The Bush administration is in denial about its disastrous failure in Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1395462,00.html
http://snipurl.com/c73z


From Information Clearing House

There is no reason to doubt that torture has been systemic and pervasive, or that authorization can be traced up the chain of command, or that this has seriously damaged not only the immediate victims but also our national institutions and America's image abroad. Yet top officials in the Bush Administration are still doing what torturing regimes do: denying the facts and blaming "rogue" officers.

http://snipurl.com/c73x


From Information Clearing House

Judge Gonzales seems to be driven by one particular fear: prosecution of members of the administration for War Crimes. Based on what has happened, it certainly seems his concern is well founded.

http://207.44.245.159/article7783.htm

I should hope you're not implying that the fact there's no airplane ANYWHERE in the first hit footage means nothing happened to the building. If you think there's a plane, find the farking plane.

http://thewebfairy.com/911/missilegate
http://thewebfairy.com/911/missilegate/video

By eliminating the roadless rules put in place by the Clinton Administration, Bush and Governor Arnold Schwarznegger will be able to build logging roads into the national forests to speed up the cut of the california redwoods. Please send a email to protect the redwood ecosystem: http://www.environmentcalifornia.org


Informant: Bigraccoon

January 20, 2005

The Hon. Jim Petro
Attorney General
State of Ohio
State Office Tower
30 E. Broad St, 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Attorney General Petro:

I write to express my concern regarding your recent request to sanction those attorneys who brought a legal challenge to last year's presidential election in Ohio. In particular, I am concerned that by seeking official censure and fines, you are engaged in a selective and partisan misuse of your legal authority.

As eager as many disgruntled voters are to have a court of law finally assess the merits of the challenge actions, I have serious doubts about the validity of the sanctions case your office is pursuing.

As an initial matter, one would be hard pressed to see how the legal challenges brought under the Ohio election challenge statute were "frivolous." First off, it is widely known that the Ohio presidential election was literally riddled with irregularities and improprieties, many of which are set forth in the 102 page report issued by the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff. http://www.house.gov

As a matter of fact, the problems were so great that Congress was forced to debate the first challenge to an entire state's slate of electors since the federal Electoral Count law was enacted in 1877. In short, there is more than an abundant record raising serious, substantive questions about the Ohio presidential election.

It is also noteworthy that the Ohio Secretary of State intentionally delayed certifying the vote, thereby insuring that the recount could not be completed by the date the electoral college met on December 13. The Ohio Secretary State also refused to respond to numerous questions regarding the irregularities submitted to him by several members of the House Judiciary Committee, has refused to respond to a single concern set forth in the Judiciary Report, and also sought a protective order to avoid any discovery related to the legal challenges.

In short, Ohio election officials have compounded public doubt concerning the election by refusing to provide any sort of accountability and acting in almost every respect as if they have "something to hide."

Given this context, and to help assure the public that you are not selectively pursuing sanctions in these cases for partisan reasons, I would respectfully request that you provide the House Judiciary Committee and the public with an itemization of all sanctions cases brought and considered by your office since January, 2003. In addition, I would ask that you provide to us and make public an itemization of cases you have considered and pursued under Ohio's campaign and election laws since January 2003. Finally, I would like to receive a an estimate of the costs you would expect to expend of Ohio taxpayer funds to pursue the sanction case you are seeking against Mr. Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck, and Peter Peckowsky.

If you believe the election challenge case should not have been brought, I would suggest the more appropriate course of actions may be revisiting the law with the Ohio legislature, rather than pursuing far-fetched sanction cases which on their face would appear to be overtly partisan in nature.

I would appreciate it if you would respond to me though my Judiciary Committee staff, Perry Apelbaum and Ted Kalo, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (tel. 202-225-6504, fax 202-225-4423) by no later than January 27. Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee

cc: Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary

Supreme Court, State of Ohio

Ohio Bar Association


Informant: Diana Davies

Here are some interesting details I have just found out about the Interphone study funding:

On our Israeli Cancer Association's website, it is said that the Israeli arm of Interphone study is funded by the Israeli Cancer Association. Considering the fact that an executive of a cellular company is one of the director council members of the ICA, I tried digging further.

The same website says also that the Interphone study is funded by both "EU and the cellular companies (UICC)". But a search on the internet shows that the UICC is not the cellular companies website but it is actually the International Union Against Cancer.

I called them, they are located in Geneva (is it near the WHO building?....) and asked two representatives (one is an administrator in the director's office) whether the cellular companies fund the Interphone study through this organization, both confirmed, and the administrator was surprised I had learnt it from the Israeli website, because they (UICC) didn't write a word about it on the webiste. To my question why they don't publish this on their website, that they participate in funding the study, she said that it's because the study is not finished yet. She said that the organization is an intermediate and does not take the money to itself, only gives the money after the cellular companies give it to the organization.

I asked her- why would the companies do something like that (use the organization), she said- because we are an independent organization. I told her, so then they do it in order to improve their public image, so it won't look like that they are funding the study? She didn't know what to answer me, then she said well because they are concerned about the effects of mobile phones. But, I insisted, why don't they give the money directly, the concern [?..] does not interrupt them to give the money directly. She didn't have an answer. I asked her- can it be that they want people like me not to notice that they fund the study, and think that an independent body funds the study? Again, she didn't have an answer.

I asked her- who are the industries that pay for the studies through them- are they European or also the U.S? She said she is not involved in it but that they are an international organization so it could be any country, so then she added the most beautiful part- that the Israeli Cancer Association is a member in this international organization and showed me the link on the internet:
http://www.uicc.org/index.php?id=482
and you can see how many cancer associations are members their. So I guess that when our Israeli Cancer Association writes on the website that the Israeli arm of the study is funded by the Israeli Cancer association, then they mean the UICC and it means- by the industry... And the epidemiologist who leads the study is a lecturer in the Tel Aviv university on the issues of environment and guides doctorants on the subject of risks from cellular phones, while she is leading an industry funded study.

Iris Atzmon

Over the last few weeks, we have been bombarded with terrible images of chaos, destruction and death. The cost in human lives has been made brutally clear. Yet wildlife officials in Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 people have been reported dead so far, insist that there have been no recorded animal deaths. Similar reports are appearing from other devastated areas and one cannot help but wonder: where were they all when disaster struck?

