1
Feb
2005

IAC Statement on the Election in Iraq

A Statement from the International Action Center

The Election in Iraq:

"a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
-William Shakespeare

The media and the Bush Administration are in high gear, trumpeting this weekend's election as a victory for democracy. However, this election changes nothing on the ground in Iraq. On Monday, January 31, the day after the election, the people of Iraq woke up with 150,000 U.S. troops occupying their country, CIA asset Ayad Allawi the appointed head of state, and the Pentagon's plans to build 14 permanent military bases still proceeding.

Democracy means, "rule of the people." What happened on Sunday merely continues rule by military occupation and an appointed government.


This was a meaningless election.

This piece of political theater can't even be accurately described as an election. In an election, voters get to choose candidates who will then hold office and exercise some measure of power.
In this election, voters didn't get to vote for a candidate, or even for a political party. Instead, they were allowed to vote for a list, which may include several parties or individuals--there was no way to know. These lists were approved by the Bremer-appointed High Commission for Elections. The names of the 7,700 candidates were not publicly available, so there was no way to know who was actually being voted for.

The candidates who are eventually selected by this process will exercise no executive or legislative authority. They will form a transitional national assembly, which will draft a constitution under the supervision of the occupiers.

The people of Iraq were not given the opportunity to vote against the occupation--they were allowed to vote for anonymous lists, representing U.S.-approved candidates that will not have the power to alter U.S. plans to colonize Iraq.

Of course, the people of Iraq want to vote in free and open elections to determine their own future, but the occupation was not on the ballot, rendering any pretense at an election meaningless.

The more than 100,000 people who were killed by the U.S. during this war were not given the opportunity to vote. Nor were the prisoners in the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib.


Returning Iraq to 1955.

It is telling that the Bush Administration is claiming this is the first democratic election to be held in Iraq in fifty years. The election referred to as the last democratic election was held under a U.S. & British appointed monarchy to select an advisory body that had no executive or legislative power. Its only function was to provide a façade of legitimacy to the puppet regime; the election did not change the fact that the people of Iraq were under the thumb of U.S. and British oil companies. Less than 3 years later, a massive popular revolutionary upheaval overthrew the corrupt monarchy and, since that time, the U.S. and Britain have been trying to return Iraq to the same semi-colonial status. This election is part of their plan.

The U.S. government has never demonstrated any interest in bringing democracy to the Middle East. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger outlined U.S. policy in the region when he said, "Middle East oil is too important to be left to hands of the Arabs." The U.S. has made no effort to bring democracy in any of the nations in the region where it has maintained troops-the people of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all live under feudal monarchies, without free elections, civil liberties, civil rights, union rights, or rights for women.


This was an election under occupation.

It is important to emphasize the circumstances under which this election was held. More than 150,000 U.S. troops occupy the country, patrolling the streets with guns trained on the Iraqi people. Throughout Iraq, the U.S. occupation forces imposed an unprecedented series of security measures - including shoot-on-sight curfews, closed borders, and a ban on cars and travel restrictions within Iraq.

This election was held under the supervision of U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte. Negroponte served as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1981-1985 and was involved with Contra terrorists and death squads. While he was Ambassador, Honduras was the launching pad from which the Reagan administration conducted its violent attacks on the people of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Negroponte's predecessor, Paul Bremer, set up the rules for this election. The organization that ran the election, the High Commission for Elections, was appointed by Bremer, and had the authority to disqualify any party that did not meet with Washington's approval. Before he left his post, Bremer issued a series of articles which cannot be reversed by any election. Many of these articles, which are in violation of international law, have to do with the plundering of Iraq's resources and control of the economy by U.S. corporations. No matter what list the Iraqi people voted for, decisions that affect their future are being made by the occupation government under orders from Wall Street.

