And now the evening news

In line with my desire to cut back a bit for the next two weeks pre-vacation, no commentary here, but several news items noted just 'cause I think they're worthy of your attention for one reason or another.


From the Beeb for May 4:

UN officials who have visited Sudan's western Darfur region say conditions there are as bad as reports suggested.

James Morris of the UN's World Food Programme said it was "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises".

He confirmed earlier reports that more than a million people had been forced violently from their homes. ...

Mr Morris said food was available for only about half of the displaced people. ...

"Everything has been taken away from these people. This is tragic," he said, adding that he had never before seen such frightened people.

Mr Morris added that security was the key issue and for this the Sudanese government was responsible.

He said it was up to the government to bring the Arab militias - known as the janjaweed - under control.

The UN has accused Sudan of backing the militias in a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against black residents.

Two rebel groups in Darfur - the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) - took up arms last year, accusing the government of ignoring the region.

A ceasefire was signed between the government and the rebels on 8 April to allow humanitarian aid to reach those affected.

But the rebels have accused the government of consistently breaking the truce by bombing villages and backing the militia in the area.

As a footnote to that, you might check this.


Also from the BBC for May 4:

About 50 retired US diplomats have written to President George W Bush to criticise current American policy towards the Middle East. ...

"Your unabashed support of [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon's extra-judicial assassinations, Israel's Berlin Wall-like barrier, its harsh military measures in occupied territories and now your endorsement of Sharon's unilateral plans are costing our country its credibility, prestige and friends," the letter warned. ...

The signatories say they were inspired by a similar letter written by 52 former British diplomats to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair last week. ...

Mr [Andrew]Killgore[, organiser of the American missive,] said the letter was mainly about policy towards Israel and the Palestinians, but it touched on Iraq too.

"If anything Iraq is worse," he said. ...

There has been no response yet from the White House, our correspondent says, though in the past, the administration has been quick to savage its critics.

From the New York Times for May 4:

The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax division from distributing a new documentary by Michael Moore that harshly criticizes President Bush, executives at both Disney and Miramax said Tuesday. ...

Disney executives indicated that they would not budge from their position forbidding Miramax to be the distributor of the film in North America. Overseas rights have been sold to a number of companies, executives said. ...

Mr. Moore's agent, Ari Emanuel, said Michael D. Eisner, Disney's chief executive, asked him last spring to pull out of the deal with Miramax. Mr. Emanuel said Mr. Eisner expressed particular concern that it would endanger tax breaks Disney receives for its theme park, hotels and other ventures in Florida, where Mr. Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor. ...

A senior Disney executive elaborated that the company had the right to quash Miramax's distribution of films if it deemed their distribution to be against the interests of the company. The executive said Mr. Moore's film is deemed to be against Disney's interests not because of the company's business dealings with the government but because Disney caters to families of all political stripes and believes Mr. Moore's film, which does not have a release date, could alienate many.

From the Christian Science Monitor for May 5:

Americans spend twice as much on healthcare as other countries, but it turns out that they're not getting twice the quality for the price when they go to the doctor or hospital.

In the first international comparison of healthcare quality, researchers found that of the five countries studied, none is consistently the best or the worst. ...

But researchers concluded that it was the Americans who should take particular note of the findings.

"The US should be particularly concerned about this report," says Arnold Epstein, chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard University's School of Public Health in Boston. "If I'm spending twice as much, I'd expect to have the better outcomes."

But it turns out, the US was in the middle of the pack for the majority of health issues that were compared.

From David Brock's new website MediaMatters for America, May 5:

Rush Limbaugh justified the U.S. guards' mistreatment of the Iraqis [at Abu Ghraib prison], stating that they were just "having a good time," and that their actions served as an "emotional release." ...

From the May 4 Rush Limbaugh Show, titled "It's Not About Us; This Is War!":

CALLER: It was like a college fraternity prank that stacked up naked men --

LIMBAUGH: Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some steam off?

The day before, on his May 3 show, Limbaugh observed that the American troops who mistreated Iraqi prisoners of war were "babes" and that the pictures of the alleged abuse were no worse than "anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage."

LIMBAUGH: And these American prisoners of war - have you people noticed who the torturers are? Women! The babes! The babes are meting out the torture.

LIMBAUGH: You know, if you look at - if you, really, if you look at these pictures, I mean, I don't know if it's just me, but it looks just like anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage. Maybe I'm - yeah. And get an NEA grant for something like this. I mean, this is something that you can see on stage at Lincoln Center from an NEA grant, maybe on Sex in the City - the movie. I mean, I don't - it's just me.

From an AP wire story, May 5:

Breaking with others in his industry, the chief executive of CVS Pharmacy called Wednesday for legalizing imports of prescription drugs. The statement by the nation's largest wholesale purchaser of prescription medicines came a day after the Bush administration's health secretary said legalizing imports appears inevitable.

Support is also growing in Congress, even among Republicans who previously opposed importation but now say constituents are clamoring for relief from soaring prescription prices. ...

On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said he believes Congress will pass a bill this year and he would advise President Bush not to stand in its way.

From an AP story for May 5:

Global treaties to cut barriers to international trade aren't enough to boost the economies of the world's poorest nations, a senior United Nations official said Wednesday.

Countries can't benefit from easier access to foreign markets unless they get help to improve their infrastructure, train staff and attract investment, said Rubens Ricupero, secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. Without that help, nations simply can't supply the products even if consumers want to buy them, he said.

"I think there is more to the equation that trade brings development than trade negotiations, because we have to make countries capable of trading," Ricupero said.

"People still think that (increased production capacity) will automatically follow trade negotiations, and I think this is the big delusion."