11
Feb
2005

U.S. snubbed over Indian rights issue

FYI.

Carrie Dann


Posted on Wed, Feb. 09, 2005

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

U.S. snubbed over Indian rights issue

Indian leaders from Latin America boycotted a U.S. reception to protest a U.S. stand on the rights of indigenous peoples.

BY PABLO BACHELET

pbachelet@herald.com

WASHINGTON - John Maisto, U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, raised his glass to propose a toast. He wanted to ''welcome and honor'' the participants of an OAS conference on indigenous rights in the Americas.

The United States was hosting a reception for about 150 indigenous representatives from the Western Hemisphere who are in Washington this week for a fifth round of negotiations on an Inter-American Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

But most of the indigenous leaders had purposefully skipped the event Monday night to protest Washington's position on the declaration, giving the cavernous foyer of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian an especially empty feel.

`WE ARE NOT HAPPY'

''A boycott at the U.S. reception was our way of saying that we are not happy with the position taken by the United States,'' said Azelene Kaingaing, a Brazilian indigenous leader and vice president of the Americas Indian caucus.

U.S. officials insisted that the boycott had little impact and that the reception was still a success. They said that about 300 people were invited and that more than 250 attended.

''We didn't notice anything, of a large group of people not being there,'' said Olwyn Staples, the spokeswoman for the U.S. OAS delegation.

The OAS declaration, if it comes to pass, would be a historic document.

For the first time, it would enshrine the rights of the 40 million indigenous people in the hemisphere and perhaps set a legal precedent for Indians elsewhere.

Unconcerned with the boycott, Maisto said in his welcome speech that the U.S. government was ''proud of its long-standing commitment to tribal sovereignty.'' He also quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said during her confirmation hearing that the Bush administration was ``concerned about the indigenous peoples . . . trying to find their rightful place in a political and economic system.''

WORDING OPPOSED

Earlier Monday, as the delegates from 34 countries discussed draft language for the declaration, U.S. officials had objected to proposed language that Indians have a ''right to live in harmony with the environment.'' Kaingaing said that is a ``defining characteristic that makes our people different.''

But the United States, considering the wording vague, put forward language on harmful contaminants and procedures to correct them. As no agreement was reached, the delegations decided to move on to other sections of the declaration.

But the boycott of the U.S. reception also reflected just how the talks, which started in 2003, have become a grinding affair for one of the OAS's most ambitious initiatives.

''Sometimes in a negotiation, you go slow and then you have a breakthrough,'' Maisto told journalists at the reception. ``We're working very hard.''

The U.S. government isn't the only one being difficult, said Juan Le?n, a Guatemalan diplomat of Indian origin. Many Latin American nations worry that giving indigenous groups too much, such as the right to rule their lands, could open the doors to autonomy or even independence movements.

TOUGH ISSUES REMAIN

Even what appears to be mundane semantics can stall talks at times. For months, negotiators discussed whether it was a declaration for indigenous ''peoples'' or for ``populations.''

And the two sides haven't even begun to tackle some of the stickiest issues, like the territorial rights of Indians. ''There are indigenous peoples who want absolute control over that territory, where the Indian authorities would be in charge,'' Le?n said.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10851098.htm?1c

Over 200 U.S. Scientists Say They Are Told to Alter Findings

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/021005J.shtml

Condoleezza and Democracy, Five Paths for Reflection

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/021005H.shtml

The Threat to Bush

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/021005E.shtml

Louisiana native refuses to fight for US imperialism

Check his website and let him know you support his principled resistance to fighting in Iraq.

Les Evenchick
New Orleans


Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 22:21:23 -0800 (PST) From: Carl Webb

Subject: Louisiana native refuses to fight for US imperialism

My name is Carl Webb and I'm a soldier protesting illegal orders (Stop Loss Program) to serve in Iraq beyond the length of my contract which ended in August 2004. I refused to report for training with the Texas National Guard at Fort Hood and left Austin, Texas back in August with the intent of eventually turning myself over to the military authorities. Right now I'm creating a website at carlwebb.net where people can find more information. Click on the link to the press release below.

http://carlwebb.net/press-release.html


From ufpj-news

Tsunami, Forests & Climate Change

http://tinyurl.com/3mmyt

Northrop Grumman Establishes Directed Energy Systems Unit

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/laser-05c.html


Informant: kevcross5

Warning: Homeland Security provision - ID border issues

http://tinyurl.com/4gb68


Informant: Laurel

CIA prisoners 'tortured' in Arab jails

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4246089.stm


Informant: Charles Bremer

Law Lords terror ruling provokes constitutional crisis

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/dec2004/lord-d22.shtml


Informant: Charles Bremer

US aviation officials received 52 warnings before 9/11

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=75594;show_parent=1

House backs major shift to electronic IDs

http://news.com.com/House+approves+electronic+ID+cards/2100-1028_3-5571898.html?part=rss&tag=5568415&subj=news.1028.5


Informant: ranger116


H.R.418 REAL ID Act of 2005
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/517763/

H.R.418 REAL ID Act of 2005

Introduced in House
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.418:H.R.418REAL


Informant: Keith II


House backs major shift to electronic IDs
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/517765/

Let's do it: 500, 000 against SocSecurity cuts

http://tinyurl.com/5dad4

The New Colossus: The New Politics of Capital

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0211-23.htm

Snubbing Kyoto: Our Monumental Shame

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0211-28.htm

Democrats Aren't Giving Bush a Break This Term

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0211-11.htm

How the CIA shuttle prisoners around

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/890/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Valentine's Gold Jewelry Sales Generate 34,000,000 Tons of Mine Waste

http://www.nodirtygold.org/PRvalentine2005.cfm


Informant: Carrie Dann

Feinkostindustrie will auf Gentechnik nicht verzichten

Gentechnik: Feinkostindustrie will auf Gentechnik nicht verzichten (11.02.05)

Einige Lebensmittelbranchen weigern sich, auf genmanipulierte Pflanzen im Tierfutter zu verzichten, obwohl die Verbraucher Gentechnik bei der Herstellung von Lebensmitteln ablehnen. Das berichtet die Umweltorganisation Greenpeace. Greenpeace lägen Unterlagen vor, in denen der Bundesverband der deutschen Feinkostindustrie seine Mitglieder aufrufe, sich im Greenpeace-Einkaufsratgeber "Essen ohne Gentechnik" "rot" einstufen zu lassen, sagt die Organisation. Rot markiert sind solche Firmen, die nicht auf Gentechnik verzichten wollen oder die Aussage verweigern. Damit seien die Feinkosthersteller die zweite Branche, die sich gegen die Verbraucher stelle. Zuvor seien bereits die Molkereien von ihrem Verband aufgefordert worden, der Umweltorganisation die Auskunft zu verweigern.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=10424

480 Atombomben lagern noch in europäischen Staaten

In Deutschland gibt es nach einem Bericht einer amerikanischen Organisation noch 150 Atombomben, was einen Verstoß gegen den Atomwaffensperrvertrag darstellt...

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/19/19435/1.html

This absurd practice of governing anonymously

Here is a tiny part of the transcript of a White House press briefing on Social Security, held on Feb. 2. The transcript was published on the Washington Post's Web site.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0502100110feb10,1,1903881.column?coll=chi-news-col
http://tinyurl.com/59c5e


From Information Clearing House

No Place to Hide

Award-Winning Journalist Robert O'Harrow Goes Behind the Scenes of Our Emerging Surveillance Society.