Assisting Negroponte were two U.S.-funded organizations with long records of manipulating overseas elections on behalf of U.S. corporate interests, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI). Both organizations work closely with the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for International Development, long used by the CIA for covert operations abroad. They were, for example, involved in orchestrating the failed coup and recall referendum in Venezuela in an attempt to remove the democratically-elected and popular President Hugo Chavez. Both were involved in manipulating the election in the Ukraine to ensure that a pro-U.S. head of state would be installed.

Similar elections were held during the U.S. war against the people of Vietnam. They were conducted under military occupation, administered by the U.S., and in no way allowed for any real self-government. None of the U.S.-managed elections in Vietnam succeeded in conferring legitimacy on the occupation government or in ending the resistance. Likewise, this election was conducted at gunpoint, administered by a war criminal, and stage-managed by CIA front companies. To pretend that this has anything to do with democracy is outrageous.


This election has no credibility.

This election was almost unique in that it had no international observers. There was no outside source to monitor the voting, the integrity of the ballots, or the counting. The only monitoring was by observers trained by groups like the National Democratic Institute--in other words, by the CIA.

With no international observers monitoring the election process, the elections are only as credible as the people running it--the Bush Administration, who lied about weapons of mass destruction, lied about ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq, lied about everything associated with this war and occupation.


This election was a public relations campaign.

Opposition to the occupation has been growing in the U.S. Many people, including members of Congress, have begun to demand an end to the occupation.

The election was staged to create the illusion of progress, much like the phony transfer of power held on June 28 of last year. The idea is to create a new fiction to legitimize the occupation. The lies about weapons of mass destruction have been exposed. The lies about the people of Iraq being involved in the attacks on September 11 have been refuted. So now, the Bush Administration is taking up the cause of democracy to justify the ongoing occupation.

The claim that the U.S. needs to bring democracy to Iraq, that the country would descend into civil war without the U.S. presence, is pure racism. It is a rehash of the arguments used by the British Empire and other empires to justify the colonization of entire nations.

Many of those who did vote, took part in the election thinking that it would be part of a process that would lead to ending the occupation of their country. All polls indicate that an overwhelming number of Iraqis want an immediate end to the occupation. Once they realize that the election serves only to justify further occupation and plundering of their country, this will give rise to a new level of outrage and resistance.


The myth of high turnout.

Despite the media's claim that turnout was overwhelming, in many areas, polling centers were closed or deserted. Only a handful of people voted in Fallujah, Samarra and Ramadi. Among Iraqis living abroad, 80% of eligible voters did not vote. This dispels the myth that low turnout was due to security concerns. Turnout was low because the people oppose occupation and recognized that the election was a public relations effort by the occupier of their country.


The Iraqi people want the occupation to end now.

Any real interest in democracy would lead us to recognize that the Iraqi people are opposed to the occupation. Polls have repeatedly shown that the people of Iraq want the troops to leave now--not after they have stage-managed an election and installed a puppet regime.

The growing resistance throughout the country demonstrates how the Iraqi people feel about the occupiers. The occupiers are not there to bring democracy--they have instead brought death, destruction, and torture. The Iraqi people and a growing number of people worldwide want it to end.



March 19
Troops Out Now!
March on Central Park in NYC!
Regional Demonstrations Across the U.S. & Worldwide


The International Action Center
http://www.iacenter.org
mail to:iacenter@iacenter.org

Mobil SpeedPass, Various Car RFID Car Keys Cracked

http://tinyurl.com/6mxh8

QUEEN OF THAILAND TO "LEGITIMIZE" HOOH YOH LAND THEFT

PASS FAR AND WIDE!
URGENT ALERT THAILAND
QUEEN OF THAILAND TO "LEGITIMIZE" HOOH YOH LAND THEFT!

Dear Friends:

On Feb. 1, which is occurring right now in Thailand, the Queen of Thailand is inaugurating the theft of all of Hooh Yoh's land in Ampur Mae Fahluang, Chiangrai, Thailand, taking some 4500 acres from five villages, making it out as a "project of compassion" when nothing could be further from the truth.

Please contact the Thai consulate, or embassy in your area to express your alarm at this outrageous act.

Be informed that Sacramento County continues to isolate two Akha families from social services.