As anecdotal evidence emerges of unusual animal behaviour prior to the catastrophe, the debate over whether animals can sense impending disaster and flee from it has resurfaced with a vengeance.

The roots of this debate stretch back to ancient Greece. In 373BC, historians recorded that animals including rats, snakes and weasels deserted the Greek city of Helice en masse just days before it was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami. Tales of animal behaviour that appears to anticipate disaster have surfaced across the centuries ever since.

In spite of this wealth of anecdotal evidence, however, the majority of the scientific community does not recognise a link between animal behaviour and earthquakes. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says on its website:

"Changes in animal behavior cannot be used to predict earthquakes. Even though there have been documented cases of unusual animal behavior prior to earthquakes, a reproducible connection between a specific behaviour and the occurrence of an earthquake has not been made."

In the recent press coverage of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, Andy Michael, a geophysicist at USGS, was quoted as saying: "What we're faced with is a lot of anecdotes. Animals react to so many things – being hungry, defending their territories, mating, predators – so it's hard to have a controlled study to get that advanced warning signal."

True, but this did not stop the USGS from attempting an extensive series of these studies in the late 1970s. The trigger for this flurry of activity was what has probably become the most famous example of alleged animal activity prior to an earthquake in modern history.

On 4 February 1975, Chinese authorities successfully evacuated Haicheng, a city with one million people, just days before a 7.3- magnitude earthquake struck (the Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake). They claimed that their decision to evacuate was based in part on observations of animal behaviour.

The ensuing excitement at USGS was further boosted in 1977 when researchers found that 50% of local people surveyed after an earthquake in California had noticed unusual behaviour in their pets prior to the event. The impossible suddenly seemed possible.

But it was followed by disappointment. The California findings were not deemed to merit further action and it emerged that the Chinese had neglected to mention a rare series of smaller quakes that had occurred in the area before the big one. The USGS ceased all research into a possible link between animal behaviour and earthquakes in 1980.

China did not, and nor did Japan. Whether because of their susceptibility to earthquakes or a philosophy that embraces nature, these two countries have continued to research animal behaviour as a possible earthquake prediction tool. They have had false alarms, of course, but they have had successes too.

Continued research in the Far East led to the headline-grabbing news in September 2003 that a Japanese medical doctor had conducted a study which demonstrated that erratic behaviour in dogs could be used to forecast earthquakes.

The study was contentious – The Guardian was at pains to point out that it was "even being regarded with caution in Japan" – but its reporting here reflects the continued allure of believing that animals have some kind of sixth sense to warn them of impending danger, even in the absence of scientific evidence.

The USGS is correct in saying that "a reproducible connection between a specific behaviour and the occurrence of an earthquake has not been made". However, just because there is no way of explaining something does not mean that something does not exist. The Chinese have taken this view in their construction of a network of experimental stations to collect and analyse animal behaviour observations.

Where Western geologists and seismologists have been reluctant to entertain the notion of animal behaviour as a predictive tool, biologists and behaviourists have proposed various theories to explain how animals may sense earthquakes seemingly before they happen.

Rather than postulating the existence of a mysterious sixth sense, the majority of these theories draw on animals' highly evolved existing sensory apparatus to make their case. Remember too that animals respond to each other: the flight of one may trigger an exodus.

Earthquakes shake the ground and one of the most obvious ways in which animals could `predict' them is by picking up advance vibrations that are too small for us to feel. Many animals, ranging from rodents to elephants, are known to use shockwaves in communication.

Joyce Poole, Director of the Savanna Elephant Vocalization Project, has worked with African elephants for 25 years and says that research on acoustic and seismic communication indicates that elephants could easily pick up vibrations generated from an earthquake-tsunami. Fellow researcher Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell describes how the soft skin on the undersides of elephant feet is comparable to the taut surface of a drum and is similarly sensitive to the tiniest vibration.

But even if they can pick up vibrations that warn them of impending danger, how do they know where to run? A Dutch ethologist, Paul Koene, explains that elephants instinctively head for higher ground when they feel threatened. This fits in well with anecdotes of Sri Lankan elephants breaking loose for the hills just before the tsunami hit.

An alternative theory that has gained acceptance in recent years is that animals pick up on magnetic field changes that occur near the epicentre of an earthquake. Many animals are known to use the earth's magnetic field to navigate, including pigeons and turtles.

A third hypothesis postulates that it is changes in electric charges that alert animals to a quake. Certain species of fish are known to be sensitive to variations in electric fields – the electric eel is the most obvious example – and researchers believe they may pick up on the electric charge variations in water that sometimes precede earthquakes.

On land, organisms may respond to changes in the polarity and concentration of atmospheric ions, or charged particles. This could allow animals to detect the air-ionising effects of radon gas, which is sometimes released from the ground before an earthquake.

A piezoelectric effect has also been invoked: changes in the pressure exerted on crystals like quartz result in electrical charging of the crystals' surfaces. This is believed to generate enough electrical energy to drive the creation of airborne ions before, during and after an earthquake. Animals may anticipate earthquakes much as they sense oncoming thunderstorms.

That organisms should respond to vibrations, magnetism or electrical charges does not exhaust the range of theories that advocates of an earthquake-animal behaviour link have put forward.

More controversial hypotheses include the idea that animals react to ultrasound emitted by fracturing rock before an earthquake occurs. This theory has been heavily criticised by geologists who claim that no such sound is emitted.

Yet the most contentious argument of all remains the idea that animals do indeed possess a sixth sense, something fundamentally different to the five senses that we currently recognise. Perhaps animals perceive and respond to stimuli that science at present simply cannot measure.

Here we enter the realm of biologists like Rupert Sheldrake, who try to explain mysteries such as why dogs sometimes seem to anticipate the arrival of their owner, even in the apparent absence of any physical signals.

Critics will be inclined to make short thrift of the sixth sense theory in its most literal form and will point out the lack of scientific evidence to support it. Nevertheless, and here we return to the essence of the problem, critics and advocates alike suffer from the problem of how to conduct controlled experiments to test the earthquake-animal behaviour hypothesis.

Everyone agrees that there is an abundance of anecdotes detailing unusual animal behaviour prior to earthquakes and no one denies that amazingly few creatures appear to have died in the wake of the recent tsunami. Yet neither believers nor sceptics can realistically confirm or deny a direct link between animal behaviour and an impending disaster.

