Michael Moore went on Oprah's show to discuss health insurance. Watch it here.

From the NY Times:

The Bush administration plans to increase its 2008 financing request for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere by almost $50 billion, with about a quarter of the additional money going toward armored trucks built to withstand roadside bombs, Pentagon officials said Saturday.

The increase would bring the amount the administration is seeking to finance the war effort through 2008 to almost $200 billion. Much of that money will go to refurbishment of military equipment and to the purchase of new protective equipment for troops, officials said, an indication of the toll that years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken on military vehicles, aircraft, weapons and other items.

Defense officials said earlier this year that the Pentagon would need a war budget of $141 billion in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. [...] About a quarter of the new money would go to build additional mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs, Pentagon officials said.

Members of Congress have criticized the Defense Department, saying it has been too slow to buy enough of the vehicles for troops in Iraq.

The vehicles, which cost around $1 million each, [...]

The Bush administration originally sought $2.6 billion for fiscal 2007 to buy additional MRAPs, but Congress increased the total by $1.2 billion. Acquiring MRAPs has become one of the Pentagon’s biggest budget priorities.

Senator Joesph R. Biden Jr. [Democrat, Presidential Candidate], of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reintroduced legislation last week to increase financing for the mine-resistant vehicles by $23.6 billion.

“We have no higher obligation than to protect those we send to the front lines,” Mr. Biden said in a statement on Wednesday. “So when our commanders in the field tell us that MRAPs will reduce casualties by 67 to 80 percent, it is our responsibility to provide them.”

Hey, Joe. I have a strategy that will reduce casualties by 100%: it's called

Governor and State Legislators,

I understand that part of the funding for Amtrak's services in Washington State (i am thinking specifically about the route that connects Vancouver, BC, to Seattle) is decided in Olympia, and that therefore you play a role in the funding process.

As someone who relies entirely on public transportation, I find Amtrak to be an invaluable resource, particularly so when I travel to visit my relatives in the Seattle area. But I also used Amtrak this summer to travel from the East coast back to the Pacific Northwest.

Greyhound's service is appalling, and even at its best it could not compete with the comfort and efficiency of Amtrak trains.

I urge you, therefore, to support full funding for Amtrak's service in Washington State.

Thank you for your attention in this matter,

Matteo Tamburini

I remain a staunch supporter of Dennis Kucinich and HR 676, when it comes to health care.

John Nichols has this to say about Hillary's proposal:

The Clinton plan maintains the current system of for-profit, insurance-industry defined health care delivery. The only real change is that, in return for minimal requirements regarding coverage of those with preexisting conditions, the government would pump hundreds of billions in federal dollars into the accounts of some of the country’s wealthiest corporations. The plan’s tax credit scheme would buy some more coverage for low-income families, which is good, but it would do so at a cost so immense

This was on the NYTimes' own website, and is good news for me, since i like to look up their archives, as well as read their columnists - particularly Paul Krugman.

The New York Times will stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight Tuesday night, reflecting a growing view in the industry that subscription fees cannot outweigh the potential ad revenue from increased traffic on a free site.

The move comes two years to the day after The Times began the subscription program, TimesSelect, which has charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to its columnists’ work and to the newspaper’s archives. TimesSelect has been free to print subscribers to The Times, and to some students and educators.

In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain.

Purtroppo non ho trovato la traduzione italiana di quanto segue, ma la sostanza e' che un gruppo internazionale di scienziati ha pubblicato uno studio comprensivo degli effetti sulla salute delle radiazioni elettromagnetiche generate da telefoni cellulari e cordless, ripetitori, cavi elettrici, e WiFi.

A questo studio ha contribuito anche l'Agenzia Ambientale Europea, il cui sito sembra sia solo in Inglese.

Insomma, e' un invito serio per i cittadini affinche'  usino meno queste tecnologie, e ai governi affinche' creino regole piu' severe per i limiti accettabili per gli esseri umani.

From Znet:

The Constitutional Reform proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez seeks to modify 33 of the 350 articles of the 1999 Constitution. it must be extensively debated throughout the country. Then it has to be approved by 167 National Assembly deputies. And lastly, it has to be submitted to public referendum.

In addition to annulling presidential terms limits and extending the duration of terms from six years to seven, the project also proposes to establish a “social stability fund” that would guarantee workers “fundamental rights such as retirement, pensions, vacations, prenatal and postnatal leave and other others...” The workday would be limited to six hours creating a 36-hour workweek and employers would be prohibited from forcing wage earners to work overtime. “The exploitation of workers” would become unacceptable.

The reforms would also abolish the autonomy of the Central Bank thus allowing subsidies to be applied to social programs. In addition, communal councils that play a direct role in decision-making would be multiplied in order to promote a more participatory democracy. New forms of ownership with a cooperative character would be created, without eradicating private property. Land currently not in production would be distributed among rural farmers. Similarly, the reform would write “the express interdiction of large estates” into the constitution as well as the prohibition of all monopolies. “The state reserves [the rights to], for reasons of national sovereignty, development and interests, the exploitation of liquid, solid and gaseous hydrocarbons.” Likewise, it would make impossible the privatization of the nation’s natural resources.

 From the Press Release:

New York, 13 September – Marking an historic achievement for the more than 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide, the General Assembly today adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the result of more than two decades of consultation and dialogue among governments and indigenous peoples from all regions.

"Today, by adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples we are making further progress to improve the situation of indigenous peoples around the world," stated General Assembly President Haya Al Khalifa.

It should be noted that:

An overwhelming majority of UN member countries endorsed the Declaration, with 143 voting in favor, 4 against, and 11 abstaining.

The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand stood alone in voting against the resolution. The nations that neither supported nor objected were Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Samoa, and Ukraine.

For more info, check out the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

New York, 11/sept/2001

Santiago, 11/sept/1973

Having used the train on several times recently, it is obvious to me what a treasure they are. So I encourage everyone to support full funding (and, in fact, expanded services) for Amtrak.

I have also found a website devoted to fighting for Amtrak, which does a really good job of describing what's going on in the legislature: Friends of Amtrak.

I also found a blog devoted to defending Amtrak: trains4america

This is a response to some right-wing talk-radio host's editorial in the Kent Reporter.

Re: "School Math isn't adding up", by John Carlson, published in the September 5th edition

John Carlson would have us believe that that the "reform math" curriculum is the CAUSE of the appalling number of students not proficient on the WASL, without offering any evidence or argument.

He quotes the Fordham Institute, whose main policy objective seems to be  a push for the privatization of our public schools through "vouchers". But he omits that the percentage of students who are proficient on the 10th grade WASL has been slowly and steadily increasing in almost every year on record. Nor does he tell us that Washington has consistently scored above the national average in the National Assessment of Education Progress - the only uniform, national measure of student achievement.

I take no position on the controversy over curriculum. It seems to me that there are other, constructive ways to help our children learn: reinforcing the math training of elementary school teachers, in both content and pedagogy; aggressively recruiting people who are knowledgeable about math to teach; providing additional resources for students who lack academic support at home; strengthening and expanding after school programs, etc.

Lack of numeracy is indeed an urgent pressing problem for our youth and society, but why should we trust the soution suggested by someone who either hasn’t done their homework or is intentionally painting a misleading picture?

Matteo Tamburini

Me ne sto per andare in una gita di una settimana nelle Cascade Mountains... a presto!

I am about to embark on a weeklong hike in the Cascades... see you soon!