We are now in touch with the Gov. of California, Sen. Barbara Boxer and the US Department of Health and Human services regarding the Akha case.

Matthew McDaniel


The Akha Heritage Foundation.
http://www.akha.org Akha Heritage Site.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Akhaweeklyjournal

Soros Says Kerry's Failings Undermined Campaign against Bush

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/013105D.shtml

Calling the President's Bluff

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/013105A.shtml

KEEPING MERCURY IN VACCINES

FRIST IMPLEMENTING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO TAKE AWAY RIGHTS...WHILE ALSO KEEPING MERCURY IN VACCINES
Parents and Guardians;

As more information trickles in about Bill S.3, Frist's latest and most comprehensive attempt to remove children's rights, it is becoming clear they are getting very creative in their ways to push S.3 through.

If you didn't see our initial action alert about S.3, we feel it is important to send out a reminder as well as an update.

See our initial alert below. IF YOU HAVEN'T PREPARED YOUR FAXES TO GO OUT, PLEASE DO! YOUR HELP WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

Here are some keypoints to S.3. Keep in mind that because this is a VICA/Vaccine Bill introduced under the guise of thwarting terrorist threats, there is "warm and fuzzy language" to sway potential supporters. For example, S.3 raises the death benefit for families of fallen soldiers. This, of course, is needed, but it has NOTHING to do with our children!

Again, we need your help!

- S.3 preempts state legislation on vaccines and more.

- S.3 effectively repeals CA and IA mercury-ban bills and stops others in their tracks.

- S.3 prevents states from even warning people about, for example, thimerosal.

- S.3 gives pharmas defense to claims if FDA approved their drug or vaccine (in other words, more fighting power to stop our claims)

- S.3 implements caps of $250 K on non-economic damages, and no punitives

- S.3 Controls regulation of vaccine safety and restricts access to information (in other words, sealing documents that contain valuable information about our children's illness)

IF THIS PASSES, NOT ONLY WILL OUR CHILDREN NEVER HAVE JUSTICE, MORE CHILDREN WILL BE EXPOSED TO THIMEROSAL!!!

PLEASE FAX YOUR LETTERS TODAY. IT IS SO IMPORTANT!!!


The above was from Dr. Tenpenny.

Wyoming's US Senator Enzi --
http://enzi.senate.gov/email.htm gives his e-mail form, his fax machine and phone numbers and his mailing address.

Wyoming's US Senator Thomas --
http://thomas.senate.gov/html/contact.html gives Craig Thomas's contact info.

All states
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm


Informant: Marsha

Wie zukunftsfähig ist unser Lebensstil?

Focusseminar

20% der Weltbevölkerung verbrauchen 80% der endlichen Ressourcen. Trotz dieser Tatsache wird der westliche Lebensstil im Zuge des Globalisierungsprozesses immer weiter verbreitet. Unser Lebensstil ist durch die begrenzten Kapazitäten unseres Planeten nicht auf die gesamte Weltbevölkerung übertragbar. Er beruht nicht zuletzt auf der Ausbeutung von Ressourcen aus weniger entwickelten bis sehr armen Ländern. Diese Länder sind es auch, die am meisten unter den negativen Auswirkungen der globalen Umweltverschmutzung leiden. In vielen Bereichen haben wir unsere Natur und Umwelt weltweit schon über das gesunde Maß hinaus strapaziert.

Neue Ressourcen-schonendere Technologien werden seit Jahren erfolgreich entwickelt. Diese neuentwickelten Produkte werden allerdings nur unzureichend für den allgemeinen Gebrauch produziert und setzen sich kaum durch. Wer hat Schuld daran? Die KonsumentInnen, weil sie falsch (und zuviel) einkaufen? Die Politik, weil sie die Weichen nicht richtig stellt? Oder die Konzerne, die mit ihrer Werbung die wahren Folgen der gebotenen Waren vertuschen?