As scientists, we instinctively question and search for evidence. Perhaps this is a case where we should follow the East in their simple acceptance of a natural phenomenon. This does not mean that we should cease studying how animals may `predict' earthquakes; it means that we should use their abilities, even if we do not understand them, to save human lives where we can.

The Anthropological Survey of India's plan to immediately document the animal-based warning systems that enabled all five aboriginal tribes inhabiting the badly-hit Andaman and Nicobar islands to escape unscathed is a step in the right direction.

Sonja van Renssen


Informant: Sylviane

ALG II - Leistungsempfänger haben derzeit keine gültige Krankenversicherungskarte. Tacheles versucht eine erste Hilfe zu geben - siehe die Sonderseite bei Tacheles:
http://www.tacheles-sozialhilfe.de/aktuelles/2005/ALG_II_Krankenversicherung.html


Zuzahlungen im Gesundheitssystem und SGB II / SGB XII

"Aufgrund der Abschaffung der Arbeitslosenhilfe und der Zusammenlegung der Leistungen für die bisherigen Bezieherinnen und Bezieher von Arbeitslosenhilfe mit der der "arbeitsfähigen" bisherigen Bezieherinnen und Bezieher von Sozialhilfe nach dem BSHG durch das neue SGB II, ferner aufgrund der Neugestaltung der bisherigen Sozialhilfe nach dem BSHG durch das neue SGB XII ergibt sich seit dem 1. Januar 2005 eine neue Rechtslage, die die Neufassung dieses Artikels notwendig machte…." Artikel von Herbert Masslau in der Neufassung vom 28. Dezember 2004
http://www.herbertmasslau.de/pageID_1048893.html


Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 21, Eintrag 13

by Paul Craig Roberts

CounterPunch

01/20/05

Being an administration that protects delusion with sycophancy, Bush operatives have cleared knowledgeable people out of the State Department and CIA, just as they cleared out the generals who predicted correctly that Iraq was not going to go according to the cakewalk plan. Facts, analysis, morality and common sense are totally against the neoconservative jihad against Islam. The neocons respond by ignoring facts, silencing analysts, and closing down debate. Delusion is astride power, and America will dearly pay...

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts01202005.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Haroon Siddiqui

Toronto Star

01/20/05

It has been said that George W. Bush is in denial of reality, in Iraq and elsewhere. But what of America itself? More particularly, what of the majority of Americans who re-elected him? They had the right to their democratic choice. Still, what sort of nation rewards a leader who misled it into war, spawned worldwide anger, eroded America's moral authority, turned the Iraqi occupation into a showcase for American ineptitude, and increased terrorism?

http://tinyurl.com/6f4bl


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Steve Weissman

TruthOut

01/20/05

For months before taking his second oath of office, the resolute Mr. Bush has done exactly what he promised he would. He has raced full-throttle to expand his Middle East Crusade, this time against Iran, number two on his Axis of Evil. As many of us in the chattering classes have long warned, and as Sy Hersh reports in this week's New Yorker, the president is already marching to war. ... Perhaps as early as his State of the Union address, Mr. Bush will promote this pre-emptive attack as the cutting edge of his 'War on Terror.' In fact, he knows that Iran and its Ayatollahs had nothing to do with 9/11. But neither did Saddam Hussein...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012005A.shtml


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://lawfulpath.com/ref/vk2k.shtml


Informant: Marsha

by Daniel Schorr

Christian Science Monitor

01//21/05

Washington these days feels a little like Moscow in Soviet times when the government routinely dispensed information to the public and the public routinely didn't believe it. The two main newspapers were the Communist Party organ, Pravda, (Truth) and the Soviet government organ, Izvestiya (News). People used to say, 'There is no Izvestiya in Pravda and no Pravda in Izvestiya.'

For three years our leaders told us that Iraq for sure had weapons of mass destruction ... well, pretty sure ... well, maybe. One war later, after scouring the countryside, the government admits that there weren't any such weapons.

If President Bush were to go on TV one of these days and say that Iran has developed a nuclear bomb, requiring American action, who would believe him? On a less momentous scale, who can believe TV news reports when they may turn out to be government-financed videos?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0121/p09s02-cods.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Sartre

Federal Observer

01/20/05

Falling between great disappointment and utter horror, the first Bush term as U.S President can only be adequately apprised [sic] from a long term perspective. The historic significance will be written in the future, while the real world reality must be endured today.

Partisan politics have become meaningless, and political rhetoric insulting. The propaganda spin machine never stops and the twenty-four hour newspeak cycle never rests. Events march on to perdition, as consumers fill their carts as if tomorrow will never come. The slog continues as people revert to fantasy land and take comfort in their disillusions. Bush is honored or reviled not for substance, but for perception. By any objective standards his administration has been a total failure...

http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=9263


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Charles H. Featherstone

LewRockwell.Com

01/21/05

This is an odd ruling elite, the Red State faithful, many of whom reverted to type and wore their cowboy boots and their fur coats to the parade. They are inheritors of both 19th century Methodist notions of human perfectibility and chosenness while, at the same time, the much-older Scotch-Irish sense of swagger and persecution. They are a people who both hate and fear the world and yet want to save it, to teach it what they desperately believe it needs to learn, for its own good. They are people who are convinced they are entitled to run the planet but are also scared to death by almost all of the strange and mysterious folks who inhabit it...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/featherstone/featherstone19.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp


The Inauguration of Royalty and the Sycophantic Media
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/484672/

Inaugural Protests in Many Cities
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/483959/

Indianapolis Star

01/20/05

Anti-Bush demonstrators waving signs that said 'Worst President Ever' and 'the American Nightmare' jeered the president's motorcade during the inaugural parade Thursday. The procession of cars sped up as President Bush neared the designated location for protesters on Pennsylvania Avenue. Two rows of police lined the street in front of the main protest site. Officers stationed atop buildings along the route kept close watch on the crowd. Boos rained down from the crowd and some demonstrators shouted, 'No justice, no peace.' In some places in the protest area, the crowd was about six rows deep...

http://tinyurl.com/3laov


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Are YOU Prepared?

http://standeyo.com/Reports/041222.EQ.warning/050119.Deyo.EQs.html


Informant: CHEROKEE

http://www.aztlan.net/ceres_shootout.htm


Informant: Shanti Renfrew

DISASTER TO FOLLOW COMING DEFEAT IN IRAQ

Daily we read that how the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, and the on-going suffering of the Iraqi people under the military occupation of Britain and America military. While the daily media continues to report on the mess in Iraq, there is little discussion on the outcome of this fiasco, and the global impact it will have on the shape of the world, once Britain and America are defeated in Iraq. This article sets out to forecast what the consequences that will follow this coming defeat.

