http://100777.com/node/1154


Informant: Andy

http://www.traprockpeace.org/death_penalty_26mar05.html


Informant: Charles Jenks

From ufpj-news

For liberty

Article by Alberto Mingardi.
http://www.mises.org/story/1775


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Spreading 'Freedom' by Force

Jude Wanniski on America's gunboat diplomacy:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/wanniski/wanniski66.html

TAKE ACTION: Don't Let the Senate "Go Nuclear"
posted 03/30/05

Urge your Senators to oppose undermining Senate rules created to protect the minority.

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=10041836&url_num=9&url=http://hq.demaction.org/dia/organizations/movingideas/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=522

by Ed Lewis

Liberty For All

03/30/05

When one's pride of country is destroyed, along with it goes respect for the people of the country. It does not mean that one has come to hate one's country, but only the actions taken in the name of the people, while the people sit dumbfounded in ignorance. It also does not mean that one has come to hate the people, but instead only their lack of action against government that is absolutely out of control, whether the lack of action is based on fear, ignorance, laziness, or the excuse of 'not wanting to be involved.' Good Lord, People, wake up and smell the roses instead of the stench from government...

http://www.libertyforall.net/2005/mar27/disappointment.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Pat Buchanan

WorldNetDaily

03/30/05

Americans must face a hard truth. The state of Florida put Terri Schiavo to death. Before Holy Week, she was neither dead nor dying. For 15 years, she had been cared for by nurses and visited by loving parents. She was not dying until the judge ordered her dead, by ordering her feeding tube removed. Then it has taken her nearly two weeks to die, as he blocked the reinsertion of the feeding tube and ordered police to prevent anyone from giving her water...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43541


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Bert Brandenburg

Slate

03/29/05

As they grow more confident, enemies of the courts are growing more extreme. Buried within the Real ID Act recently passed by the House is a provision that would swap martial law for the rule of law. If enacted, the bill would give the secretary of homeland security unilateral power to waive any law on the books that might interfere with the building of border fences -- including civil-rights and minimum-wage protections, and even criminal laws. Courts would be barred from ever reviewing the secretary's stroke of the pen. Measures like these flow from a view of our courts as little more than enemy combatants...

http://www.slate.com/id/2115924/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://babelogue.citypages.com:8080/bsmith/2005/03/30


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The government's plan is to track students individually and in full detail as they complete their post-secondary education. The threat to our students' privacy is of grave concern, and the government has not satisfactorily explained why it wants to collect individual information.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8410.htm

As Texas governor, George W. Bush presided over 152 executions, more than took place in the rest of the country combined. In at least a few of these cases, reasonable doubts were raised about the guilt of the condemned.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050329%2FOPINION%2F503290390%2F1015
http://snipurl.com/dqze


From Information Clearing House

SHARP-tongued Mahathir Mohamad, scourge of currency traders worldwide, has said the US dollar is headed for a 'catastrophe' and will never regain its old strength.

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/business/articles/timid399280?source=
http://snipurl.com/dqzb


From Information Clearing House

Maher Arar, a 35-year-old Canadian engineer, is suing the United States, saying American officials grabbed him in 2002 as he changed planes in New York and transported him to Syria where, he says, he was held for 10 months in a dank, tiny cell and brutally beaten with a metal cable.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8409.htm

And, there are more allegations of prisoner abuse in detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.kten.com/article.asp?id=7258


From Information Clearing House

They see absolutely no justification for this war and were constantly asking me to explain how the American people can support these acts against a civilian population. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed to be an American.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8407.htm

Almost twice as many Iraqi children are suffering from malnutrition since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, a U.N. monitor said Monday.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/30/un_iraq_kids_suffer_from_malnutrition/
http://snipurl.com/dqys