Dieses Seminar zeigt Zusammenhänge zwischen Globalisierung und Ökologie und weist Wege aus der "kollektiven Verantwortungslosigkeit", einschließlich der Verantwortung und Macht jeder und jedes einzelnen.

Seminarinhalte:
· Das Konzept „Umweltgerechtigkeit“
· Alternativen zum Welthandel: lokal statt global?
· Politik, Wirtschaft, VerbraucherInnen: Wer ist schuld und wer ist am Zug?
· Sozial- und Umweltstandards
· Produktkennzeichnungspflicht/Labelling
· Ökologische und faire Produktion
· Macht der KonsumentInnen gegen die Macht der Konzerne
· Handlungsmöglichkeiten für VerbraucherInnen
· Mein persönlicher Weg zur Nachhaltigkeit


Referenten
Melanie Diller ist Diplom-Biologin und beschäftigt sich seit einigen Jahren mit den Zusammenhängen von Ökologie und Globalisierung. Sie ist bei Attac und BUND aktiv.

Anke Auler ist Diplom-Betriebswirtin und ist in der Aktionsgruppe von Attac aktiv.

Beide arbeiten für die Bildungskampagne ÖkologieGlobal des BUND Verden und gestalten in diesem Rahmen Vorträge und Seminare zu den ökologischen Grenzen der Globalisierung. Informationen zu ÖkologieGlobal gibt es im Internet unter ÖkologieGlobal.

Kooperation
Das Projekt ÖkologieGlobal will über den ökologischen Kahlschlag und Handlungsalternativen informieren. Dazu werden Informationsbroschüren, Berichte und Vortragsmaterialien erstellt. Seine Zielgruppen sind neben politisch engagierten Personen und Gruppen, Jugendliche, Schulen und andere Bildungseinrichtungen. ÖkologieGlobal bietet neben Vorträgen, Seminaren und Workshops auch Informationsmaterialien und Hintergrundtexte.


ÖkologieGlobal
BUND Verden
Artilleriestr. 6
27283 Verden
Tel.: 04231/957 545
Fax: 04231-957 546
info@oekologieglobal.de


Quelle: http://www.bewegungsakademie.de/index.php?id=kalender&sub=detail&vid=10

Bush promotes 'nuclear hawks'

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/65fe8ca4-73e9-11d9-b705-00000e2511c8.html


Informant: kevcross5

Datenschützer kritisieren WM-Tickets

http://www.handelsblatt.com/pshb/fn/relhbi/sfn/buildhbi/cn/GoArt!,204016,853680/SH/0/depot/0/

Bundesinnenministerium plant Einführung von digitalem Polizeifunk

"Bundespolizei": Bundesinnenministerium plant Einführung von digitalem Polizeifunk (01.02.05)

Das Bundesinnenministerium möchte offenbar 800 Millionen Euro aus dem Bundeshaushalt zur Verfügung stellen, um die "Bundespolizei" - den ehemaligen Bundesgrenzschutz - mit digitaler Kommunikationstechnik ausstatten. Das Ministerium gehe damit im jahrelangen Streit mit seinen Länderkollegen über die Einführung des digitalen Polizeifunks in die Offensive, schreibt "Die Welt". Für den 11. Februar wolle Innenminister Otto Schily die Innenminister der Länder nach Berlin einladen und vorschlagen, sich auf die gesonderte Finanzierung von "Bundes- und Länderkomponenten" zu einigen.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.jpberlin.de/www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=10332

Abgeordnete Merz und Riesenhuber sitzen in Aufsichtsräten von Unternehmen

Rechtsanwalt & Unternehmensberater: Abgeordnete Merz und Riesenhuber sitzen in Aufsichtsräten von Unternehmen (01.02.05)

Nach einem Bericht der "Bild"-Zeitung ist der ehemalige Bundesforschungsminister Heinz Riesenhuber (CDU) neben seiner Tätigkeit als Abgeordneter des Deutschen Bundestages als Unternehmensberater tätig. Außerdem sei Riesenhuber Mitglied in "zahlreichen Aufsichts- und Verwaltungsräten". "In den Sitzungswochen bin ich in Berlin, in der übrigen Zeit bin ich für die Bürger im Wahlkreis ansprechbar", erklärte Riesenhuber gegenüber der Zeitung. Der ehemalige Minister verweist auf sein gutes Wahlergebnis in seinem Heimatwahlkreis.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.jpberlin.de/www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=10333



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

Democrats Considering Filibuster of Gonzales

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/020105W.shtml

US teens 'reject' key freedoms

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4225013.stm

Another article....British slant....Our Youth....doesn't believe we need the first Admendment? It is excessive????

