[Note ... I received these interesting news items from the website MoveOn.org ... check them out if you wish]

* THERE IS NO EMERGENCY NEED FOR THE 87 BILLION. The Congressional Research Service issued a report yesterday showing that the funding bills already passed provide enough funding to continue the occupation of Iraq and protect the troops until spring of next year. Congress could have taken the time to properly debate and analyze the request, but Congressional Republicans wanted to rush the request through in order to limit the political damage.

http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/04-Supp-availability_of_Army_funds-memo-15 Oct03.pdf

* IRAQ CONTRACTS ARE RIFE WITH WASTE AND CRONY CAPITALISM. Halliburton, the firm Vice President Dick Cheney led in the 1990s, is receiving billions of dollars in contracts. According to the two lawmakers, Halliburton has charged the government $1.62 to $1.70 a gallon for gasoline that could be bought wholesale in the Persian Gulf region for about 71 cents and transported to Iraq for no more than 25 cents. Meanwhile, local Iraqi businesses are shunned, and other contractors whose bids are lower are being ignored. And U.S. companies are charging taxpayers exorbitant rates for reconstruction -- $50,000 per bed, for example, for new Iraqi prisons, which is more than twice what we pay on average here.

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/10/16/halliburton/index_np.html

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[Note ... Some news related to Dennis Kucinich, which I find very inspiring and wonderful. Check it out, if you wish.]

Two days ago Jonathan Meier, age 20, departed Portland, Maine, on a coast-to-coast walk to raise awareness for Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign. He and a group of local supporters headed down Route 1 towards New Hampshire. Volunteers from 24 states have already committed to joining in portions of the walk when it reaches their regions.

At a kickoff event in Portland, Jonathan delivered an eloquent speech. He said, "I walk because people need to know -- people deserve to know that Dennis John Kucinich is running for President in 2004! I am walking to let people know that now is the time for us to act. This is the moment that will change the course of history, because this is the moment that people decided to come together for one grand cause - the cause of global peace."

Kucinich issued a statement of support posted in the National Forum for Kucinich volunteers:

http://us.denniskucinich.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1040

Expected Arrival in NYC: October 30, 2003
Expected Arrival in Washington, DC: November 11, 2003
Expected Arrival in San Francisco: February 29, 2004

For more information or to join in and get a little exercise:

http://www.kucinich.us/walkfordennis/walkfordennis.php
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Abit of light-hearted news ... this past Saturday I visited the Bronx Zoo for the first time. I've been living in NYC for 20 years and figured its about time. Right? Well ... yeah ... plus the company I work for ... E&Y ... generously gave its employees "free admission" to the zoo on October 18th/19th. All we had to do was show our E&Y Photo ID at the gate and they let us waltz in. Hell yeah, that works for me! Only thing not included was rides, events and food. [As to the latter, bring your own, cause they are overpriced.] Those we had to pay for separately, but it was worth it. The subway ride up to the zoo took an hour longer than usual, due to construction work being done on several subway lines. Pain in the ass! Finally arrived about 2pm and stayed for almost three hours. The weather was a typical Fall day with some sun, a few clouds and brisk. I actually needed gloves to go with my turtleneck and heavy sweater. Whew! Anyhow ... I paid the fee to ride on Bengali Express Monorail and Skyfari East. Both of which I greatly enjoyed. The zoo grounds are quite large and nicely maintained. Also visited Asia Plaza, Monkey House, Zoo Center, Tiger Mountain, plus a view a slew of animals. I have to admit the Snow Leopards were my fav. They are so exquisite with beautiful fur and markings. I highly recommend it to all to visit the Bronx Zoo and spend a fun afternoon. Wish I had more time to visit the Botanical Gardens, just north of the zoo, but sadly that will have to wait another day.