From Information Clearing House

A newly released memo shows that US General Ricardo Sanchez authorized illegal interrogation techniques in Iraq just months before the Abu Ghraib abuses. Colin Powell, meanwhile, regrets misinforming the UN about Iraq WMDs.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8406.htm

by Scott Ritter

The American media today is sleepwalking towards an American war with Iran with all of the incompetence and lack of integrity that it displayed during a similar path trodden during the buildup to our current war with Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8408.htm

Wie in Hessen beispielhaft für Deutschland der Sozialstaat überwunden werden soll

* (mit Fotomontagen 'Reform für die Zukunft der Reichen' und 'Alle Macht geht vom Volke aus') Urteil im Namen des Volkes

* Eine reale Fiktion von Hans-Dieter Hey Geschichtsunterricht

Alte Plakate - aktualisiert

http://www.arbeiterfotografie.com/sozialraub

Verband: Speicherung von Verbindungsdaten sabotiert Persönlichkeitsrechte

29. März 2005 - 19:42 Uhr

Düsseldorf - Bereits im Mai 2004 hatte der Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW) e.V. prophezeit, was nun konkrete Gestalt annimmt: Die bis zu 36 Monate lange Speicherung aller Kommunikationsdaten aus dem Internet und Mobilfunk. Trotz massiver Kritik hält Bundesinnenminister Otto Schily an diesen Plänen fest. Als Begründung für diese Absicht wird dabei vor allem der Kampf gegen den Terrorismus ins Feld geführt. Nachdem Schily mit ähnlichen Ansinnen in den bundespolitischen Gremien gescheitert war, versucht der Innenminister nun offenbar, mit Hilfe der Europäischen Union seine Ziele durchzusetzen. Die betroffenen Telekommunikationsunternehmen, Daten- und Verbraucherschützer, ja sogar Teile der Regierungskoalition reagieren fassungslos.

"Im Fahrwasser der Terrorismusbekämpfung wird hier der Versuch unternommen das Recht auf informationelle Selbstbestimmung auszuhebeln. Die angestrebte Speicherung von Vorratsdaten würde jedoch nicht nur die Grundrechte der rund 450 Millionen EU-Bürger einschränken, indem man sie pauschal unter Terrorismusverdacht stellt. Die dadurch entstehende gigantische Datenmenge würde die Provider mit Zusatzkosten, die bis in dreistelligen Millionenbereich gehen, belasten," kritisiert BVDW-Präsident Arndt Groth die aktuelle Entwicklung.

Käme es tatsächlich zu einer Verabschiedung eines Rahmenbeschlusses durch den EU-Ministerrat müssten alle Daten, die im Zusammenhang mit öffentlichen elektronischen Kommunikationsdiensten (vor allem Internet, E-Mail, SMS) anfallen, mindestens zwölf bis maximal 36 Monate auf Vorrat gespeichert und auf Ersuchen der zuständigen Behörden zu Ermittlungszwecken zugänglich gemacht werden. Begründet werden diese Schritte mit der "Vorbeugung, Untersuchung, Feststellung und Verfolgung von Straftaten, einschließlich Terrorismus".

"Angesichts des erheblichen Eingriffs in die Rechte aller Nutzer, der zu erwartenden Kostenlawine für Internetprovider sowie der völligen Unklarheit, wie das immense Datenaufkommen überhaupt ausgewertet werden soll, ist die Sinnhaftigkeit dieses Vorhabens fraglich", so Friederike Behrends, Leiterin des Arbeitskreises Medienpolitik im BVDW. "In Anbetracht der Eile, in der dieses fragwürdige Vorhaben durchgesetzt werden soll, besteht der Eindruck, dass es eher um die Profilierung einzelner Politiker geht als um einen effektiven Terrorismusschutz", so Behrends weiter. .