What are we teaching our kids?? Sounds like brainswashing 101 US Government style.

Annie

** US teens 'reject' key freedoms **
More than a third of US high-school students see the First Amendment as excessive, a survey suggests...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4225013.stm

--------

U.S. students say press has to much freedom:

One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.

http://tinyurl.com/5goau


From Information Clearing House


Propaganda in a Democratic Society
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/498539/

U.S. students say press freedoms go too far
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/496908/

Bush Flogs Phony Social Security Crisis

The Bush formula for governing is now quite predictable: Keep them scared, everything you want should be framed as a "crisis," encourage focus on messianic missions like sending our Christian soldiers to spread "freedom" and "liberty" and stamp out "tyranny" wherever it grows -- except, of course, in China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher200.html


From Information Clearing House

Why an attack on Iran is inevitable

US and British policy has ensured that the EU will itself be in such turmoil over the next year that it will not be able to respond in any meaningful sense to a new act of Anglo-American aggression. There are four reasons for this.

http://207.44.245.159/article7933.htm

It should have been one of the easiest military occupations in history

Chomsky interviewed by David McNeill
http://207.44.245.159/article7932.htm

Torture "Is the Recipe for the Destruction" of International Human Rights

Audio: British Human Rights Lawyer Gareth Pierce Says Torture "Is the Recipe for the Destruction" of International Human Rights.

This is a must listen interview:
http://207.44.245.159/article7941.htm

The Inquisition Strikes Back: In 'Guantanamo

What the World Should Know,' it's hard to say which is more disgusting, the descriptions of the torture or the bone-chilling analyses of how the president gave himself the powers of an absolute military dictator.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/21105/


From Information Clearing House

Gonzales Added To War Crimes Complaint In Germany

The Center For Constitutional Rights Says Attorney General Designate’s Testimony before the Senate Confirms His Role in Abu Ghraib Torture...

http://207.44.245.159/article7934.htm


U.S. human rights lawyers ask German court to expand war crimes probe of U.S. officials :

A group of American human rights lawyers asked German prosecutors Monday to investigate U.S. Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales on allegations of war crimes as part of a requested probe of U.S. officials' actions in Iraq, the group said.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/9946.html


From Information Clearing House

Fallujah in Pictures

If our cause is just, we should not fear witnessing its cost. This is not the whole truth, just a side that is rarely seen elsewhere.

- Warning - Pictures depict the reality and horror of war.

http://airamericaradio.com/shows/randirhodes/fallujah/crisis/criinfal/2005/01/fal1.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6vt3g


From Information Clearing House

British MP George Galloway: Elections in Occupied Iraq "Flawed Beyond Redemption"

Audio

This is a festival, a farce that's been held to validate the American-British invasion and occupation of Iraq.

http://207.44.245.159/article7939.htm

Gorbachev Calls Iraqi Elections “Fake”

In an interview with the Interfax news agency, he said the elections are “very far from what true elections are. And even though I am a supporter of elections and of the transfer of power to the people of Iraq, these elections were fake.”

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/01/31/gorbacheviraq.shtml


From Information Clearing House

The Vietnam turnout was good as well

On September 4 1967 the New York Times published an upbeat story on presidential elections held by the South Vietnamese puppet regime at the height of the Vietnam war. Under the heading "US encouraged by Vietnam vote: Officials cite 83% turnout despite Vietcong terror", the paper reported that the Americans had been "surprised and heartened" by the size of the turnout "despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting".

http://207.44.245.159/article7935.htm

"The U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution"

Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)

The Administration told us the financial costs would be paid with Iraqi oil dollars, but it is being paid with billions of American tax dollars. Another $80 billion bill for the black hole that Iraq has become has just been handed to the American people.