Real Audio & Transcript.
http://207.44.245.159/article8036.htm

Diplomats say U.S. lining up allies for possible bid to oust ElBaradei as head of U.N. nuclear agency

The United States is lobbying allies in a bid to oust the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, perhaps as early as the end of the month, diplomats and officials told The Associated Press

http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~2702915,00.html


From Information Clearing House

The Return of the Draft

Uncle Sam wants you. He needs you. He'll bribe you to sign up. He'll strong-arm you to re-enlist. And if that's not enough, he's got a plan to draft you.

http://207.44.245.159/article8042.htm

Stop Paying the Exorbitant Price of George Bush’s Lies

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Feb05/Rahkonen0210.htm

The Shi'ites' Faustian pact

The majority of Iraqis - those who voted and especially those who didn't - are not willing to surrender their oil, their economy and their land to corporate America. The popular resistance, on a national level, tends only to increase. Shi'ites - from Sistani to the SCIRI - better not enter into a Faustian pact.

http://207.44.245.159/article8043.htm

Meaningless Imperial Policy

To understand the current Occupation of Iraq, it is important to recall the British Occupation of Iraq in 1920, and the crisis that followed since. The 1920 British-crafted and rigged elections saw Emir Faisal I (a Saudi living in exile in London) as the first handpicked dictator king of Iraq. Since then, Iraqis have rejected and resisted foreign interference in their affairs.

http://207.44.245.159/article8030.htm


From Information Clearing House

Further proof that under the Bush Administration truth is stranger than fiction

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/outrage?bid=13&pid=2188


From Information Clearing House

Elliot Abrams: defender of death squads to direct US “democracy” crusade

George W. Bush named Elliot Abrams as his deputy national security advisor. Nothing could more clearly expose the real aims of the US president’s worldwide crusade for “democracy” than this appointment.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/abra-f10_prn.shtml


From Information Clearing House

While the United States Makes Demands on Iran

This year the U.S. will spend nearly $7 billion to maintain and modernize nuclear warheads. Ten thousand nuclear warheads, with some 2,000 on hair-trigger alert, remain in the U.S. arsenal, each one many times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped 60 years...

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/5755/


From Information Clearing House

The Human Rights Case Against Attacking Iran

For human rights defenders in Iran, the possibility of a foreign military attack on their country represents an utter disaster for their cause.

http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/02/09/iran10159.htm


From Information Clearing House

U.S. applies different standards on nukes

A nuclear threat is a nuclear threat. Except when it’s not, according to the White House.

http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1045299&t=Nation+%2F+World&c=26,1045299
http://tinyurl.com/45z99


From Information Clearing House

Experts doubt United States intelligence on Tehran

US intelligence is unlikely to know much about Iran’s contentious nuclear programme and could be vulnerable to manipulation for political ends, former intelligence officers and other experts say.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-2-2005_pg4_18
http://tinyurl.com/4k4nq


From Information Clearing House

Iran War Drums Beat Harder

Despite the Bush administration's insistence that, at least for now, it remains committed to using diplomatic means to halt Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme, war drums against the Islamic Republic appear to be beating more loudly here.

http://207.44.245.159/article8038.htm

US N-strategy calls for outsourcing strikes

Study says nuclear warheads will be transferred to US non-nuclear allies. Experts view it as an attempt to skirt international law...

http://207.44.245.159/article8041.htm

Bush team tried to suppress pre-9/11 report into al-Qa'ida

The report, withheld from the public for months, warned US airports that if "the intent of the hijacker is not to exchange hostages for prisoners but to commit suicide in a spectacular explosion, a domestic hijacking would probably be preferable".

http://207.44.245.159/article8040.htm

Bush Wars - Crooks Get Contracts

The main companies that were awarded billions of dollars worth of contracts in Iraq have paid more than $300 million in fines since 2000, to resolve allegations of fraud, bid rigging, delivery of faulty military equipment, and environmental damage.

http://207.44.245.159/article8028.htm

Britain accused over CIA's secret torture flights

UK airports are believed to be operational bases for two executive jets used by the CIA to carry out 'renditions' of terror suspects.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=609538


From Information Clearing House

At least 37 detainees died of torture in US detention centres at Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay

A US human rights group has alleged that at least 37 detainees died of torture in US detention centres at Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

http://207.44.245.159/article8031.htm



C.I.A. Interrogator's Defense to Cite Bush at Brutality Trial:

An interrogator under contract with the Central Intelligence Agency, charged with beating an Afghan prisoner who died the next day, is basing his defense in part on statements by President George W. Bush...

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/02/11/news/defense.html
http://tinyurl.com/5m864


From Information Clearing House

Ho Hum, More War And Death

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/01/19/notes011905.DTL


Informant: Lew Rockwell

The Ghosts of Torture

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0504%2Chentoff%2C60389%2C6.html


Informant: Lew Rockwell

George Bush's 'Heartless' Budget

http://www.lewrockwell.com/browne/browne34.html

Wildlife scientists feeling heat Species-protection data suppressed, many report

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/10/MNG7QB8O531.DTL


Informant: NHNE

Protect Our Kids From Mercury Poisoning

http://tinyurl.com/52cqx

Follow the money

Salon.com War_Room

February 9, 2005

If anyone is still inclined to give the Bush administration the benefit of the doubt on its budget numbers, the latest news on the cost of the Medicare prescription drug benefit should put an end to that.

You remember the prescription drug benefit. That's the program the president pitched in his 2003 State of the Union address as costing $400 billion. The White House strong-armed the bill through Congress in November 2003, again assuring everyone who would listen that its cost over 10 years would not exceed a CBO estimate of $400 billion. Then, two months later, the White House revealed that the program would actually cost $534 billion over 10 years. And then, a few months after that, it became clear that the administration knew all along that the $400 billion number was fantasy. Internal administration projections put the 10-year cost at $551 billion, but the administration withheld that information from lawmakers as they debated and voted on the Medicare benefit. In March 2004, the chief actuary for Medicare revealed that the administration had threatened to fire him if he told Congress about the $551 projection. ... Read the rest at: http://archive.salon.com/politics/war_room/ (You will need to scroll down.)


copyright Virginia Metze

Bush's Budget Transforms the War on Poverty Into a War on the Poor

Commentary, Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2005

by Eric Garcetti, Eric Garcetti, who represents the 13th District on the Los Angeles City Council, chairs the city's Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee.

President Bush refers to himself as a wartime president, and he has shown resolve not to back down on the battlefield. But the budget he released this week waves a flag of surrender in another war, the 40-year "war on poverty."

The budget announces cuts of 28% — or $1.4 billion — from our arsenal of critical social programs. The largest and most vital to Los Angeles is the Community Development Block Grant. As more cities draw on poverty-fighting grants each year, Los Angeles' allocation has steadily decreased, from $88.6 million in 2003 to $82.7 million this year. Under the proposed cuts, our allocation would plummet by at least $15 million. ... Read the rest at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-garcetti9feb09.story


copyright Virginia Metze

Media Mangles Iraq Vote

Are the turnout numbers routinely cited by the press – 8 million and 57% – supported by reality? And was the outpouring of voters in Sunni areas really "surprisingly strong"?

by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher. Posted February 5, 2005.

Everyone, of course, is thrilled that so many Iraqis turned out to vote, in the face of threats and intimidation, on Sunday. But in hailing, and at times gushing, over the turnout, has the American media (as it did two years ago in the hyping of Saddam's WMDs) forgotten core journalistic principles in regard to fact-checking and weighing partisan assertions? ... Read the whole story at Alternet: http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21180


copyright Virginia Metze

Election day records reveal big discrepancies in 24 Milwaukee wards

It is fine for Republicans to still be trying to overturn state votes, but wrong for Democrats to do so? They are still pursuing vote issues in Wisconsin.

Voter logbooks out of whack

Election day records reveal big discrepancies in 24 Milwaukee wards

by GREG J. BOROWSKI and STACY FORSTER
gborowski@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Feb. 9, 2005

... He [state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale)] said the revelation of on-site discrepancies should be looked at by authorities who have launched an investigation into potential voter fraud. ... Read rest at: http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/300449.asp


copyright Virginia Metze

More vote reforms can wait, Ney says

I guess the Republicans do not intend to fix HAVA

More vote reforms can wait, Ney says

by Brian DeBose

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Congress should not introduce new legislation to improve the elections process or change the Help America Vote Act, the chairman of the Committee on House Administration said yesterday.

