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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SiouxPal who wrote (16605)	5/11/2005 12:45:27 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 362864

Bush to Sign $82 Billion War Spending Bill By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Congress is giving President Bush billions of dollars more for the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, a higher death benefit for soldiers killed in combat and a new embassy in Baghdad. The spending package also requires states to issue more uniform driver's licenses and to verify the citizenship or legal status of license applicants, a provision that has prompted some states to threaten to sue. Bush, who gained most of what he had sought in the $82 billion measure, said he would sign the bill into law and praised Congress for showing bipartisan support for the troops and anti-terrorism efforts. The 100-member Senate passed the measure unanimously on Tuesday, and the House approved it overwhelmingly last week. "New democracies are taking root in Iraq and Afghanistan, and America is proud to stand with them," Bush said in a written statement. "This legislation will help America continue to promote freedom and democracy." The bill is the fifth emergency spending package Congress has taken up since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It raises the cost of the global effort to fight terrorism to more than $300 billion since 2001. Most of the money — $75.9 billion — is planned for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while $4.2 billion goes to foreign aid and other international relations programs. The bill pays for war costs through September, the end of the current fiscal year. Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, said the Army already is discussing needing another spending bill as early as August. The president sent Congress the spending proposal in February. Both Republican-controlled chambers had promised to fund only items and programs lawmakers deemed urgent. The final legislation matches Bush's proposed price tag. Lawmakers packed the bill with a number of provisions, including one drafted by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that prohibits money in the bill from being used "to subject any person in the custody or under the physical control of the United States to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" prohibited by U.S. laws and treaties. Durbin said the measure was in response to the prisoner abuses scandals in Iraq and elsewhere. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., called the final bill "a genuine compromise between the two bodies on legislation that is of utmost importance to our troops who are deployed in the war on terror and for our allies around the world." Democrats used the bill to criticize the Bush administration for its Iraq policies and for failing to go through the normal budget process to pay for the wars. Many also assailed Republicans for tacking on immigration provisions. The legislation provides money for combat costs, including ammunition, armor for vehicles, weapons systems and other equipment. It also boosts the one-time benefit for survivors of troops killed in combat zones from $12,000 to $100,000. The increase would apply retroactively to families of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan beginning Oct. 7, 2001. On the foreign affairs side, the measure provides $592 million for a secure diplomatic compound in Baghdad, $230 million for U.S. allies in the war on terror, and $200 million in economic and infrastructure assistance to the Palestinian Authority. The bill includes $907 million for expenses and aid related to the December tsunami in Southeast Asia. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., joined Democrats and state officials Tuesday in criticizing the driver's license rules, which he said would create national identification cards and stick state governments with the bill. "It's possible that some governor may look at this and say, 'Wait a minute. Who are these people in Washington telling us what to do with our driver's licenses and making us pay for them too?'" Alexander said. The bill toughens asylum laws, authorizes the completion of a fence across the California-Mexican border and provides money to hire more border security agents. The House had included most of the provisions in its version of the bill. The Senate did not but agreed during negotiations to go along with the House. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the bill comes up short in at least two areas. "We should have received much greater attention in this bill about our ability to succeed in Iraq," Reid said. And, immigration reform should have been dealt with later, he said. Overall, the measure reflects a desire by lawmakers to give the Pentagon what it needs while holding the line on State Department spending. Lawmakers provided roughly $1 billion more than Bush sought for defense and about $1.5 billion less than he wanted for international relations programs. ___

To: SiouxPal who wrote (16605)	5/11/2005 12:46:49 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 362864

GWB's cousin to sell art. London Auction House to Sell Chimp Artwork By MIKE MCDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer LONDON - Congo the chimpanzee led a brief artistic career and enjoyed little critical success, despite the patronage of his contemporary and fellow abstract painter, Pablo Picasso. But nearly half a century after Congo's artistic career, some of his paintings are going on sale at a prestigious London auction house alongside works by Andy Warhol and Renoir. Three tempera on paper works — brightly colored compositions of bold brushstrokes — will be featured as a single lot in the sale of Modern and Contemporary Art at Bonhams on June 20, the auctioneer said Wednesday. The lot estimate is between $1,130-$1,500. Bonhams said it believed the auction is a first. "I would sincerely doubt that chimpanzee art has ever been auctioned before," said Howard Rutkowski, the auction house's director of modern and contemporary art. "I don't think anybody else has been crazy enough to do this. I'm sure other auction houses think this is completely mad." Congo, who was born in 1954, produced some 400 drawings and paintings between the ages of 2 and 4. It was not immediately known if he was still alive, a Bonhams spokeswoman said. In 1957, animal behaviorist Desmond Morris organized an exhibition of chimpanzee art at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, including works by Congo. Critics reacted with a mixture of scorn and skepticism, but Picasso is recorded as having owned a painting by Congo, Bonhams said. "Paintings by apes may be seen as humorous or as a derisive commentary on modern art," the auction house said in its lot description. "However, Morris' studies were a serious attempt to understand chimpanzees' ability to create order and symmetry as well as to explore, at a more primeval level, the impetus behind our own desires for artistic creativity." Congo quickly learned how to handle a brush and pencils, instead of knocking them over or trying to eat them. He painted within the boundaries of the sheet of paper and never allowed the paint to spill over the edge. He also appeared to know when he had finished a painting: He refused to pick up his brush or pencil over the work.