The Bush administration clings to the furlong hope that the upcoming elections in Iraq will allow for the chaotic situation in Iraq to improve. But will it? It is clear that an Iran- backed Shiite political alliance will win the elections, if they are held, and the new government formed will have close strategic ties with the anti-American Iran regime. Meanwhile the Sunnis, supported by anti-American Muslims in Saudi Arabia and Syria, in partnership with al-Qaeda, will continue their attacks against the occupiers and those Iraqis that offer any support.

This is a no-win situation for the occupying armies. As long as they remain in Iraq, both the Shiites and Sunnis have a common enemy, while remaining distrustful of each other. If the new Iran-backed Iraqi-Shiite government allies with the Sunnis, it will indeed place the occupying armies in grave peril. The situation will only become worse than the mess it is today.

Many Middle East experts now acknowledge that victory is no longer achievable in Iraq. Some are advocating that the US should get out of Iraq and withdraw their troops. This is not a viable option. It would end in a global disaster to the Anglo-American alliance, and would result by default in a victory for al-Qaeda and the Muslim fundamentalists. It would result in an anti-American government taking control of Iraq, their oil, and threatening the pro-American Middle East governments of the Gulf States, Jordon and Saudi Arabia. It would result in the emergence of a powerful anti-American Muslim fundamentalist alliance, controlling the Middle East and its oil.

If the British/US alliance is to hold Iraq, they will be required to have a massive build up in troop numbers, costing billions of dollars more than what has been allocated to the war so far. Neither the UK nor American economies are in a position to finance such a military build-up. Yet without a vastly increased military presence in Iraq, they will be defeated.

The defeat of Britain and America in Iraq will not only mean loosing control of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East oil - it will also result in the end of the Anglo-Saxon dominance of the world, as it as been for the last 200 years. It would be followed by the collapse of their debt-ridden economies, the withdrawal of their military bases circulating the globe, and the total social collapse of their domestic economies. It would result in the loss of confidence in the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, and a run on the dollar, leading to its total collapse. It will result in dramatic changes to the international strategic alliances that exist around the world.

Europe, with its dependency of Middle East oil under control of Muslim fundamentalists, will become threatened following an Anglo-American defeat. No longer will Europe be able to shelter under US military protection, and their own economies in turmoil as a result of the collapse of the American market, the Europeans will be forced to accept the authority of a central leader (as per new EU Constitution) to create an unified government to deal with the imploding crisis. The Euro by default will replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency, propelling the new United States of Europe as the new international Super-State.

The collapse of the United States will also have a dramatic impact on the Asian economies, with their dependence of the North American markets, and the collapse in value of their large US dollar holdings. Asia will look to Europe as a strategic trading partner for help in rebuilding their shattered economies following the American collapse.

In conclusion, America and Britain are now in a no-win situation, with the only final outcome their defeat. Why have events turned out so badly in Iraq for what they originally thought would be an easy victory. The answer is not a military one, but a spiritual one - God is allowing the people of Britain, and America to be cursed, along with the people of New Zealand, Canada and Australia for rejecting His Law. Unless there is a change in the way we live our lives, the punishment inflicted upon our people following defeat will be far worse than ever was inflicted upon the Iraqi people.


Bruce Porteous
bruceport@xtra.co.nz

16 January, 2005

The State

In bluntly threatening terms on inauguration day, Vice President Dick Cheney removed any doubt Thursday that in its second term the Bush administration intends to confront the theocracy in Iran directly. Cheney, who often has delivered the Bush team's toughest warnings internationally, said Iran is 'right at the top' of the administration's list of world trouble spots, and expressed concern that Israel 'might well decide to act first' to destroy Iran's nuclear program." [editor's note: Said "theocracy" is a parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage -- and less draconian ballot access restrictions than, say, Oklahoma - TLK] (01/21/05)

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/10696732.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp


US government predicts Israel will start the war with Iran
http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0834

UK will not join US in the war with Iran
http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0829

by David Batstone, Sojourners

The "Salvador Option" -- the Pentagon's death squad plan -- isn't just for Iraq.

http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/#003439

This is an update on the Irish Government's public display of its concern that citizens' health, and especially children, be adequately protected from potential--and actual-- adverse bioeffects from mobile telephony.

Best, Imelda, Cork


Transcribed from: IRISH EXAMINER (print edition) Friday, 21 January, 2005. Page 2.

"PROBE INTO MOBILE PHONE DANGERS"
by Juno McEnroe

Communications Department experts will be quizzed next week about the potential dangers of mobile phones following a British scientific report that said children should not use them.

"We have invited experts from the Department of Communications for their view on the safety and health issues and on the report from Britain," said Communications Oireachtas Committee chairman Noel
O'Flynn.

However, the investigation into handsets may be a joint investigation, as the Oireachtas Committee on Health is considering examining possible adverse health effects.

"The joint committee has decided to invite the Department of Communications to appear before it to discuss the issue and establish at first hand what steps the department is taking to ensure that mobile phone handsets being sold are safe to use," said Mr
O'Flynn.

The British National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) safety study advised that children under eight should not use mobile phones.

"I am taking this report very seriously because we must not risk compromising the health of young children through the use of potentially dangerous handsets. If we are not happy with the department's answers, we may ask the authors of the British report to come over," said Mr O'Flynn.

While no firm decision was reached on mobile technology effects, a number of European companies have withdrawn handsets aimed at young children since the report was published.

A campaign group against mobile phone technology, Mast Action in Meath, has said the NRPB report was being distributed to national schools in the country, so parents were aware of any health risks to children.

The presentation on non-ionising radiation from mobile phone handsets and masts will be heard by the oireachtas committee next Tuesday. The Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA), a lobby group promoting general health, has also been invited to attend proceedings.

In early May, the issue of mobile phone safety will be raised at an EU meeting of technical experts, at which Ireland will be represented by the department's chief technical adviser, Bob Hanna."