Rep. Bob Ney, Ohio Republican, said that despite rumors and conjecture about problems in the 2004 election cycle, the process was, for the most part, fair and successful. [me: for Republicans?] Mr. Ney said Congress now must wait to see results and study HAVA's effectiveness in 2004 again when it is fully implemented and all states reach full compliance next year. ...
The committee also invited six secretaries of state to share their perspectives on voting issues, but two secretaries, J. Kenneth Blackwell of Ohio and Glenda E. Hood of Florida — the two states where the largest number of irregularities were reported — did not attend the hearing.

"That the secretaries do not appear at this hearing is an affront to the people who voted them into office," Mrs. Millender-McDonald said.

"I think the secretaries should be here. ... We can have disagreements, but you can't run and hide, and I have no problem going to them," Mr. Ney said. [me: going to THEM?] ... Read the rest at the Washington Times:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050210-123409-6838r.htm


copyright Virginia Metze

Bush Cuts Draw Heat From GOP Members

Many in Congress want to achieve his spending goal, but not at the cost of popular programs

by Janet Hook and Warren Vieth, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

February 9, 2005

WASHINGTON — As President Bush began promoting a 2006 budget plan that calls for reductions in an array of popular domestic programs, Republicans in Congress on Tuesday started searching for ways to achieve his overall deficit-reduction targets without slaying such political sacred cows as farm subsidies, Amtrak and aid to states.

Many of the proposals in Bush's $2.57-trillion spending plan drew fire not only from Democrats but also from members of the president's own party who are reluctant to cut programs because they — unlike Bush — face reelection in 2006 and beyond. ... Read the rest at

http://tinyurl.com/46bvp or
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-budget9feb09.story


copyright Virginia Metze

Jeff Gannon: Hypocrite of the week

Another Buzzflash headline of the day points us to more about "Jeff Gannon" at http://blogs.salon.com/0002874/2005/02/08.html You will love this expose!

All five headlines on BuzzFlash on Wednesday were about "Gannon" and he was their hypocrite of the week.


copyright Virginia Metze

REBUILDING IRAQ: THE BUCK STOPS WHERE?

by Arianna Huffington in February 9, 2005 newsletter

With the president preparing to hit up Congress for another $80 billion for the war in Iraq, I thought it might be a good time to crack open a history book.

In 1941, as the United States was on the verge of entering World War II, Sen. Harry S. Truman launched an investigation into reports of widespread waste, corruption and mismanagement in the nascent war effort. Over the next three years, the Truman Committee held hundreds of public hearings, visited military bases across the country, and ended up saving taxpayers $15 billion dollars. His efforts also saved countless lives by rooting out contractors using inferior materials and producing shoddy equipment.

We sure could use "Give 'em Hell, Harry" today — although, given the epidemic of corruption infecting the reconstruction of Iraq, even he would have his work cut out for him. ...

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=758

Important note: if you type the link instead of clicking on it above, do NOT misspell Arianna's name, as there is a spoof web page that comes up if you spell it Arrianna and it wants your social security number if you want to join her mailing list .... 1197 people have already visited the spoof link.


copyright Virginia Metze

Republicans are attacking Senator Reid

Republicans are attacking Senator Reid with "unwarranted, unfounded, and unfair personal attacks propagated by the RNC." The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is fighting back and asks you to sign a petition: http://action.dscc.org/campaign/reid


copyright Virginia Metze

Slaughter In Iraq And ITN’s Descent Into Absurdity

MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media

February 11, 2005

RAPID RESPONSE MEDIA ALERT: ONE SECOND PER VICTIM

Slaughter In Iraq And ITN’s Descent Into Absurdity

And The Main Headline This Lunchtime

It is easy to overestimate the role of media distortion of facts in the pacification and control of modern society. In reality the imposition of absurdity and mindless distraction is at least as important. If we can be persuaded to ignore serious issues, then it hardly matters if facts relating to those issues are distorted beyond recognition or blanked. Thus, ITN’s headline on January 29, 1999:

"And the main headline this lunchtime: Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles have appeared as a couple, in public, for the first time." (ITV 1 O'Clock News, 29.1.99)

The previous year, ten minutes, or thirty-three per cent, of the BBC's 6 O' Clock News on January 26, 1998, had dealt with the Queen Mother's fall and fracture of her left hip.

These examples might seem merely comical, but in truth real issues and real suffering are buried by nonsense of this kind.

On ITN’s main lunchtime news today, anchor Andrea Catherwood reported that 22 people had been killed in Iraq in two attacks on a mosque and a bakery. The report lasted exactly 22 seconds - one second per victim. Only the basic facts were given and the carnage was not included in a summary of the day’s major stories at the end of the programme.

The 22 seconds were followed by a 5 minute 30 second report on the planned wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker-Bowles - a story also covered ad nauseam yesterday. This included some six interviews, a straw poll of public opinion, and a discussion of constitutional issues surrounding the marriage.

ITN had no time to mention that three children had been killed in the attack on the Iraqi mosque alongside 40 people wounded. It had no time to mention that no less that 50 Iraqi security personnel have been killed in three massive suicide bombings this week in the wake of Iraq’s fraudulent elections on January 30. You would not know from media reporting that this has been one of the country’s worst weeks for violence. A police officer in Salman Pak, a town fast becoming a focus of the conflict, said:

"We have never seen such fighting." (‘Eleven dead in Iraq bakery attack,’ Jenny Booth, Times Online, February 11, 2005)

This follows the killing of 10 Iraqi police during a fierce gun battle late on Thursday. Insurgents ambushed a police convoy searching for those responsible for an earlier car bomb attack - shooting went on for two hours. US attack helicopters were sent to the scene and opened fired to dislodge the insurgents.

Who is it that is deciding that the British public should be subjected to current levels of absurdity and indifference to suffering in TV news performance? Who are the people who determine what we are and are not told about the world? What are their credentials for such an important task? What are their backgrounds, connections, vested interests, likely biases?

The truth is that almost no one has the remotest clue - ITN is a massive, unaccountable business that responds far less, and far less honestly, even than the BBC to public complaints. How ironic it is that we so certainly believe we live in a free society when we have almost zero understanding of, and zero control over, the means of mass communication.

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 the following journalists. Ask them how they can justify spending 22 seconds on the deaths of 22 Iraqis before spending 5 minutes 30 seconds on a royal wedding:

ITN Programme Editor for today‘s lunchtime programme, Patrick Hubbard
Email: patrick.hubbard@itn.co.uk

ITN Director of today‘s programme, Munro Forbes
Email: munro.forbes@itn.co.uk

Andrea Catherwood
Email: andrea.catherwood@itn.co.uk

David Mannion, Head of ITN
Email: david.mannion@itn.co.uk


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


Visit the Media Lens website: http://www.medialens.org

Euro-Geldscheine mit RFID noch in diesem Jahr

http://www.vdi-nachrichten.com/vdi_nachrichten/aktuelle_ausgabe/akt_ausg_detail.asp?source=rubrik&cat=3&id=20837

Advocates for veterans decry VA fee hike

"It is wrong for the president to hike health care fees for veterans to pay for a tax cut for the wealthy we cannot afford," U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) said through spokesman Josh Freed. "This does not reflect the real priorities and values of our nation."

