Bear Left!

Fact of the Week

**Fact of the Week**
The latest American federal budget projections from the Congressional Budget Office do not show a budget surplus outside of Social Security until 2010, and even that projection may be optimistic. Students of American politics might remember, however, that in January 2000, George W. Bush stressed the importance of putting the Social Security trust fund into a "lockbox" off limits from the needs of other programs. Sources: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 23 January 2002; News Hour with Jim Lehrer, 14 January 2000.

"Axis of Evil" Crumbles under Scrutiny: In spite of the State of the Union address, there is no such axis (Michael Klare, Alternet.Org).
"Evil Axis" and Others Talk Back: The State of the Union speech dismayed many governments, including some American allies (Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor).
New Enron Scandal Link to Bush: The Bush adminsitration appointed two of Kenneth Lay's suggested members to a key energy commission (Duncan Campbell, The Guardian).
Israel's Culture of Reservists: Record numbers of Israelis are refusing to serve in the West Bank (Kathryn Westcott, BBC News).
Scores of Priests Involved in Sex Abuse Cases: The Boston Archdiocese quietly settled cases against 70 priests in the last 10 years (Walter Robinson, Boston Globe).
The Dark Side of Capitalism: The collapse of Enron is a corporate allegory of our times (Simon Caulkin, London Observer).
Geneva Convention III: What the United States (and many others) agreed to uphold regarding prisoners of war (United Nations).

"Bear left!"/"Right, Frog!" (Kermit and Fozzie, The Muppet Movie)

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