Real Audio and Transcript:
http://207.44.245.159/article7930.htm

Urge the Senate to Thoroughly Vet Second Bush Nominee Implicated in Torture Controversy

From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU

Subject: Urge the Senate to Thoroughly Vet Second Bush Nominee Implicated in Torture Controversy

The Bush administration is seeking a quick, under-the-radar confirmation of the president’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate, however, should carefully examine the record of the nominee, Michael Chertoff, because he too is implicated in the ongoing Bush Administration torture controversy.

Urge Congress to conduct a proper review of Chertoff before voting on his nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security.

There are real concerns about Chertoff: he reportedly gave advice to the CIA about the legality of certain forms of torture and interrogation, and was also the official responsible for the unnecessary detentions of hundreds of Arab and Muslim men in the weeks and months after 9/11.

Additionally, Chertoff has demonstrated a very limited view of civil liberties: he played a leading role in the crafting of the USA Patriot Act, the relaxation of internal Justice Department guidelines that now permit the FBI to secretly spy on public religious, social or political gatherings and the blanket “voluntary” interviews of thousands of Arabs and Muslims that have sown distrust between law enforcement and these communities.

Last week, Action Network members sent more than 30,000 messages to their Senators expressing deep concerns about the Gonzales nomination, a concern that continues to be reflected in the ongoing Senate debate over the nomination. Now, Congress needs to hear your concerns about Chertoff’s involvement in setting policy and procedures on torture.

Take action! Urge Congress to conduct a proper review of Chertoff before voting on his nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security.

Click here to get more information and to take action:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=17384&c=24

Propaganda in a Democratic Society

http://tinyurl.com/63qtl

Lets Help Barbara Boxer for preparing for the next fight

http://tinyurl.com/6c87k

The Axis Of Oil

http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/#003553
http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/3397/

Drifting from freedom

I dedicate this to everyone who is still asleep. To the rest of you, this article is just "preaching to the choir".

Ken

The Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com

Drifting from freedom
By Richard W. Rahn
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published January 30, 2005

Do you feel more or less free today than you did 10 years ago? If you
happen to be a property developer, sit on the board of a public
corporation, often travel by air, like to spend your own money supporting political candidates and causes you believe in, or are outspoken in your Christian beliefs, you almost certainly answered the above question, "Less free."

Our Founding Fathers and other political thinkers recognized that free peoples most often lose their freedoms not in one sudden blow, but by the endless erosion of liberties they once had. As a student in biology, you may have learned that if a frog is put in a pot of water slowly brought to a boil, the frog will not be aware of what is happening until it is too late. There is increasing evidence Americans, like the frog, are having their liberties slowly boiled away without realizing it.

Our very disturbing drift from freedom is reflected in the 2005 edition of the Index of Economic Freedom just published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. A decade ago, the U.S. was rated as the fifth-freest economy, this year it has dropped out of the top 10 to No. 12 -- and we once were the role model for the world.

As the authors of the Index of Economic Freedom note, the good news is that the world in general is becoming freer and, as a result, economic growth and prosperity have increased over the globe. The bad news is the U.S. has wallowed in past successes and allowed its competitive advantage to erode.

The reason to care is not only that a loss of economic freedom means less personal liberty, but the findings of this and similar studies confirm the following statement of the authors: "The countries with the most economic freedom also have the higher rates of long-term economic growth and are more prosperous than are those with less economic freedom."

The U.S. is on a government taxing, spending and, most of all, regulating, binge that in the long run is incompatible with a free and prosperous society.

We now know poor societies can become prosperous within two generations as a result of free market economic policies coupled with the rule of law.