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2814

Iraq War veteran faces court martial for seeking psychiatric care

An Army Reserve officer from Powell [Tennessee] is a veteran of two wars in Iraq. Now, he's facing a battle on two fronts, personal nightmares and the Army he loves. First Lt. Phillip Goodrum might go to jail for seeking psychiatric care or he might be dishonorably discharged.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2811

Military concerned over treatment for returning soldiers

Over the last year, thousands of Tennessee guardsmen and Reservists went to Iraq and Afghanistan. It's the largest call up in over 50 years. ... An Army study shows that one in seven returning Iraq war vets suffers from depression.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2810

Bush Administration's First Memo on on al-Qaeda Declassified

Then-National Security Advisory Condoleezza Rice stated in a March 22, 2004 Washington Post op-ed, "No al Qaeda plan was turned over to the new administration." The documents posted to the National Security Archive web site today indicate Rice was given robust details about al Qaeda and a plan to attack them by Richard Clarke. Yet Rice did nothing. Well before 9/11, al Qaeda was in the U.S. and capable of launching "military style, large-scale terrorist operations," Clarke wrote. The public should have known about the administration's inaction much sooner.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2815

FAA Confirms Warnings About Al Queda Suicide Hijackings Before 9/11 Attacks

The world would be very different if the public knew these facts on September 12, 2001: "In the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal aviation officials reviewed dozens of intelligence reports that warned about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, some of which specifically discussed airline hijackings and suicide operations, according to a previously undisclosed report from the 9/11 commission." Remember, President Bush was briefed in August 2001 about suicide attacks, yet he remained on vacation for a month in Texas.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2807

How To Talk To A Conservative

by American Progress Action Fund

A guide to help liberals refute the myths circulating about Social Security.

http://www.tompaine.com/action/#003701

So Long, Erin Brockovich

by Amanda Griscom-Little, Grist

The Senate just passed a bill making it harder for citizens to hold corporations accountable.

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=8brq97aab.4l8gm9n6.gjcr97aab.tiniiyn6.80374&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tompaine.com%2Fopinion%2F%23003710

Can You Say Class Warfare?

by Paul Krugman, The New York Times

The president's budget gives Democrats a golden opportunity to denounce Bush as a guardian of privilege.

http://www.tompaine.com/opinion/#003705

Iraq's Harry Truman

by Arianna Huffington, TomPaine.com Exclusive

In praise of a bipartisan effort to scrutinize U.S. expenditures in Iraq.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/iraqs_harry_truman.php

CPR4Democracy - Feb. 11, 2005

http://tinyurl.com/6sjow

Not In Our Name

STATEMENTS OF CONSCIENCE AGAINST WAR AND REPRESSION

"No election, whether fair or fraudulent, can legitimize criminal wars on foreign countries, torture, the wholesale violation of human rights, and the end of science and reason."

http://www.nion.us/


Informant: Carol Wolman

Iran - Kriegsvorbereitungen

Aus Anlass des Bush-Besuches ein neues Special: Iran - Kriegsvorbereitungen.
http://www.labournet.de/krieg/iran/

Krieg gegen Terror: "Amerikaner spähen Ziele in Iran aus"

Geheime Kommandos der Vereinigten Staaten haben in den vergangenen Monaten nach einem Bericht des amerikanischen Starreporters Seymour Hersh mögliche Angriffsziele in Iran ausgespäht. Dies berichtete die angesehene Zeitschrift "New Yorker" am Sonntag. Artikel in FAZ.NET vom 17. Januar 2005. http://www.faz.net/s/RubDDBDABB9457A437BAA85A49C26FB23A0/Doc~E3F2583770CC3411B9C60B4DEDA7593D3~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

Siehe dazu den (englischen) Artikel mit einer deutschen Zusammenfassung auf der Seite des Friedenspolitischen Ratschlags:
http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/regionen/Iran/hersh.html

Die Bush-Administration antwortete darauf mit:

Bush: Militärschlag gegen Iran möglich

Der amerikanische Präsident George W. Bush schließt einen Militärschlag gegen Iran nicht aus, falls Teheran nicht umfassend über sein Atomprogramm Auskunft gebe. Artikel in FAZ.NET vom 18. Januar 2005.
http://www.faz.net/s/Rub28FC768942F34C5B8297CC6E16FFC8B4/Doc~E5E2F40DDAB0447D580B0304E2EA5F7F5~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

Aus dem Text:"…In einer ersten Reaktion auf einen Bericht des Magazins "The New Yorker" über angebliche amerikanische Vorbereitungen für einen Krieg gegen Iran hatte Bushs Berater Dan Bartlett dem Autor Seymour Hersh zwar "zahlreiche Ungenauigkeiten" vorgeworfen, aber sich nur wenig Mühe gegeben für ein echtes Dementi…"


"Vorposten der Tyrannei"

Die designierte Außenministerin der Vereinigten Staaten, Condoleezza Rice, hat Iran und die Länder Birma, Kuba, Nordkorea, Simbabwe und Weißrußland als "Vorposten der Tyrannei" in der Welt gebrandmarkt.

Artikel in FAZ.NET vom 18. Januar 2005.
http://www.faz.net/s/RubDDBDABB9457A437BAA85A49C26FB23A0/Doc~E77DC32CEF26D4FF59B98E4090998C3AA~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

Aus dem Text: "…Wir können nicht ruhen, bis jeder Mensch, der in einer Gesellschaft der Furcht lebt, schließlich seine Freiheit gewonnen hat…"


Antimilitarismus

Bush-Besuch am 23. Februar 2005 in Mainz

NOT WELCOME, MR. BUSH! Für eine friedliche und soziale Welt! Aufruf, den ein Aktionsbündnis aus verschiedenen Organisationen und Personen anlässlich des bevorstehenden Besuchs des US-Präsidenten Bush am 23. Februar 2005 beschlossen und veröffentlicht hat, in einer endgültig redigierten Fassung.

http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/bewegung/Bush-Besuch/mainz-aufruf.html


Bush-Besuche in der Bundesrepublik

US-Präsident Bush besucht am 23. Februar 2005 Mainz, am 22./23. Mai 2002 war er in Berlin - Informationen, Aufrufe, Dokumente im Special des Friedenspolitischen Ratschlags
http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/bewegung/Bush-Besuch/Welcome.html


An alle IndianerInnen, Greenhorns, Cowgirls und Cowboys im Norden, Süden, Westen, Osten und in Berlin. Die Cowgirls und Cowboys für den Frieden rufen auf: Kommt nach Mainz am 23. Februar! Denn Bush ist in der Stadt und will mit Schröder für mehr Krieg kuscheln! Aufruf der Cowgirls und Cowboys für den Frieden (pdf)
http://www.bushinmainz.de/images/downloads/aufruf_cowgirlsboys.pdf

Not welcome, Mr. Bush!
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/495034/

Alle Infos zu den Protestaktionen auf den Aktionsseiten
http://www.notwelcomebush.de/ und
http://www.bushinmainz.de/


Gedicht zum Thema:

Vorbildliche Erledígung

Wer politische Fragen
militärisch beantwortet
und Beziehungsprobleme
zwischen den Staaten
mit Kriegen löst

Der soll sich nicht wundern
wenn Schüler ihre Schulprobleme
vorbildlich
erledigen

Gedicht von Hartmut Barth-Engelbart von 2005, geschrieben kurz vor dem Bush-Besuch, nach Ahrensburg, Erfurt, Freising und Columbine.


Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 22, Eintrag 9

Kriege um Wasser

Das bedeutet Privatisierung wirklich: Sich das gemeinschaftliche Erbe der Natur anzueignen und es in den Privatbesitz von jemanden zu verwandeln, der Kapital daraus schlägt

Kolumne von Mumia Abu-Jamal in junge Welt vom 05.02.2005

http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/02-05/011.php



Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 22, Eintrag 9

Neue EU-Dienstleistungsrichtlinie drückt europaweit das Lohn- und Sozialniveau nach unten

Die neue EU-Dienstleistungsrichtlinie drückt europaweit das Lohn- und Sozialniveau nach unten. In der Fleischindustrie wird Deutschland schon heute als Billiglohnland geschätzt. Artikel von Helmut Lorscheid in junge Welt vom 15.01.2005

http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/01-15/009.php


Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 22, Eintrag 9

Militarisierung der Europäischen Union

Verfassungsschutz für EU. Europaparlament bildet "Schnelle Eingreiftruppe", um Kritik an der Militarisierung der Europäischen Union in den Medien auszumerzen. Artikel von Christian Sorender in junge Welt vom 02.02.2005

http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/02-02/006.php


Neue Broschüre zur EU-Militarisierung

Die IMI hat Fakten und Argumente gegen die EU-Verfassung vor allem aus antimilitaristischer Sicht in einer neuen Broschüre (24 Seiten, DinA5) zusammengestellt. Neben Artikeln zur EU-Militarisierung werden zentrale militärpolitische Paragraphen aus dem Verfassungsvertrag und aus Protokollen dokumentiert. Die Broschüre mit dem Titel "Nein zu diesem EU-Verfassungsvertrag!" kann für eine Schutzgebühr von 50 Cent pro Exemplar (plus Porto) unter imi@imi-online.de bestellt oder unter folgender Adresse heruntergeladen werden:
http://www.imi-online.de/download/EU-Broschuere.pdf


GewerkschafterInnen für ein anderes Europa

Dieser Aufruf wurde auf dem ESF in London erstellt. Unterschriften werden in ganz Europa gesammelt und sind zu richten an die untenstehenden Kontaktadresse. Deutlicher als der Aufruf der Versammlung der sozialen Bewegungen fordert er überall zu Volksentscheiden gegen die EU-Verfassung auf.

http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/eu/verflondon.html


Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 22, Eintrag 9

Videoüberwachung gerät in der Bundesrepublik ausser Kontrolle

Anfragen und Antworten zu Videoüberwachung. Videoüberwachung gerät in der Bundesrepublik ausser Kontrolle - Zeit für ein paar Anfragen von SAFERCITY.DE

Artikel von Thomas Brunst vom 21.01.2005 bei indymedia
http://de.indymedia.org/2005/01/104648.shtml


Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 22, Eintrag 9

Bundesinnenminister will Widerspruchsrecht gegen Verbote aushebeln

Bundesinnenminister will die Empörung über die NPD zu Einschränkung der Demonstrationsfreiheit ausnutzen und Widerspruchsrecht gegen Verbote aushebeln. Artikel von Ulla Jelpke in junge Welt vom 28.01.2005

http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/01-28/015.php


Aus: LabourNet Nachrichtensammlung, Band 22, Eintrag 9

Kalifornische Schüler zu RFID verdonnert

http://www.silicon.de/cpo/news-storenet/detail.php?nr=19030

Datenschützer warnen vor „verwanzten Tickets“

http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/artikel.asp?id=780674


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

Verfahren wegen Handy-Gebühren

EU-Kommission nimmt T-Mobile und Vodafone ins Visier / Durchleitungskosten zu hoch?

http://www.wiesbadener-tagblatt.de/wirtschaft/objekt.php3?artikel_id=1784603


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

US government caught using fake reporters to spread propaganda

The American regime has been caught setting up fake reporters to deceive the people by passing off propaganda as genuine news and comment. A fake White House correspondent, James Guckert, quit his job at the Talon News site after he was publicly exposed.

The hipocrisy of Guckert is typical of many conservatives in the West who speak proudly about their right-wing views and criticise others while turning a blind eye covering-up their own guilty little secrets. All along Guckert has been secretly making money setting up gay porn websites.

A wise man once asked an important question that all of us should ask from time to time: "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3; Thomas 26.)

Source: The Guardian, UK (11 February 2005).

http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0905

Lobbyismus entschärfen – Nebeneinkünfte veröffentlichen

Nebeneinkünfte: Campact-Aktion an den Ältestenrat zeigt Wirkung
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/674002/

Freitag, der 11. Februar 2005

Für Berliner: Nehmen Sie am kommenden Dienstag an unserer Aktion vor dem Bundestag teil!

Weisen Sie Freunde und Bekannte auf die beiden Online-Aktionen hin!

Unsere Kampagne befindet sich auf der Zielgeraden. Die Entscheidung über eine Veröffentlichung von Nebeneinkünften von Abgeordneten steht nun unmittelbar bevor: Am nächsten Montag will sich die rot-grüne Fraktionsspitzen auf einen gemeinsamen Vorschlag verständigen. Am Dienstag soll dieser Vorschlag beim Treffen der Parlamentarischen Geschäftsführer der Opposition vorgelegt und eine Einigung erzielt werden.

Zumindest Rot-Grün scheint auf unsere Forderung einzugehen: Abgeordnete sollen ihre monatlichen Einkünfte danach in Einkommensgruppen veröffentlichen müssen
http://www.campact.de/aktuellemeldungen . Damit wären wir fast am Ziel. Entscheidend wird sein, wie fein diese Abstufung ausfällt und ob Wähler/innen hieraus klar abschätzen können, wie stark die Abhängigkeit des Abgeordneten von seinen Geldgebern ist.

Doch noch ist nicht alles in trockenen Tüchern. Sowohl im Regierungslager als auch in der Opposition droht es weiterhin Widerstand zu geben. Deswegen müssen wir den Druck erhöhen. Gestern hat Campact bereits in einem Offenen Brief gemeinsam mit dem BUND, Transparency International und Mehr Demokratie die Parlamentarischen Geschäftsführer aufgefordert, sich am nächsten Dienstag auf eine Veröffentlichung von Nebeneinkünften zu einigen
http://www.campact.de/offenerbrief .

Am kommenden Dienstag sind wir dann unmittelbar vor Ort: Vor dem Treffen der Parlamentarischen Geschäftsführer werden wir mit schwarzen und weißen Schafsmasken, überdimensionalem Geldkoffer und großem Transparent symbolhaft eine Veröffentlichungspflicht fordern. Unterstützt wird Campact bei dieser Aktion von Attac, BUND und Mehr Demokratie. http://www.campact.de/aktionberlin

Machen Sie mit!

- Wenn Sie am nächsten Dienstag in Berlin sind: Beteiligen Sie sich an der Campact-Aktion. Treffpunkt Dienstag 15.2. 9.30 Uhr an der Südwestecke des Bundestages Scheidemannstr. Ecke Simsonweg. Bitte vorher bei Christoph Bautz anmelden: bautz@campact.de

- Unterzeichnen Sie die Sammelpetition an den Bundestag http://www.campact.de

- Schicken Sie – falls noch nicht geschehen – Ihren Abgeordneten die Wahlkreis-Email und fordern Sie die Veröffentlichung von Nebeneinkünften: http://www.campact.de

- Schicken Sie Freunden und Bekannten eine E-Mail und fordern Sie sie auf, an den Aktionen teilzunehmen. Einen E-Mail-Text zum Weiterleiten haben wir für Sie am Ende dieser E-Mail vorbereitet.


Günter Metzges



E-Mail-Text zum Versenden an Freunde und Bekannte:

Liebe/r

mit dieser E-Mail möchte ich Dich auf die Kampagne des Online-Netzwerks Campact für eine Offenlegung von Nebeneinkünften von Abgeordneten hinweisen. Wähler müssen wissen, welche Abgeordneten wirklich ihre Belange und welche in erster Linie die Interessen einzelner Unternehmen vertreten. Auf der Webseite http://www.campact.de kannst Du eine Sammelpetition an den Bundestag unterschreiben und per E-Mail Deinen Wahlkreisabgeordneten auffordern, sich aktiv für eine Offenlegungspflicht für Nebeneinkünfte einzusetzen. Die Aktion wird von Transparency International unterstützt. Weitere Infos: http://www.campact.de/

Mit herzlichen Grüßen

--------

Aktion vor dem Bundestag fordert Veröffentlichung von Nebeneinkünften (15.02.05)

In einer Aktion vor dem Bundestag hat am Dienstag ein Bündnis von BUND, Attac, Mehr Demokratie und Campact für die Veröffentlichung von Nebeneinkünften der Bundestagsabgeordneten demonstriert. Die Aktion fand im Vorfeld der Verhandlungen der Parlamentarischen Fraktionsgeschäftsführer statt, die über Konsequenzen aus den Skandalen der vergangenen Wochen berieten. "Nur durch mehr Transparenz können Bürger die schwarzen Schafe in der großen Zahl von Abgeordneten ohne relevante Nebeneinkünfte ausmachen", so Christoph Bautz, Pressesprecher von Campact. "Sie dürfen hierbei nicht länger auf Enthüllungen und Indiskretionen angewiesen sein."