Gleichzeitig belegen die Erfahrungen mit Anbietern illegaler Inhalte (wie etwa Kinderpornographie oder Raubkopien), dass eine solche Regelung kaum zielführend ist. "Gerade terroristische Kreise sowie die Erscheinungsformen der organisierten Kriminalität wissen, wie sie ihre Spuren über Anonymisierungsdienste oder der Verschlüsselungen von Nachrichten verwischen können", erklärt Groth. Eine Feststellung, die im Übrigen auch vom Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragten Peter Schaar geteilt wird.

http://www.net-tribune.de/article/290305-12.php


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/cober/earth.htm

This is the first time I have seen this information about grounding that ties-in specifically with the "inflammatory" reactions related to EMR plus lots more...... Even if it is a site that offers items for sale, there are "actual journal references" cited. Take care - Joanne

The Lutec 1000 is the first free energy machine to be developed to commercial stage anywhere in the world.

The Lutec 1000 generator will produce up to 1000 watts of DC electricity twenty four hours a day, every day, which will be stored in a battery bank and then inverted to AC power and connected directly into the home or business.

The Lutec 1000 draws the power it requires to run itself from the same battery bank. The average house in Cairns, Queensland, uses only fourteen of the twenty four kilowatt hours able to be stored in twenty four hours by this method.

The batteries will last ten years. The generator is expected to come with a conditional ten year warranty.

The magnets that are responsible for the generation have an effective life of one thousand three hundred years.

This product is non polluting. It will assist to bring down green house gases and therefore help cure our sick and dying planet. There are strong community health benefits. It will help slow the rate of use of non renewable resources, like oil. It will help reduce airborne emissions of gases and elements that ruin our forests and lakes.

No buying petrol or diesel to run generators. No having to depend of the sun coming out, no flooding perfectly good farm land to build hydro systems, no nuclear meltdowns or disposal problems with radioactive by-products, no high sulphur and nitrous content, foul smelling, coal burning.

Buyers can structure their repayments so that the power produced pays for their purchase.

Convenience plus, no more black outs, brown outs, interruptions because of line maintenance, lightning strike, heavy rain, strong wind, fire, cyclone, flood, poor maintenance at power stations.

Add to all that better computer security, personal security, more heating, more disposable income, more cooling, more appliances purchased because it costs nothing to run them.

There are many, many more excellent reasons why everyone should have one of these.

http://www.lutec.com.au/


Informant: maintzger

Ministerien: Mindestens 868 Beschäftigte oberster Bundesbehörden mit Nebenjob (30.03.05)

Viele Beamte und Angestellte in Bundesministerien gehen einer Nebenbeschäftigung nach. Nach einer Antwort der Bundesregierung auf eine Anfrage der Union haben 868 Spitzenbeamte und Arbeitnehmer aus den obersten Bundesbehörden einen genehmigten Nebenjob. Das sind 3,8 Prozent der insgesamt 22.636 Beschäftigten bei den obersten Bundesbehörden, schreibt "Die Welt". In einzelnen Ministerien seien es bis zu zehn Prozent der Mitarbeiter.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=10765

Die nächste live Sendung ist am 1. April 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 Sednung:

Gefahren des Mobilfunks

Eine unlängst veröffentliche EU Studie (Artikel >>
http://www.merkur-online.de/nachrichten/vermischtes/forschung/art302,176485.html) wies erstmals mögliche DNS Schäden durch Mobilfunk Strahlung nach. Die Frage ist nun ob die Mobilfunk Industrie auf diese neuen Erkenntnisse adäquat reagieren kann oder will. Nimmt man mögliche gesundheitliche Schäden der werten Kundschaft bewusst in Kauf? Kann man diese Technologie sicherer machen bzw. durch eine schadfreie ersetzen? Kann man was tun? Ingrid Grubauer von der Bürgerwelle Österreich wird in der nächsten Sendung zu Gast sein um über dieses Thema zu sprechen. Siehe dazu auch die Sendung vom >> 13.12.2002 zum Thema Mobilfunk.