We also know rich societies can quickly become poor. Look at Argentina, which was the seventh-wealthiest country on the planet in the early 1900s

Because of the socialist policies of the Peronists (i.e., excessive government spending and regulation, coupled with a decline in the rule of law) beginning in the 1930s, Argentina has become a poor country mired in crisis. Without a change in direction, the same fate eventually will befall the United States.

Not only is our economic freedom being eroded but also our freedom of speech, our freedom of religion and our rights of privacy and property. The McCain-Feingold Act curtailed our freedom of political speech. People engaging in "politically incorrect speech" are increasingly punished by college administrators, employers and by state and local officials (including judges), none of whom seem to have either read or understood what our Founding Fathers said they intended when they wrote the First Amendment.

Schoolchildren increasingly are penalized for bringing small symbols of their own religion to school. Anti-money laundering laws make it very difficult, if not almost impossible, for many of the young and the not well-established to open bank accounts.

If you happen to own a piece of land, whether you are a farmer, hunter, developer or just an ordinary homeowner, you are increasingly subject to an endless parade of local, state and federal officials -- and even nongovernmental public interest groups (a k a PIGS) telling you what you can and cannot do with your land. Landowners often are subject not only to laws or rules of what is and is not permitted, but to the arbitrary judgments and whims of various officials.

For thousands of years, it has been recognized people cannot be free if subject to the rule of an individual or collective rather than the rule of law. Yet even basic contract law has been made less definite in the last few decades by adding vague standards, such as "reasonable, timely and material."

Indeterminate sentencing assumes there is an appropriate sentence for each criminal as opposed to a sentence for a defined crime. Equal protection under the law has been twisted to mean unequal protection, depending on race, religion, sex (or sexual preference), weight, wealth, ethnic origin, parental and peer group influences, and political viewpoint.

Given there are almost limitless possible divisions of each of the above criteria, we are rapidly reaching a point where each individual will be subject to "law" applicable only to him or her.

Our freedoms are eroding because too many Americans fail to understand the consequences of encouraging the political class to try to protect us from all real and imagined ills -- whether it be a terrorist, a disease (including eating too much and aging), bad weather, a more efficient competitor, our own personal financial stupidity or irresponsibility, or a cigarette smoker.

Just remember: Every time you vote for a politician who promises to make the government do more for you, he also is saying that same government will make you less free and ultimately poorer.


Richard W. Rahn is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute.

GOD * FAMILY * REPUBLIC

"The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think." -- Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher

Carnivore redux

http://news.com.com/2102-1071_3-5555323.html?tag=st.util.print


Informant: Ken

The Story of the Ghost

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/013105W.shtml


Informant: NHNE

WHO comment on Draft EMF Framework

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/albanese_comment.pdf
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/albanese_jul_1996.pdf
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/who_comment_31Jan05_1.doc


Informant: Robert Riedlinger



Letter to the WHO in response to its Precautionary Framework
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/473990/

WHO Flip-Flops on EMFs, Precautionary Principle Now Revoked
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/508079/

Alaska Volcano Observatory

Here is the link for the Alaska Volcano Observatory
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/avo4/atlas/volc/venia/veni2004/index.htm


FYI - Anna

Rice lies about 'UN mandate' for US war in Iraq

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=75080;show_parent=1

Psycho Feds Target Children

Don't let Bush give them mental exams, says Ron Paul:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul232.html

An anti-democracy foreign policy: Iran

by Jacob G. Hornberger

Future of Freedom Foundation

01/31/05

When Iranians took U.S. officials hostage in the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, Americans were mystified and angry, not being able to comprehend how Iranians could be so hateful toward U.S. officials, especially since the U.S. government had been so supportive of the shah of Iran for some 25 years. What the American people failed to realize is that the deep anger and hatred that the Iranian people had in 1979 against the U.S. government was rooted in a horrible, anti-democratic act that the U.S. government committed in 1953. That was the year the CIA secretly and surreptitiously ousted the democratically elected prime minister of Iran, a man named Mohammad Mossadegh, from power, followed by the U.S. government's ardent support of the shah of Iran's dictatorship for the next 25 years...

