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Kim Loves Pizza

MY thoughts on North Korea can be summed up by the final paragraph of an article By Francesco Sisci of the Asia Times. It reads:

A couple of years ago Western intelligence discovered in Rome that North Korean intelligence agents were busily buying kitchen utensils and microwave ovens. The Western agents became suspicious and investigated the matter. They found out that some parts of microwaves oven could be used to build triggers for atomic bombs. They thus thought that the North Koreans were about to build an atomic bomb and were purchasing the components of its trigger in the form of innocuous kitchenware. They were about to act and stop the traffic, when they came across another piece of information: The utensils were connected with some Italian chefs hired to go and cook for a period of time in Pyongyang at Kim Jong-il’s court. So the Western agents dropped the matter – apparently Kim was simply fond of Italian food. Perhaps he is fonder of pizza than of atomic bombs.

Doctor in the House and Senate

Senator Bill Frist, MD. That’s the new majority leader of the US senate. NYTimes and Washington Post are on all fours, singing his praises with articles entitled: “The Good Doctor” and “Is there a doctor in the house”… obviously these journalists have fallen asleep at the wheel as the drivers of free and independent press that criticizes in the public interest. Instead of referring to the major media’s articles, let us all refer to proper investigative journalism, which can be found at such media as: www.laweekly.com, www.salon.com, www.villagevoice.com . These investigations aren’t so warm and fuzzy with their coverage of the new leader. They are not busy shining his boots with their words of praise for the MD. Instead they refer to facts… facts that endanger the American public. These facts include:

Frist has voted against sex education, international family planning, emergency contraception [the morning-after pill], affirmative action, hate crimes legislation, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

The basis of the Frist family fortune is HCA Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, which was founded by Frist?s father and brother.

In 1994, Frist ? who?d never bothered to vote before first running for the Senate that year ? spent some $3.4 million of his personal fortune to buy the seat from Tennessee (HCA?s headquarters) that he now occupies

Frist has used his influence to further HCA?s cause by stopping a strong patients? bill of rights, gridlocking a mandatory Medicare prescription-drug benefit, and promoting caps on damages for victims who sue negligent hospitals like HCA?s

The good Dr. Frist voted against patients? rights to sue their HMOs for failure to provide adequate treatment, and voted to give tax subsidies to HMOs and insurance companies to offer prescription drugs to seniors, rather than providing them through Medicare.

What does this mean? Obviously this is not just another dumb politician. This is a crook who represents a danger to the health and finances of every citizen. What should be done? Let him go the way of Mr. Segregation LOTT, mass protests demanding his resignation… he’d crumble instantly and resign to his millions. It worked only a few months ago, it would work again.

If the criminal American government with its international law violating ally (UK) attack Iraq, the UN reports that 500,000 Iraq people will require humanitarian assistance. 500,000 people… just because George Bush wants to use his weapons of mass destruction which make alot of money for big military contractors. Which brings to mind Missle Defense… which is a stupid title for an impossible objective. The latest numbers were in the hundreds of millions, spent on a system that is supposed to destroy missles launched at the US from anywhere. ANYWHERE!? This writer has never studied rocket science, but in this case – it isnt necessary, common sense tells us that they could never predict where the missle would be coming from, if there would be multiple, what type of missle, etc etc. Yet hundreds of millions are being spent, taxpayer money, which would be better spent ANYWHERE!

In the past two months American tanks have killed civilians in Korea and Kuwait. Today, a French Journalist for TF1 died after being hit by a tank while doing a story on the possible military action in Iraq. Conflicting reports say he suddenly got in the way, he was trying to get a better shot, etc etc. All in an attempt to play down the fact that the American Military have killed yet another person with a tank. And never have they been found guitly of their recklessness and murder. Regardless of what the journalist may or may not have done, the fact is he was on foot. He was not dressed in camoflage, he was not crouching down and hiding… he was standing there… doing a news story, in plain site. How and Why was he able to be in a accident situation like that? If its so dangerous, why are reporters allowed to be so close? Ultimately its the military serviceman who is driving the tank, and they are supposed to be professionals… professionals don’t hit civilians with tanks. A fair trial is warranted here and an apology. Though even that won’t compensate for the life of a journalist and human being.

So… they want Iraq to make a list. But they already know what should be on that list. And so then Iraq makes the list. But they don’t like the list, and complain that Iraq didn’t make the list correctly. Why did they need Iraq to make a list in the first place?

If it is the United Nations resolution that demanded this list, why is it that the list went immediately to Washington? I think theres a crime there… those government officials obstructed United Nations peace keeping/weapons inspection operations… they must be arrested and taken before a world court!

Once again, as if there was any doubt, the Bush Administration spits on international law and the United Nations.

Victory! That’s what occurred for working people everywhere last night as the NYC Transit Workers Union’s negotiation with the MTA resulted in a new labor agreement. This following a week of demonizing of the union by every major media outlet and even mayor Bloomberg taking shots at the union with his posing as a cyclist and saying that a strike would be a “disaster”. Despite the threat of enormous fines and jail if they should go on strike. Despite all these union breaking tactics… the Union stayed strong and an agreement was reached. The agreement includes a 6 percent pay-raise over 3 years, an overhaul of the desciplinary system and 280 million from the MTA going towards the workers’ insurance plan.

“illegal strike” is how the NYTimes and virtually every NYC newspaper describes the potential strike that would have been carried out because management would not negotiate. Throughout the past weeks the MTA, with all of its money and influence has been able to completely frame the conflict with the Union depicted as “greedy” and “breaking the law”, making no mention of the horrendous disciplinary system that existed and the racism that underlined those policies. But their smear campaign was not strong enough to break the union and they achieved their goals, a new labor agreement that will improve the conditions of their work and therefore their lives. No, they didn’t have to strike. But one day in the future, they may have to, and that is their right as workers, regardless of what the media or the politicians say.

SOLIDARITY FOREVER!