Website der Bürgerwelle e.V. >> http://www.buergerwelle.at/deutsch_start.html
eco.log Elektrosmog-Forum >> http://ecolog.twoday.net/topics/elektrosmog/
Big Brother News >> http://pia.mur.at/g7/bigbrother/

Studiogast zur Sendung:
Ingrid Grubauer (Bürgerwelle Österreich >> http://www.buergerwelle.at )

Hinweis: Der Live-Stream von Radio Helsinki wurde auf OGG-Vorbis umgestellt, Player wie z.b. WinAmp sind in der Lage dieses Format wieder zu geben. Er sollte jetzt zuverlässiger funktionieren - näheres dazu, sowie die Links zum Stream findet man auf der Website von Radio Helsinki >> http://helsinki.at/live-stream.php

Tarek Al-Ubaidi

by Michael Shermer, Los Angeles Times

On "Intelligent Design" as marketing tool for Christian conservatives.

http://tompaine.com/opinion/#004281

30-31 March 2005 at Future Brief provided by New Global Initiatives, Inc.

"The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. The study contains what its authors call 'a stark warning' for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself. 'Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted,' it says." Learn more in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1447863,00.html

London (dpa) - In den vergangenen 50 Jahren haben die Menschen einer internationalen Studie zufolge der Umwelt so großen Schaden zugefügt, dass die Existenz zukünftiger Generationen gefährdet ist.

Weiter unter:
http://www.netdoktor.de/nachrichten/index.asp?y=2005&m=3&d=31&id=118396

The Campaign for America's Future is set to launch the biggest television ad campaign in our history against the most corrupt -- and one of the most powerful -- politicians in Washington, Tom "the Hammer" DeLay. All Americans -- particularly DeLay's own constituents -- must be made aware of his flagrant and repeated corruption, so that we can work together to knock DeLay from his House leadership post.

Help us air a new TV ad to call out DeLay's corruption for hundreds of thousands of his own constituents and upwards of one million Americans. Help us nail "the Hammer!"

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=85452

The corruption of today's Congress has reached unparalleled heights, and as with fish, the rot starts at the head. Tom DeLay leads the Republican majority in Congress, and epitomizes the blatant corruption, abuses of power and partisanship all too common among the extreme right wing.

Tom DeLay thinks he can wash his hands of corruption. But, no matter how hard he tries, he can't remove the dirt -- because it's a part of him. Here are just a few examples of DeLay's appalling corruption -- which need to be called out and ended once and for all!

> Taking campaign contributions from a polluting energy company in exchange for what company officials believed would be "a seat at the table" during Energy Bill negotiations.

> Taking a luxury vacation to Europe bankrolled by an Indian gambling casino, and then killing legislation -- opposed by the casino -- that would have cracked down on online gambling.

> Strong-arming a Republican member of Congress to side with big drug companies and HMOs during the 2004 Medicare bill. (The Republican colleague originally accused DeLay of outright bribery.)

> MORE: http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=85453

Help us expose even more of Tom DeLay's dirty deeds to the American people, so that we can push the Congress to finally wash its hands of Tom DeLay!

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=85452

Our plan is to air this ad for a week straight for upwards of 400,000 households -- households full of DeLay's Texas constituents and DC colleagues -- the people with the power to remove him from his House leadership post.

For the first $20,000 contributed, the Campaign for America's Future will match every dollar 4-to-1 to expose DeLay's corruption for even more people. With this match, every $10 you contribute will put this ad in front of 160 households for a full week! Please contribute today.

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=85452

Tom DeLay once shouted at a government employee who tried to stop him from smoking on government property, "I am the federal government." His arrogance and repeated corruption show a man who believes he's above the law, and who has lost respect for our democracy's checks on absolute power. Let's remind the American public and Tom DeLay both that, in fact, WE are the federal government, and that we won't tolerate corruption in our Congress -- especially among its leaders.

Let's show Tom DeLay that although he can't wash his hands of his own corruption, we stand ready to press the Congress to wash its hands of him.

http://action.ourfuture.org/ctt.asp?u=1742757&l=85452

Thank you again for your support!