Posted: Tues 04/11/2003
Mobile phone health risks to be investigated
... Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and ... will consult with the Oireachtas Health and ... merit more research", said committee chairman and Fianna ...
http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=5356


Mobile phones no threat to people's health, Oireachtas told
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/490768/

Mobile Phones Trigger Symptoms
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/487618/

This may be a turning point in the "BIG VOICE OF THE PEOPLE" call.

In the midst of a local campaign, I was asked about a second local one, and also if I was willing to join up with other parishes in Bognor and Bognor Town. Wow! What a lift! All areas of Bognor Regis to unite as one and fight phone companies! The onslaught has truly begun!

Is this a first in the UK that a whole town is to unite? Official notification is to be given next Tuesday. If so, I very much hope this will be repeated all over the UK and that those towns and cities will unite with others etc.

BIG VOICE, DONT WHISPER, JUST SHOUT AS LOUD AS YOU CAN!

For my second piece of good news, the first call on the Advice line was from a man who had been given our advice line number and told he must phone us to tell us what he has achieved. He successfully blocked T Mobile's attempts to erect a 22.5m, 3antenae, 3G mast at Alvechurch, Birmingham simply by adamently refusing permission to cross the land, and by guarding the property, or seeing the mast builders off the property in no uncertain terms!

What a good day this has been!

Sandi


From Mast Network

In response to Councillor Roy Pennington’s letter in today’s edition of ‘The Argus’ I would like to add my tuppence worth to the debate as a local committee member for Mast Sanity.

I was concerned, but not surprised, to learn that 02 have applied for planning permission for a 3G, 17m mast at West Park, Aldwick, and that more applications for 3G masts are being sought across West Sussex.

I am aware that there is an existing Hutchison 3G mast on the same site at West Park, Aldwick, and that some people have become unwell around this mast and are fearful of having a second 3G mast installed.

Two 3G’s on one site would really makes a detrimental difference, and one is too many!

Also, 02 is almost related to MM02 Airwave and BT. It is fairly common for additional antennae of any type to be added with or without permission.

Most mast companies tend to “mast share,” and a single antenna has been deviously invented with both GSM and 3G within the one unit. Add to that, the hidden and disguised phone mast paraphernalia, and some communities might be better off living in a microwave oven!

Just to look at cities like London on the Ofcom Sitefinder website, which is not even that accurate, will show you what I mean. A Soho school has 27 masts around it!

I have come a long way since the days of worrying about a TETRA mast being put up in Avisford Park, because since joining Mast Sanity as a volunteer I have learnt that all microwave transmission is unsafe and can harm humans and animals.

The only difference between microwave ovens, DECT phones etc, phone masts, 3G masts, and TETRA, is the time it takes to harm you.

Those who doubt what I say really ought to research this, as I have, just to be sure.

There has been some good research carried out abroad which demolishes the government’s and phone companies’ responses stating that this technology is safe.

The planning aspect of phone masts is now almost in a state of chaos. A mast could be put up almost anywhere, near schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, on pavements in busy cities or quiet villages, on church spires…… you name it and a mast will probably be placed there.

This, in itself is worrying enough, but to learn that government directives dictate that councils should ignore all health issues within the planning process is tantamount to denying everyone basic human rights.

I work voluntarily for Mast Sanity to try to advise and support those who are suffering around masts and, hopefully, to share in making a difference for our future and our children’s future.

I am not trying to alarm or scare anyone. I just think that the whole situation is getting out of hand and that this needs to be said, because people don’t seem to have a say or choice anymore.

Some people think they have to just accept things, or that they cannot change things, but they are wrong. People power can change things.

Not with violence, disorder, or breaking the law, but by making a stand and saying “No” with one voice.

That is called democracy: the right to have your say and to enjoy basic human rights in your environment.

Those who read this WILL HAVE A CHOICE and what they do about it is up to them. They can either ignore it, or they can speak up and say they don’t want what is happening, BUT THEY HAVE TO SAY IT WHERE IT MOST COUNTS.


Sandi Lawrence, 3 Oakwood Court, Willowhale Avenue, Aldwick, PO21 4BG


From Mast Network

http://www.wissenschaft-unzensiert.de/news.htm


Fritz-F.Pleitgen@wdr.de

Sehr geehrter Herr Pleitgen!

Nachdem 13 Institute aus 7 Ländern im Auftrag der EU bestätigt fanden, dass die Handymikrowellen schwere Zellschädigungen bewirken und die DNA knacken, bitte ich Sie, die Inhalte des nachfolgenden Textes schnellstmöglich zur Diskussion zu stellen: http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/schockstudie.doc


Mit besten Grüßen

Gerd Ernst Zesar
Mittelstraße 31
53925 Kall
02441-6049

Handys knacken die DNS und bewirken schwere Zellschädigung



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=DNS
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Zellschädigung

Zur Nachahmung bestens empfohlen.

Wo Macht und Einfluss falsch eingesetzt werden, wird die Kritik und die Demokratie schnell verdrängt!

M.f.G.
Alfred Tittmann


Alfred Tittmann
63486 Bruchköbel
Kettelerstr. 3
Tel. 06181-77376


An
Herrn Bundestagspräsident Wolfgang Thierse
Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin
fax: 030/227-36878

cc:
Petitionsausschuss des Deutschen Bundestages
Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin
fax: 030/227-36130

Presse


21. Januar 2005

Sehr geehrter Herr Thierse,

die FDP-Bunderstagsabgeordnete Ulrike Flach hat laut Zeitungsberichten bis Ende des vergangen Jahres "zu Hause" als Übersetzerin für SIEMENS gearbeitet und dafür jährlich nach eigenen Angaben zwischen 60000 und 62000 Euro verdient. Sie ist gleichzeitig Vorsitzende des Bundestags-Ausschusses für Bildung, Forschung und Technikfolgenabschätzung.

Diese Kombination von Ausschusstätigkeit und Nebentätigkeit ist unsittlich, weil

· SIEMENS einer der größten Empfänger von Forschungs-Fördermitteln des Bundes ist und sich einen möglichst großen Anteil aus dem Fördertopf sichern will.

· SIEMENS als bedeutender Hersteller von Handys und Netzwerktechnik kein Interesse daran hat, dass im Rahmen der Technikfolgenabschätzung zu genau hingeschaut wird, ob die Mobilfunktechnologie nicht doch krebsfördernd und erbgutschädigend ist, wie viele unabhängige Wissenschaftler behaupten.

