Evening News for Wednesday, June 6, 2007

US NATIONAL REPORT

That Stinks for Bush - Pew Poll Finds President at Record Low

The latest Pew Poll finds substantially fewer Democrats (was 52 percent, now 44 percent) willing to say there is a good chance that they'll support Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy. Obama remains unchanged at 40 percent saying they'll likely support him and Al Gore's prospects have improved markedly. In Pew's April poll only 27 percent said there was a good chance that they would support Gore. He now sits at 34 percent.

It appears Mister Bush is on a course to find out whether or not it is possible for an entire nation to abandon him:

The survey finds that President Bush's job approval rating has declined significantly since April. Bush's approval rating stands at 29% - the lowest of his presidency - down from 35% two months ago. Bush has lost substantial support from his Republican base. Only about two-thirds of Republicans (65%) approve of Bush's job performance, which also is the lowest mark of his presidency.

At the rate Mister Bush's approval is falling, it won't be too long before Barney the dog goes Giuliani family on him and starts yapping to the press about what a rotten master the president has been.

Whew! That Was Close...Dangerous Drug Nearly Hurt Pharmaceutical Company's Finances

A medical expert testified before a congressional committee that the British drug company Glaxo, maker of "Avandia," threatened him with legal action when he first raised questions about the drugs safety.

The expert, Dr. Buse, was approached by the company after he highlighted a trend between the drugs usage among diabetes patients and heart problems:

Dr. John Buse was contacted by Glaxo in 1999 after drawing attention to a trend in heart problems among patients using Avandia.... Buse says Glaxo representatives mentioned that some in the company wanted to hold him accountable for hurting sales of the drug.

Buse, soon to become president of the American Diabetes Association, said he eventually signed a clarifying statement with the company that was used to ease concerns from investors.

No mention of any attempts to ease concerns among victims of the drugs side-effects.

Cheney's Legacy

Many Americans know Dick Cheney was head of Halliburton prior to appointing himself as Mister Bush's Vice-President (Cheney was charged with finding a suitable running mate for then 2000 presidential candidate, George W. Bush). Fewer Americans are aware of the millions upon millions of dollars that Mister Cheney has earned through profits garnered by Halliburton's Iraq War-related government contracts, and even less people realize the scope of the Bush administration's use of contractors in Iraq:

Historically, there is nothing new about the military's use of private contractors, but the Iraq war has seen outsourcing on an unprecedented scale. The policy change came after the Cold War when the Pentagon was downsizing under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Cheney first hired Halliburton as a consultant and later became the company's president. Halliburton subsidiary KBR is now one of the largest recipients of government contracts.

Actually, Mister Cheney's old subsidiary has collected $12 billion in government contracts. It seems Dick Cheney is very supportive of the concept of government of, for, and by Cheney-family profits.


WORLD REPORT

Iraq's Utility Futility Makes Seeing Democracy's Promise Impossible

Probably the biggest obstacle to Iraq's stabilization has been the inability of either the U.S. occupying force or Iraq's new government to improve the quality of the Iraqi peoples' day-to-day lives. If people can't count on the leaders to keep their lights working, they certainly can't trust the authorities to safeguard them from nefarious actors. That in turn causes fear to rule their existence, which makes survival more important than anything including the possible benefits of democracy.

For Baghdad's residents, their futility over unreliable utilities has reached the breaking point:

Corruption, neglect and insurgent attacks have left Iraq's public services in tatters, residents and officials say. Limited electricity and drinking water are the main problems, causing disease and frustration.

"We have one or two hours a day of electricity at best. Sometimes we have no electricity for two or three days. And it has become normal for us to wake up in the morning and find no water in the taps," Alwan, a father of three and government employee living in Baghdad, said.

Baghdad residents say they have never experienced such poor levels of municipal services.

Dick Cheney probably doesn't consider Baghdad's utilities to be in the last throes - - Baghdad's residents would probably disagree.

The World's Convenient Love Affair with Al

While Europeans remain decidedly cool and suspicious toward George W. Bush, their seeming love affair with former Vice-President Al Gore continues to grow:

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore was awarded Spain's prestigious Principe de Asturias prize on Wednesday for his role in raising awareness of climate change.

The award for International Cooperation comes alongside a nomination for a Nobel prize for his environmental work and the success of his global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", which won two Oscars.

"With his leadership he has contributed to raising awareness in governments and societies across the world to defend this noble...cause," Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, a former Spanish premier who led the jury, said.

Gore refused to either confirm or deny rumors that he might be seeking office in Spain.

Yer Makin' it Up

Every year Earth Day is celebrated in the United States. It has become part of the American experience. One day a year the globe's most gluttonous society pauses to consider the environment - - and, too, America's corporations spend the day defending their all-too-frequent disregard for the planet. Then, the day ends and most people return to their all-too-busy lives and grow too weary to worry about their personal carbon output.

And, for most Americans, that is the end of that particular year's enviro-worry. For the rest of the world, however; that isn't true. While America has long forgotten about the earth or Earth Day, the world is gearing up for "World Environment Day."

For 20-year-old Sweena Ganguly of India, and people from many other countries, "World Environment Day" is important - - and not merely as a one-day, one-off event:

"People keep talking about what one should do about the environment but what I ask them back is what are they doing about it?' said the 20-year-old. 'As for myself, I organize events at our local club where the kids from my locality either plant trees or put up plays on issues like saving water and trees.

"Besides these, I have my voluntary work at Green Peace, an international NGO which works on environment related issues,' Ganguly said, as she distributed pamphlets that urge people to use CFL bulbs instead of the normal bulbs to save energy."

Geez and the U.S. is still trying to get grownups to turn off the light before leaving a room!