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=10448

--------

Lobbyismus entschärfen - Nebeneinkommen offen legen
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/488263/

Lobbyismus schadet Wirtschaftsstandort Deutschland
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/468471/

Das Who ist Who - Kritisierte und Debatierte Fälle von Nebeneinkünften
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/488351/

Parteipolitik und Lobbyismus behindern Umweltschutz
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/459492/

Aufruf gegen Lobbyismus
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/464200/

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

Chemiekonzern Bayer in poltischen Ämtern aktiv
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/464082/

US government suppressed warnings before 9/11

Federal officials were repeatedly warned in the months before the 11 September 2001 terror attacks that Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'ida were planning aircraft hijackings and suicide attacks, according to a new report that the Bush administration has been suppressing.

Please read the full report:
http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0906

Source: The Independent newspaper, UK (11 February 2005)


Informant: The Insider

Republicans centralizing power

by David Gregory

MSNBC

02/09/05

'The Republicans are centralizing power, they're growing the bureaucracy, they're growing the budget, and they're taking rights away from the states,' says James Thurber, the director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. ...

Beyond the growth of government, the Bush White House has made government more involved in people's lives -- intrusive, conservatives say -- something they consider taboo...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6942108/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

"Sistani Tsunami" sweeps away Bush plan

by Haroon Siddiqui

Toronto Star

02/10/05

The imminent historic rise of religious Shiite power in Iraq, with its inevitable linkages to Iran, is decidedly not what President George W. Bush had bargained for. In fact, he spent the last 22 months trying to prevent just such an outcome. Yet, here is his administration sounding sanguine about the sweeping electoral win of the slate blessed by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. It is saying he won't establish mullahcracy in Iraq. It doesn't know that. It is only hoping so. Only a handful of people know what Sistani really wants. He won't allow any American near his home in Najaf, let alone take a phone call from Bush...

http://tinyurl.com/3wgbf


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Government schools aren't teaching kids about their freedoms

by Bob Smith

No Force, No Fraud

02/11/05

That almost half of our young people don't understand or don't agree that freedom of speech and press is essential is a most dangerous sign for the future of our society. As has been true since the Bill of Rights was added to our Constitution, it is precisely our own government against whom we must protect our natural liberties. Government censorship or manipulation of the press is a sure step toward totalitarianism...

http://babelogue.citypages.com:8080/bsmith/2005/02/11


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Fighting for Islamic law

by Harold Meyerson

The American Prospect

02/10/05

Suppose, as a result of George W. Bush's decision to go to war there, that Iraq turns into Iran? Just what do we do then? As the vote-counting continues in last month's Iraqi elections, it's clear that the predictable has in fact occurred: The electoral alliance put together and dominated by Iraq's Shiite clerics has swept to power. It will command a clear majority in the National Assembly, with the Kurds, Sunnis and various secular groups bringing up the rear. It will write the national constitution, although, according to the soon-to-be-replaced transitional authority of Ayad Allawi, the new document needs a Kurdish and Sunni buy-in to go into effect. That, at least, is the theory. In practice, the clerics are getting restless. For the first time in Iraq's unhappy history, the Shiite majority will control a national government...

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=9163


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The march of statism

by Dan Olson

Strike the Root

02/10/05

Republican conservatives decry liberal taxation and redistribution, while liberal Democrats denounce conservative dogmatic morality and militarism, each failing to realize that their own statist preferences merely compliment [sic] the other's. The moral statism and vast armies now lauded by neoconservatives have shown themselves time and again to tend uncontrollably towards economic enslavement. Likewise, as our government grows fat with liberal taxation and bolder with every social experiment, individual liberties come under attack. These opposite ends of the statist spectrum converge in their contempt for economic and individual freedom...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/51/olson/olson2.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Domestic gibberish

by Sidney Blumenthal

Guardian [UK]

02/10/05

Fear made George Bush's presidency, gave him his 'mission,' and allowed him to remain in office. Before September 11, he had drifted to the lowest approval rating ever for a president after just eight months on the job. Throughout the 2004 campaign, Republicans hammered 'September 11,' 'terrorism' and 'Saddam Hussein' like an anvil chorus.

Bush got his victory; it was the smallest win of any second-term president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916, but he acts as if it is the moment of deliverance Republicans have been waiting for since Herbert Hoover lost the White House. Fear fostered Bush's 'political capital,' so he sees no reason why it should fail him now. ... Since September 11, without variation, Bush's poll numbers have paralleled the quantity of news stories about terrorism. ... The war on terrorism is his meta-narrative. But what happens when the ground shifts?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1409556,00.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Iraq's dodgy election

by Justin Raimondo

AntiWar.Com

02/11/05

Over ten days after the election was declared an unmitigated success -- and some wimped-out liberals immediately began changing their wooly little minds about the war -- we still haven't had any official results announced. And all sorts of shenanigans seem to be going on, of the sort that, if they had happened in Ukraine, say, there would have been an immediate outcry in the West, with all the usual suspects palavering about 'election fraud' and sneering at the legitimacy of the entire process.

... With the U.S. handing out Cabinet posts, and still only vague promises as to when the actual election results are going to be announced, we have the right -- nay, the duty -- to ask: what's up with that? Except nobody's asking it: not our mainstream journalists, and certainly nobody in Washington, which is still preoccupied with an orgy of self-congratulation...

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=4807


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Death by a hundred and fifty cuts

by Matthew Continetti

The Weekly Standard
'
02/11/05

[T]he truth is that a budget is nothing more than a set of assumptions. The 2006 budget proposal assumes Congress will make the Bush tax cuts permanent, actually -- something that hasn't happened, and isn't guaranteed. The budget proposal assumes Congress will agree to its small, 1-percent cut in discretionary spending over five years -- something that hasn't happened, and isn't guaranteed. And the budget proposal assumes Congress will, at the White House's request, eliminate or consolidate 150 federal programs -- something that hasn't happened, and isn't guaranteed. You've heard, I assume, about the 150 programs the Bush administration wants to eliminate. But do you know which 150? If so, please send me an email. No one I know has a clue -- not even Joshua Bolten, who oversees the people who oversee the 'budget process...

http://tinyurl.com/45v6v


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Students under surveillance at school

California: Students under surveillance at school

San Francisco Chronicle

02/10/05

Angry parents, saying their children's privacy rights are being violated, have asked the board of the tiny Brittan School District to rescind a requirement that all students wear badges that monitor their whereabouts on campus using radio signals. Located between the massive silos of Sutter Rice Co. and the Sutter Buttes, this small town has 587 kindergarten through eighth-graders who are the first public school kids in the country to be tracked on campus by such a system, which is designed to ease attendance taking and increase campus security. 'This is the only public school monitoring where children go, with kids walking around with little homing beacons,' said Nicole Ozer, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer aiding several parents who oppose the badges, which students wear around their necks...

http://tinyurl.com/5jyyj


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Budget proposes "Screening Coordination" office

Washington Post

02/09/05

The Bush budget calls for the Department of Homeland Security to create an office called Screening Coordination and Operations that would absorb some programs of TSA and other divisions. The office would oversee records on millions of Americans and foreigners in vast databases that contain digital fingerprints and photographs, eye scans and personal information from travelers and transportation workers

.... Government officials want to explore whether a program designed to vet the backgrounds of airline passengers, for example, would work for screening travelers using other modes of transportation." [Post articles may require registration, or use login "info@news-digests.com/news-digests"]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9089-2005Feb8.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Attackers will face a "scorching hell"

Iran: Attackers will face a "scorching hell"

Houston Chronicle

02/10/05

A month after President Bush warned that the United States hasn't ruled out military action against Iran, President Mohammed Khatami responded today that his country would turn into a 'scorching hell' for any possible attackers. Khatami's comments, before a crowd of tens of thousands gathered on a snowy square in Tehran to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, came amid an escalating exchange of rhetoric between the United States and Iran. Washington accuses Tehran of maintaining a nuclear weapons program, which Iran says is for peaceful energy purposes...

http://tinyurl.com/5nkm7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

2004 US trade deficit: $617.7 billion

Denver Post

02/11/05

The American trade deficit broke the $600 billion barrier in 2004, soaring to $617.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, but the gap narrowed in December in part because sharply lower oil prices cut the cost of energy imports. The deficit now accounts for more than 5 percent of the American economy, a level that adds further pressure to push down the value of the dollar and increases the amount of U.S. debt held overseas...