Ich fordere Sie, Herr Bundestagspräsident, auf, darauf hin zu wirken, dass Frau Flach als Vorsitzende und Mitglied des Bundestags-Ausschusses für Bildung, Forschung und Technikfolgenabschätzung abgelöst wird.

Eine bisher von SIEMENS bezahlte Lobbyistin ist nicht die richtige Person, um den Bundestag und die Bevölkerung objektiv über die Folgen einer auch in der Wissenschaft kontrovers diskutierten Technologie wie der Mobilfunktechnologie zu informieren und an entscheidender Stelle Schwerpunkte für finanzielle Förderung zu setzen.

Vielmehr sollte diese Position mit einer anerkannten Person des Bundestages besetzt werden, deren Ruf und Werdegang über jeden Zweifel erhaben ist, und die weder direkt noch indirekt von der Industrie abhängig ist.

Die Qualität politischer Entscheidungen wird durch verdeckte Interessenwahrnehmung zwangsläufig nach dem Motto: „Wes Brot ich ess, des Lied ich sing“ negativ beeinflusst. Die dem Politiker seitens der Industrie instrumentalisierte Befangenheit ist gegeben und verhindert eine objektive, reale Wahrnehmung des eigentlichen Full-Time-Jobs.

Die Frage wird zu Recht immer lauter:

Wer vertritt eigentlich das Volk im Bundestag, das Volk, das den Politiker gewählt hat oder der Arbeitgeber der versteckt und verlogen durch z. T. fürstliche Bestechungsgelder Weisungen erteilt, dass die Firmeninteressen in den jeweiligen Ausschüssen durchgeboxt werden?

Wenn man den Katalog der Nebenbeschäftigungen, mit und ohne Bezahlungen bei einigen „Global Playern“ anschaut, fragt man sich unwillkürlich, wie viel Zeit bleibt bei diesen Herrschaften in Nadelstreifen eigentlich für deren eigentliche Mandatsausübung noch übrig?

Wir haben es mit einem heuchlerischen Skandal zu tun, der kaum mehr zu überbieten ist.

Sorgen Sie bitte dafür, das Transparenz, Anstand, Glaubwürdigkeit, Seriosität und überhaupt eine saubere Kultur wieder in den Bundestag einzieht. Nur dann, wenn dies geschieht, kann der derzeitig ramponierte Ruf unserer Volksvertreter wieder aufpoliert werden.

Die sich jetzt ergebene Politverdrossenheit, insbesondere auch erschreckend bei Jugendlichen ist nicht verwunderlich; angesichts der gegebenen korrupten Lage befürchte ich eine Zunahme und einen weiteren Rechtsruck zum Radikalismus.

Der Fall Flach ist bedeutsam und bedarf einer sofortigen Korrektur, ist allerdings auch nur exemplarisch zu sehen, da er ja bekannterweise lediglich die Spitze des Eisberges widerspiegelt.

Ihrer Stellungnahme sehe ich mit großem Interesse entgegen.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Alfred Tittmann


Siemens bezahlte Vorsitzende des Forschungsausschusses
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/462540/

Kleenex, one of the most popular brands of tissue products in the world, contributes to the destruction of ancient forests in Canada.

In response to this wasteful destruction, Greenpeace has launched a public campaign in Canada and the US against Kimberly-Clark with other environmental organisations.

http://prefs.greenpeace.org/mail-links/clicks/4754.1360712.5409

January 21, 2005

RAPID RESPONSE MEDIA ALERT: TARGETING IRAN – THE BBC PROPAGANDA BEGINS

Iran - The Last Hurrah

Writing in The New Yorker magazine this month, the renowned investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported US plans for an attack on Iran. A former high-level intelligence official told Hersh:

“This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone. Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah — we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.” (Seymour M. Hersh, ‘The coming wars,’ The New Yorker, January 17, 2005)

Hersh added:

“In my interviews, I was repeatedly told that the next strategic target was Iran.”

Ian Traynor reported in the Guardian this week that Western concern over Iran's suspected nuclear programme has been growing since 2003 when it was revealed that Tehran had been conducting secret nuclear activities for 18 years in violation of treaty obligations. Traynor wrote:

“The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna has had inspectors in the country throughout the period. While finding much that is suspect, the inspectors have not found any proof of a clandestine nuclear bomb programme.” (‘Special forces “on the ground” in Iran,’ Ian Traynor, The Guardian, January 17, 2005)

Remarkably, in an almost exact repeat of events in 2002 and 2003, the BBC is now reflexively boosting the US claim that Iran presents a threat to the West.

On yesterday’s BBC1 lunchtime news, diplomatic correspondent James Robbins declared that US relations with Iran were "looking very murky because of the nuclear threat". (BBC1, 13:00 News, January 20, 2005)

Robbins meant, of course, the +alleged+ nuclear threat from Iran.

On the BBC's 18:00 news, Robbins again spoke of Iran "where the President is confronting the nuclear threat". (BBC1, 18:00 News, January 25, 2005)

Is this balanced, objective reporting by the BBC?

Even as the staggering catastrophe that has befallen Iraq continues to be played out, the BBC and other media are yet again preparing the public mind for war. If the public can be convinced that this latest ‘threat’ is real, then politicians can again unleash their bombers with impunity.

How many more innocent people have to die before journalists wake up to their moral responsibility to protect human life, to treat Third World nations as something more than Western playthings, to challenge warmongering propaganda, and to develop their powers of independent, rational thought?

SUGGESTED ACTION

The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and respect for others. In writing letters to journalists, we strongly urge readers to maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive tone.

Write to James Robbins:
Email: james.robbins@bbc.co.uk

Write to Helen Boaden, director of BBC News
Email: helen.boaden@bbc.co.uk

Write to Roger Mosey, head of BBC TV news
Email: roger.mosey@bbc.co.uk

Please also send all emails to us at Media Lens:
Email: editor@medialens.org

Da man angeblich dank - illegal - aufbewahrter DNA-Proben den irakischen Mörder des berühmten Hunde- und Modeliebhabers Moshammer so schnell gefasst hat, überschlagen sich in DE die Überwacher. Alle sind sich einig: Datenschutz ist Täterschutz. Totaler Krieg dem Terror und den Räubern!

