole of the Reagan administration the unemployment rate averaged a very uncomfortable 7.5 percent.

There was, in short, nothing magical about the Reagan economy." - NY Times

Read More......

Majority in US now believe Iraq war did not merit war

The numbers have flip flopped since November and March polls and now show 51% believing the Iraq war was not necessary. Bush still enjoys relatively strong support for his handling of the Abu Ghraib scandal with 41% approving. Read More......

Blair punished at the polls for war in Iraq support

Is this the shot across the bow for Bush? British voters in council elections rejected Blair's Labour Party which is 12 points behind the Tories and even four points behind the Liberal Party, who have been the only party to be anti-war. The voters had few choices there because the Tories were also strong supporters of the war. Read More......

Not So Clean Air Act

According to the New York Times of June 10th, a study commissioned by the White House itself determined that President Bush's so-called Clean Air Act is in fact the worst of three legislative options being considered. Don't you hate when that happens? Presumably, with these new facts in hand, President Bush will dump his plan and embrace the one that saves the most lives and keeps the air cleanest, right? I mean, if you're pro-business, surely you know it's bad for the economy to kill off too many customers. Read More......