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0501i.asp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

True globalists (should) reject empire

by David Gordon

Ludwig von Mises Institute

01/31/05

Deepak Lal writes as a convinced advocate of American Empire. But in the course of the book, he undermines his own reasons for defending imperialism and offers a devastating criticism of democratic imperialism and of Woodrow Wilson's Utopianism. Lal's basic argument for empire is straightforward: International trade is essential to prosperity. But given a high degree of disorder, large scale trade cannot occur, or at least will be greatly impeded...

http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1733


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The Shiite earthquake

by Juan Cole

Salon

The elections held on Jan. 30 in Iraq were deeply flawed as a democratic process, but they represent a political earthquake in Iraq and in the Middle East. The old Shiite seminary city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, appears poised to emerge as Iraq's second capital. For the first time in the Arab Middle East, a Shiite majority has come to power. A Shiite-dominated Parliament in Iraq challenges the implicit Sunni biases of Arab nationalism as it was formulated in Cairo and Algiers. And it will force Iraqis to deal straightforwardly with the multicultural character of their national society, something the pan-Arab Baath Party either papered over or actively attempted to erase. [subscription or ad view required] (02/01/05)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/02/01/future/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Fry the big fish, too

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42644


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Mental screening and the Parental Consent Act

by Kent Snyder

Free Market News Network

01/31/05

Last year, Congressman Ron Paul led the charge in Congress to keep federal funds from paying for universal or mandatory mental-health screening of children. Our efforts were successful in exposing the undermining of parents' right to decide what is best for their children. ... Despite the outpouring of public support we were able to generate (thank you!) and the media's coverage, Congress did not find the political will to protect the family as the 108th Congress came to a close. But this is a new Congress, and as promised, we are not giving up." [includes petition link]

http://www.freemarketnews.com/pview/79/794/html/index.php


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Abandoning liberty, gaining insecurity

by Paul Craig Roberts

LewRockwell.Com

02/01/05

Should Americans have to give up the Bill of Rights in order to be 'safe' from terrorists? Actually, it doesn't matter what Americans think. The trade has already been made -- and without any input from the people. The 'democracy' that America is exporting is in fact a Homeland Security State with more surveillance powers than Saddam Hussein...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts93.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Goldmine in Guatemala droht Flüsse zu vergiften

Eine Goldmine in Guatemala droht Flüsse zu vergiften. Bauern werden von ihrem Land vertrieben. Bitte protestieren Sie unter:
http://www.regenwald.org

Mit besten Dank für Ihr Interesse und Ihre Hilfe

Reinhard Behrend
Rettet den Regenwald e. V.

Prisoners of Conscience

http://tinyurl.com/3mz55

Aus der Trickkiste akkreditierter Messfirmen

http://www.gigaherz.ch/771/

Immissionsuntersuchungen in der Umgebung von GSM und UMTS
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/595408/

Prof. Dr. Matthias Wuschek
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/460004/

Grenzwerte und Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/242821/

Richtigstellungen von Unwahrheiten der Betreiberfirmen (und ihrer Lobby)

U.a.:

Behauptung:
Ein Fernsehsender ist ja auch gepulst.

Richtig ist:
Das Fernsehsignal hat einen 50 Hz Synchronpuls. Diese Puls-Dynamik (Unterschied zwischen schwächsten und stärksten Signalpegel) ist 20 dB (= 100fach). Beim Mobilfunk sind es mindestens 40 db (=10.000fach) bis 60 db (= 1.000.000fach). Somit ist die Dynamik (Pulsung) beim Mobilfunk um mindestens 100 bis 10.000 mal höher als beim Fernsehsignal. Außerdem haben wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen ergeben, dass gepulste Signale wie die der D- und E-Netze, biologisch wesentlich wirksamer sind als ungepulste Signale mit gleicher Leistung.


Omega siehe weiter unter:
http://www.esmog-augsburg.de/richtigstellungen.htm
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