Transparent sollst du sein, Bürger

[...] Durch den schnellen Fahndungserfolg im Fall Moshammer ist endlich bewiesen, wofür DNS-Tests gut sein können. Otto Schily will mehr davon, NRW-Innenminister Fritz Behrens kann gar nicht genug davon bekommen. Er fordert: Getestet werden sollte alles vom Ladendieb aufwärts.

[...] Das Sammeln und die Erfassung von Genmaterialien würde auch in Bezug auf Kleinkriminalität zum täglichen Bestandteil polizeilicher Routinearbeit.

[...] Dass biometrische Merkmale in Pässen, eine stetige Ausweitung der Lauschangriffe und eine zunehmende Erfassung von DNS-Daten dazugehören werden, ist längst beschlossene Sache. Behrens ist da völlig auf Linie seines Parteifreundes Otto Schily.

[...] Dass der schnelle Fahndungserfolg im Fall Moshammer jetzt allen Gentest-Befürwortern als Argument für die DNS-Tests dient, ist zwar Blödsinn, aber es ist publikumswirksam.

[...] Eigentlich wollen in der Gesellschaft von 1984 alle nur das jeweils Beste für sich oder das Gemeinwesen - was sie auch immer dafür halten. [...]

Mehr:
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/politik/0,1518,337285,00.html


relayed by Abdul Alhazred


Aus: quintessenz-list Digest, Vol 22, Issue 10

Plötzlich ist das Autoradio stumm, die elektrischen Fensterheber blockieren oder die Zentralverriegelung macht sich selbstständig - kurios. Elektronikpannen und keiner weiß warum. In zunehmend vielen Fällen tippen die Experten auf das Problem Elektrosmog. Zu viele Sendemasten, zu viele Funkstationen.

PLANETOPIA über die Gründe, warum unsere Autos auf den Funksalat allergisch reagieren...

Für Rückfragen: Simone Richter, Tel: 06131/600-2615

Kontakt:
Sonja Piehl
Sat.1 Kommunikation/PR
Telefon +4930 20902361 / Fax +4930 2090 2355
e-mail: sonja.piehl@sat1.de
Sat.1 im Internet: www.sat1.de und presse.sat1.de

http://www.presseportal.de/story.htx?nr=639418&ressort=5

From Judy Tidwell

If you have noticed an increase in skin rashes or allergic reactions to dust mites and pollen, your cell phone may be to blame. In what researchers called surprising results, a study indicates radiation emitted by mobile phones may increase allergic reactions.

Dr. Hajime Kimata from Unitika Hospital, Kyoto, Japan believes microwaves emitted by mobile handsets can 'excite' antigens - substances which cause allergic reactions - in the bloodstreams of people who already suffer from allergies.

Dr. Kimata tested 52 people who had a history of allergies. They all watched a one-hour video -- half of them while talking on their mobile phones and the other half with their phones turned off.

"When we did blood tests we found that the mobile phones had raised the levels of certain chemicals in the blood which provoke allergic reactions such as eczema, hay fever and asthma," Kimata said. "We were surprised but we carried out a properly controlled study. One group of patients had their phones turned on and receiving for an hour while they watched a video. The second group watched the same video while having their phones turned off so they couldn't receive calls. There was a significant increase in allergy levels which seemed to be linked to the use of mobile phones."

Further testing indicated that the group using mobile phones also had greater skin reactions when exposed to house dust mites or pollen from cedar trees.

Previous testing of mobile phones has resulted in contradictory claims concerning their affect on the health of their users. In a British study two years ago, researchers could find no evidence that mobile phones cause any risks to health, but recommended caution in using handsets, especially for children.

Earlier this year, researchers in Sweden claimed that mobile phones could damage key brain cells and trigger the early onset of Alzheimer's disease. Radiation from mobile phone handsets appeared to damage areas of the brain associated with learning, memory and movement in laboratory rats.

http://allergies.about.com/cs/skin/a/aa030203a.htm


Informant: Robert Riedlinger

January 20, 2005

Warren Mitofsky
Mitofsky International
1776 Broadway - Suite 1708
New York, NY 10019

Larry Rosin
President
Edison Media Research
6 W. Cliff St.
Somerville, NJ 08876

Dear Mr. Mitofsky and Mr. Rosin:

I have reviewed the internal report you issued yesterday concerning your exit polling in the 2004 election, and, unfortunately, it has not caused my concerns and questions regarding the significant discrepancies between your polling data and the final electoral results to diminish.

In particular, I would note that there are a number of concerns with the explanations you posited in your internal report that do not credibly account for the unprecedented five point differential between your exit polls and the reported results. As I am sure you know, Professor Steven Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania has determined that such a differential was of a less than 1 in a 1000 likelihood - virtually impossible as a statistical matter.

To be frank, blaming such factors as distant restrictions on polling places, weather conditions, the age of exit poll workers, and the fact that multiple precincts were contained at the same polling place, as your report does, does not come close to explaining why the exit polls overstated support for the Kerry/Edwards ticket in 26 states and support for the Bush/Cheney ticket in only 4 states. Many of the factors you point to appear to merely be random characteristics of the election and your exit polling, rather than quantifiable and justifiable explanations. Nor can I believe that the massive discrepancies can credibly be written off to eagerness of Kerry voters to participate in the exit polls.

As a result, I would like to reiterate my request to receive the actual raw exit poll data that you obtained. I would also like to obtain copies of all internal deliberations, memos and other materials of your employees and consultants concerning or seeking to explain the discrepancies. To the extent you have concerns regarding releasing propriety information, I am willing to work with you to either receive this information on a confidential basis, or alternatively to bring in a neutral, outside expert to review these materials.

The stakes for our democracy are simply too high for us to allow this matter to pass without a serious and substantive review of the exit poll data. While the election is over, there is significant bipartisan sentiment in Congress and around the nation for voting reform. A complete and full release of the exit poll information will therefore not only help to resolve lingering doubts regarding irregularities in the 2004 election, it will also go a long way towards helping Congress understand how to best craft these reforms. I am hopeful that the media companies that contract for your services will also understand and support the importance of providing full, complete, and transparent information in this matter.