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2704773,00.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

FOLTER: Spurensuche zwischen Allmacht und Wahnsinn

Die nächste live Sendung ist am 18. Februar 2005 um 19.00 auf 92.6 Mhz - der Frequenz von Radio Helsinki - im Raum Graz/Steiermark als auch on-line zu hören. Für Fragen und Kommentare während der Sendung steht Ihnen CROPcom zur Verfügung - der liveChat. Thema der Sendung die von Chris Haderer und Claudia Altendorfer moderiert werden wird:

FOLTER. Spurensuche zwischen Allmacht und Wahnsinn.

Die Folter ist keine Erfindung des Mittelalters und sie ist auch nicht mit der spanischen Inquisition ausgestorben. Sie ist eine Alltagserscheinung, die auch die zivilisierten Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union nicht ausnimmt. Erst im Frühjahr 2004 kam es im niederösterreichischen Flüchtlingslager Traiskirchen zu einem Vorfall, bei dem ein Asylwerber mit brennenden Zigaretten misshandelt wurde. Und in Deutschland drohte der Frankfurter Polizeipräsident Wolfgang Daschner einem gefassten Entführer mit Folter, sollte er den Aufenthaltsort seines Opfers nicht verraten.

Folter ist ein ständiger Begleiter des Menschen auf seinem Weg durch die Evolution; ausgehend von mythologischen Blutritualen über die Verbrechen der Kirche bis zum amerikanischen Guantanamo. Über die Zusammenhänge zwischen Lust, Gewalt und Mythologie sprechen Chris Haderer und Claudia Altendorfer mit Prof. Horst Herrmann, Autor von "Die Folter. Eine Enzyklopädie des Grauens."

Themenseite und Materialsammlung zur Sendung
http://crop.mur.at/g7/folter.html

Big Brother News
http://crop.mur.at/g7/bigbrother

Telefongast der Sendung:
Prof. Horst Herrmann (Soziologe, Autor
http://egora.uni-muenster.de/soz/personen/herrmann.shtml )

Moderation:
Chris Haderer ( http://crop.mur.at/g7 )
Claudia Altendorfer, Theaterwissenschaftlerin, mail: cea@nextra.at



Tarek Al-Ubaidi

THE BATTLE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN: SAY NO TO FLUORIDATION

THE BATTLE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN !

URGENT ANTI-FLUORIDATION RALLY AT LABOUR CONFERENCE IN GATESHEAD THIS SUNDAY

13th February 8.am onwards

This is a very important and very urgent request. The Government are trying to sneak Water Fluoridation in by stealth, you will not have heard a single cabinet member talk about this issue outside of parliament. They know it would be a disaster to do so, they are keeping it very low profile and hope that literally no one will notice.

This weekend sees the first of the spring conferences. The General Election Campaign is underway and politicians will become very tetchy about unpopular issues gaining profile. That is exactly why we are attending.

We are aiming to attend for the Sunday and this is the time for anyone opposed to this to stand up and be counted. The conference is taking place at the Sage Centre in fluoridated Gateshead, right next to the Tyne Bridge. We will be leafletting the delegates and try to talk some sense into them.

We know that our information is breaking pro-fluoride arguments down and people are becoming unhappy about it.

It is very short notice, we know that! But if you have nothing planned for Sunday, come and see the sights of Newcastle, meet with friends and take part in democracy. Simply make your way to the main entrance and you will find us. If you live under 100 miles away there really is no excuse, what could be more important????

There are many facets to this issue, the substance they use is a toxic industrial waste. Medicating people against their own free will and consent is a violation of their Fundamental Rights. We know that in Gateshead which is fluoridated 54% of children suffer from dental fluorosis, the mottling and pitting of teeth caused by over-exposure to fluorides. Thats right it is poisoning the population. It was the Governments funded study which made these findings, The York Review.

Many of you will hear proponents of Fluoridation quoting the York Review as an endorsement of fluoridation. Nothing could be further from the truth and in fact this blatant misrepresentation is the subject of the letter featured on this page from the head of the York Review Team Prof Trevor Sheldon. I suggest you print this letter off and make it available on your stalls/meetings etc, it is a crucial document and gives a lie to the frankly disgusting and dishonest assertions made by the BFS and the BDA, who seem to have recruited the BMA. Are these people for real and who the hell do they think they are?

http://www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk/sheldon_letter.html

For for many of us the theft by the state of our right not to be subjected to an enforced medical intervention is perhaps the most sinister development in recent times. More removal of individual liberty and evidence of an emerging totalitarian mindset in Government. Once this precedent of mass medication has been established what will be next.

We lose forever control over our own bodies and are reduced quite literally to the ranks of cattle in what is essentially an uncontolled experiment on the population.

Please email us to let us know if you can come and how many of you, this is an exceptional opportunity do not leave it to someone else, we need to show them some real opposition.

It will be a busy conference for protests we must be there and we must be seen or we will be drowned out. But there will be many other protesters to talk to and get our message across to which is very important at this time.

Heres to Sunday, see you there!


Best wishes

Peter Crampton and the Newcastle Crew who need your support.


Your water is about to be poisoned with a toxic industrial waste. It is illegal, it is mass medication, it violates your human rights and is known to cause serious adverse health effects. Only one thing can stop it - YOU! SAY NO TO FLUORIDATION.

From Peter Crampton
West Yorkshire Campaign Against Fluoridation
01422 884451 judithcrampton@onetel.com


From Mast Network

Nachweis für Gesundheitsrisiko durch Mobiltelefone

von Mark Prigg, Wissenschafts-Korrespondent

Evening Standard 9. February 2005

übersetzt aus dem Englischen: Evi Gaigg

Ärzte behaupten heute, dass sie den ersten Beweis für durch Mobiltelefone verursachte Gesundheitsprobleme gefunden haben. Sie sagen, mehr als 5 % der Bevölkerung könnten an Kopfschmerzen, Verstimmungen und Hörproblemen leiden, die durch die Strahlung der Handys verursacht werden. Die Experten raten den Leuten – speziell Kindern - den Gebrauch ihrer Mobiltelefone zu begrenzen, wenn sie Kopfschmerzen oder andere Symptome verspüren.

Die Forschung wurde durch die Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA) = Vereinigung irischer Umweltärzte an 16 Personen durchgeführt, die Symptome durch den Mobiltelefongebrauch aufwiesen und teilweise sensitiv auf elektromagnetische Strahlung reagierten.

Diese 16 wurden über einige Monate hinweg beobachtet. Sie wurden von Ärzten in einem detaillierten Fragenkatalog nach Gebrauch ihres Mobiltelefons befragt und sie wurden medizinischen Tests unterzogen, eingeschlossen Blut- und Leberanalysen.

