MB Civic

Ecuador Refuses to Renew Lease for U.S. Military Base
Meanwhile a dispute continues over a U.S. military base in Ecuador. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has refused to renew Washington’s lease on the Manta air base. In an interview with Reuters Correa said he would renew the lease on one condition — the United States allow Ecuador to build a military base in Miami. Correa said: “If there’s no problem having foreign soldiers on a country’s soil, surely they’ll let us have an Ecuadorian base in the United States.” It is estimated that United States has over 700 military bases in foreign countries.

Hezbollah Warns Against U.S. Bases in Lebanon
In news from Lebanon, a high-ranking leader of Hezbollah has warned the United States not to set up any military bases inside Lebanon. Hezbollah said it would consider such a move a hostile act. The Lebanese newspaper Al Safir recently reported the U.S. wants to expand its ties to the Lebanese military by building a string of U.S. military bases. Days after the report was published, Eric Edelman, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, appeared on Lebanese TV and admitted the U.S. wants to develop what he called a strategic partnership with the Lebanese army The U.S. has increased its military assistance to Lebanon to $270 million – more than five times the amount provided a year ago.

NBC Bars Sen. Mike Gravel From Democratic Debate
In campaign news, former Senator Mike Gravel is protesting a decision by NBC News to bar him from next Tuesday’s debate at Drexel University in Philadelphia. NBC said it made the decision in part because Gravel hadn’t raised over one million dollars. Gravel said “The fact that NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the world’s leading military contractors, is frightening and certainly smacks of censorship directed at the most outspoken critic of the influence that the military-industrial complex holds over this great nation.”

Bush Requests $196 Billion For Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
President Bush has officially asked Congress to approve an additional $196 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush’s request increased the amount of the proposed spending by $46 billion over the $150 billion already requested this year…

Bush Seeks $1.4 Billion To Fight “Drug War” In Mexico
President Bush also asked Congress to approve a $1.4 billion aid package over the next three years to fight the so-called drug war in Mexico. The requested aid marks a tenfold increase in the annual drug assistance now provided to Mexico.

U.S. Cuts Back on Home Heating Aide For Poor
While President Bush is seeking nearly $200 billion dollars to fight wars overseas, not enough money is available at home for a program to help low-income households pay their heating bills. Reuters reports about 30 million low-income American households will be left in the cold because of a lack of funding for the government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The program only has enough funding to cover 16 percent of the 38 million poor households eligible for the program. Despite higher energy costs, the Bush administration has proposed cutting the program’s budget.

Read the full headlines here. Democracy Now is a news show on public radio and public access TV. To find out how to watch or listen to Democracy Now where you live go to this link. You can also stream audio and video over the Internet at this link.