I would appreciate your responding to my office through my Judiciary Committee staff, Perry Apelbaum and Ted Kalo, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building (tel. 202-225-6504, fax 202-225-4423), by January 27th.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee

cc: Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee <<letter to


Informant: Diana Davies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22190-2005Jan19?language=printer


From [ufpj-news

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/21021/


Informant: NHNE

http://www.economichumanrights.org/


From [ufpj-news

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=296169


Informant: NHNE

Ludger Volmer
http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/01-21/018.php

Der Abgeordnete Ludger Volmer ist kein Einzelfall. Vor einigen Monaten wurde bekannt, dass die grüne Abgeordnete Christine Scheel gleich in 4 Verwaltungsräten unterschiedlicher privater Krankenkassen saß.

Matthias Berninger, gleichfalls grüner Bundestagsabgeordneter und parlamentarischer Staatssekretär im Landwirtschaftsministerium, bezieht neben seiner Abgeordneten-Diät und dem Staatssekretärs-Salär als stellvertretender Verwaltungsratsvorsitzender der Landwirtschaftlichen Rentenbank 12.500 Euro p.a.. Sehr zeitaufwendig scheint die Tätigkeit nicht zu sein, denn Berninger bekleidet neben seiner Abgeordneten- und Staatssekretärs-Tätigkeit noch das Amt des Landesvorsitzenden der Grünen Hessen. Aber wahrscheinlich ist nach seinem Verständnis auch die Entlohnung der Verwaltungsratstätigkeit eher nur symbolisch.



Visa-Affäre
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/521715/

"Wenn wir diesen Fall nicht aufklären, ist unsere Glaubwürdigkeit dahin"
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,337928,00.html

Bundesdruckerei zahlte möglicherweise Honorar ohne Gegenleistung an Volmer-Firma
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/491238/

"Volmer-Erlass" für Reisefreiheit war offenbar ein "Fischer-Erlass"
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/486437/

Siemens bezahlte Vorsitzende des Forschungsausschusses
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/462540/

New from Gadget Land: wireless sunglasses powered by solar hat batteries

Here's some more great advances coming our way. Imagine a solar powered hat plugged into cell phone sun glasses. Especially useful for staying in touch while sunbaking at the beach or snowboarding. Perhaps Motorola should also talk with Bell Helicopters about the possibility of putting a propeller in the top of the hat as well - a la Inspector Gadget.

Wouldn't it be nice if all the R&D funds going into developing this crap was re-directed into basic cell phone health research. But then Motorola was never big on doing honest research anyway. See:
http://www.emfacts.com/papers/corporate_risk.pdf

Don Maisch


Motorola partners with sunglasses maker for wireless devices

Jan 14, 2005


LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.-Mobile-phone maker Motorola Inc. signed an agreement with sunglasses company Oakley Inc. to build "wearable wireless communications devices" using Bluetooth technology. The companies said they would release details and designs on the devices sometime in the middle of the year.

"By teaming with Motorola, we're dramatically expanding the possibilities for our new electronics category," said Cos Lykos, Oakley's vice president of business development. "Oakley's engineering team now has an expanded technology arsenal to develop new and innovative electronic products."

Motorola has previously signed agreements with the likes of snowboarding company Burton and iPod designer Apple Corp.

AND:

Toronto researchers invent solar-powered material for cell phones

Jan 14, 2005


TORONTO-Researchers at the University of Toronto have invented a flexible infrared-sensitive material that converts solar energy into electrical energy.

Ted Sargent, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and one of the team leaders involved in the project, told Reuters the material could have applications in the wireless industry. The material, he said, potentially could be woven into clothing and become a "wearable solar cell" that could charge items like cell phones.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7751.htm


Informant: Bea Bernhausen

President Bush told U.S. troops on Tuesday that "much more will be asked of you" in Iraq and elsewhere as three days of ceremonies marking his inauguration got off to a somber beginning. Bush is to be sworn in for a second four-year term at midday on Thursday on Capitol Hill and thousands of Republicans were flocking to Washington for the celebrations under extremely heavy security. Police scrambled to handle an emergency a block away from the White House and near the planned route for the inaugural parade. Police surrounded a man in a van who claimed to have 15 gallons of gasoline and threatened to blow it up if he did not get his child back, the FBI said. "It's domestic, not terrorism," said an FBI spokeswoman.

Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld went to the MCI Center in Washington for an event called "Saluting Those Who Serve" that honored war veterans and the valor of the fallen in conflicts from the Revolutionary War to Iraq.

http://www.infowars.com/articles/iraq/bush_to_troops_much_more_asked_of_you.htm


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - January 19th, 2005

The US president is now as powerful as a monarch, according to a new book by an American professor published to coincide with the start of George W Bush's second term. Even powerful mid-century presidents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt recognised checks on their authority, says Stephen Graubard, who is old enough to have attended Roosevelt's last inauguration in 1945. But since Ronald Reagan, the powers of a president and his "courtiers" have become increasingly untrammelled, Professor Graubard told BBC News. "He is not totally unchecked but his power is immense," he says of recent presidents, several of whose closest advisers - including Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissinger, McGeorge Bundy and Zbigniew Brzezinski - he has known personally. "FDR worried all the time about other authorities who might try to inhibit his plans. This man [George Bush] knows nobody is going to check him.

"He has been made ridiculous by certain films, but does Bush really give a damn what the New York Times thinks of him? Roosevelt did.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4181799.stm


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - January 19th, 2005

In a chilling act more reminiscent of the now defunct Soviet Union or the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler, the United States Congress passed legislation yesterday that requires the States to surrender their regulatory rights over driver’s licenses and birth certificates to The Department of Homeland Security. The massive US Intelligence Reform Bill weighed in at over 3,000 pages and though unread by individual Members of either the House or Senate nevertheless passed all of the legislative hurdles needed in order to become law. President Bush lobbied hard for these provisions, only objecting when Senator Sensenbrenner attempted to require these same provisions for illegal aliens but which the President opposed. This provision was dropped from the final bill.

Beginning in 2005, the Department of Homeland Security will issue new uniformity regulations to the States requiring that all Drivers Licenses and Birth Certificates meet minimal Federal Standards with regard to US citizen information, including biometric security provisions.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2004/101204nationalid.htm


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - January 19th, 2005

While our Nation, most television stations, and the President celebrate the Inaguration, another homeless veteran died on the streets. Something is very wrong with the priorities of our Nation when those who protected our way of life suffer and the rest of the country doesn't notice except other veterans.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2695