Es wurden 13 Symptome gefunden, eingeschlossen Übelkeit, Kopfschmerzen und Schwindel, von denen die Forscher glauben, dass sie eine klare Indikation für die Strahlung sind. Der IDEA-Vorsitzende Dr. Philip Michael sagte: "Diese verursacht bei einem großen Teil der Bevölkerung Missempfindungen."

"Wir arbeiten an den Grundlagen für eine größere Studie, welche Blindtests benutzt, um zweifelsfrei nachzuweisen, dass Mobiltelefone verantwortlich sind, aber wir glauben, dass der Beweis nun überwältigend ist."

Er riet allen, die an den Symptomen leiden, die die Studie beschreibt, die Zeit, die sie mit Telefonieren verbringen, zu limitieren und zu versuchen, sich von Mobilfunkmasten fernzuhalten. Die Forschung wurde diese Woche einem ausgewählten Komitee der irischen MPs vorgestellt, welches, so hofft man, Pläne für weitere Forschung machen wird.

Andere Experten im gleichen Forschungsfeld sagten, sie seien nicht über die Resultate der Forschung erstaunt. Dr. Michael Maier vom Imperial College sagte, es sei noch mehr Forschung nötig und er fügte hinzu: "Es gibt so viel anekdotische Beweise, ich denke, mehr Erkenntnisse auf dieser Ebene sind unverzichtbar."

„Das größte Problem ist jenes, dass es kaum möglich ist, irgendwelche Wirkungen bei den Leuten zu messen, die ihr Mobiltelefone so verschieden benützen. Aber das Gehirn ist ein elektrisches Instrument und die Frequenz, die die Strahlung produziert, ist jener, die im Gehirn erzeugt wird, so ähnlich, dass es keine große Überraschung ist, wenn man ein Telefon findet, das dessen Frequenz stört und Kopfschmerzen, Übelkeit und andere Probleme hervorruft.

Letzten Monat haben Experten die Regierung gewarnt, Kindern unter 8 Jahren ein Mobiltelefon zu geben, weil es potenzielle Gesundheitsrisiken birgt. Sir William Stewart, der Vorsitzende der Gesundheits-Vorsorge-Gesellschaft sagte: "Ich denke nicht, dass wir unsere Hände auf unser Herz legen und sagen können, Mobiltelefone seien sicher. Wenn es da Risiken gibt. und wir denken, es kann Risiken geben, dann sind es die Kinder, die am meisten betroffen sind."

Diese Studie des NRPB kam zu keiner abschließenden Schlussfolgerung, dass es eine Schädigung durch Mobiltelefone gibt.

IDEA besteht aus 30 führenden irischen Ärzten und ist der WHO angeschlossen. Sie ist ein Teil einer Gruppe, die 1985 den Nobelpreis für Physik erhalten hat. Unter den Mitgliedern ist Dr. Patrick Hillery, der Ex-Präsident von Irland und EU-Kommissionsmitglied.

http://www.gigaherz.ch/879

Quelle: http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/elektrosmog-liste/message/4931


Nachricht von Reinhard Rückemann

--------

Handy
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/321708/

Ärzte und Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/408385/

Wissenschaft und Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/293807/

Proof of mobile health risk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/513848/

Bush's Budget: The War on Working People Continues

On Monday, George W. Bush launched an unprecedented attack on poor and working people in the U.S. His proposed a $2.57-trillion budget will cut domestic programs to seniors, veterans, children, and the poor by $20 billion dollars next year.

This budget proposal is an outright declaration of war on working people. It is part of a neoconservative effort to attack the welfare of working people and force working people in this country to accept third world working conditions – no health care, no pensions, no rights. These cuts are not necessary. They the intended result of tax cuts for the rich and massive military spending for a needless war. They are part of a neocon plan to “starve the beast”, to create artificial crises in order to justify slashing spending for the welfare of the people, while at the same time increasing spending for the welfare of the rich.

The Pentagon budget will be increased to $419 billion, plus an additional $80 billion for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan--nearly half a trillion dollars. The U.S. will spend about as much money on its military as the rest of the world combined. The Pentagon budget will be larger than the rest of the planet's combined.

Bush also wants to make his tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, which carry a price tag of $1.1 trillion through 2014.

To pay for the military buildup and tax cuts, Bush's budget includes $20 billion in cuts to over 150 programs, many of them targeted toward low-income people. Bush also calls for terminating 65 federal programs.

There are many more attacks in this budget than can be raised in a single statement or email. These cuts come at a time when poverty in the U.S. has risen by 14 percent--one in eight now live in poverty, one in five children. The number of people in the U.S. without health insurance -- more than 45 million and rising -- has reached a record. Affordable housing is beyond the reach of more and more working people.

These cuts include:

Food stamps will be cut by over $1 billion over the next five years.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs budget will be cut by $100 million.

About one-third of the programs being targeted for elimination are in the Education Department, including federal grant programs for local schools in such areas as vocational education, supporting drug-free schools and Even Start, a $225 million literacy program.

The proposed budget eliminates 7 programs providing $16 billion in grants for low-income urban areas and replaces them with one program funded at $3.7 Billion. The new program, which replaces programs in HUD, Education and other areas is to be run by the Commerce Department. Why Commerce? The stated purpose is to direct these grants away from public organizations and toward faith-based (religious) organizations and private businesses.

Medicaid - medical care for the poor, the disabled, the elderly and children - will be cut by $45 billion.

As home heating costs are on the rise, Bush's budget cuts the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LI-HEAP) by $200 million- making it harder for working families to pay their heating bills.

The budget increases the cost of prescription drugs for veterans more than 100%, charges veterans $250 per year for promised health care, and will close VA hospitals throughout the country while veterans still wait months just to see a doctor.

The proposed budget is especially brutal in attacking immigrants. It eliminates the Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers program while claiming that “workers can be better served through the Nation’s system of One-Stop Career Centers”, although that program is being cut from $963 million to $84 million itself. It provides a $68 million increase for a program that seizes children whose parents have been deported and turns them over to right-wing religious groups.

The budget eliminates funding for The Rural Housing and Economic Development (RHED) Program, which funds housing for rural families.

Bush’s budget eliminates the Perkins Loan, a federally subsidized loan program for college students.

In addition to cuts in crucial programs, the proposal includes efforts to increase red tape and make it harder for workers to collect unemployment insurance. It similarly makes it harder for states to administer Medicaid and SCHIP benefits effectively by curtailing the ways in which they can use federal money to administer those programs. And the budget is riddled with religious initiatives, such as “Abstinence Only Education” and “Healthy Marriage” programs. The list goes on and on.

Bush's budget demands that the poorest and most oppressed pay for the costs of his tax breaks to the wealthy and for his program of endless war.

March 19: Working People Fight Back

Anyone who has looked at the Bush budget recognizes that this is a declaration of a new phase of the war against working people here. We must fight back.

March 19 will be a day of protest around the world. In New York City the day begins with a march from Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park to the main rally site at the East Meadow in Central Park.

Momentum for March 19 is growing. New endorsers and organizing centers are coming forward every day. (An updated list of endorsers and organizing centers is available at http://www.TroopsOutNow.org ) Buses, vans, and car caravans are coming from Washington D.C., Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and many other cities.

In the face of this new phase of the war against working people and the continued occupation of Iraq, it is imperative that antiwar, progressive, labor and community organizations join in a united demonstration of opposition to the Bush agenda of war, repression, and corporate greed.

This budget is another offensive strike in Bush’s continuing war against working people. All activists and organizations that struggle for justice and peace have an obligation to respond. Bush and Wall Street are united and determined in their attacks on workers; we must answer them with a greater unity and determination.

Help Build a Movement to Fight Back

1) Endorse the March 19 Demonstration in Central Park http://troopsoutnow.org
2) Organize transportation from your area http://troopsoutnow.org
3) Help get the word out -- Download leaflets from http://troopsoutnow.org
4) Forward this email to your lists

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
iacenter@iacenter.org


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