Sincerely,

Ellen S. Miller, Deputy Director
Campaign for America's Future

P.S. Help us spread the word about Tom DeLay's corruption. Please forward this email to friends and post information about Tom DeLay on your favorite blog!

Here's a letter from Senator Barack Obama:

I'm writing today about a senator who needs your urgent support. Senator Robert Byrd was one of the first senators I met with when I came to the Senate 3 months ago. Senator Byrd understands the history, the importance and the role Senate plays in our government--at 87 years old, he's the most senior senator.

He has spoken out passionately against a Bush foreign policy that has alienated our allies throughout the world. Today, he is fighting an attempt by Republicans to change the 200-year old rules of the Senate that would allow Republicans to ram federal judges through the Senate with no regard for what others might say. Above all, Robert Byrd understands just how sacred the Constitution of our country truly is and fights every day to protect it.

Now he needs our help. In 2006, Senator Byrd will be the target of Republicans because he stands up for what he believes.

I want to be sure Robert Byrd is here fighting for us in the Senate. Will you join me in supporting his campaign for re-election, before a critical deadline this Thursday?

You can give online at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/give/byrd.html?id=5282-1410598-lt05gH1xwqiWDNLnFWFxBQ

I hope you will give generously to help send Robert Byrd back to the Senate for another term to fight for the Constitution and the freedom of speech we all enjoy.

I don't have to tell you how important every Senate seat is right now. Just last week, the Senate voted 51-49 to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling and Republicans now threaten even more drastic measures such as privatizing Social Security.

Last fall, I had the privilege to write and ask your help to support candidates and help us take back the U.S. Senate. And your response was nothing short of amazing--you raised more than $1 million for seven Senate candidates, providing them with much-needed resources at the end of their campaigns. I'm happy to be part of these efforts again.

A Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate would mean a real change in the priorities of Washington, but more importantly, it would provide significant change for everyday people across America.

Remember, in order to win back the Senate majority, we need Robert Byrd.

The work you do is extremely important--you and millions of others, working through MoveOn, have helped change the way politics works in this country. Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.


All deception in the course of life is indeed nothing else but a lie reduced to practice, and falsehood passing from words into things. ---Robert South


Informant: Martin Greenhut

Umweltinstitut München e.V. - Newsletter vom 30. März 2005

Antibiotika-Resistenzgen in Lebensmitteln?

Skandal um versehentlich vertriebenen illegalen Genmais

Ein neuer Lebensmittelskandal weitet sich aus: Der versehentlich vertriebene illegale Genmais Bt10 enthält Resistenzgene gegen das Antibiotikum Ampicillin. Dieses ist in der Humanmedizin weit verbreitet. Wie das Unternehmen Syngenta zugeben musste, ist dies der Unterschied zu der zugelassenen Linie Bt11, mit der die Lieferungen verwechselt worden waren. Auch über die Menge der in den Handel gelangten Menge an Saatgut hatte Syngenta falsch berichtet. Nicht einige Hundert Tonnen, wie anfangs behauptet, sondern rund 187.000 Tonnen Genmais sind in die Nahrungskette gelangt. Auch in die EU wurde der nicht zugelassene Mais geliefert, räumte das Unternehmen inzwischen ein. Noch ein Grund, auf sicherere Ernährung aus ökologischem Landbau umzusteigen.

Lesen Sie weiter in unserer Pressemitteilung vom 30. März:
http://www.umweltinstitut.org/frames/allg/press/f-20050330.htm

Unsere Pressemitteilung vom 23. März:
http://www.umweltinstitut.org/frames/allg/press/f-20050323.htm


Hans Ulrich-Raithel, Dipl.- Ing. (FH)
Vorstand

--------

Nahrungsmittel: Nicht zugelassener Süßmais mit Antibiotika-Resistenzgen außer Kontrolle (30.03.05)

Nach Darstellung des Umweltinstituts München hat der Gentechnikkonzern "Syngenta" in den letzten vier Jahren "versehentlich" rund 187.000 Tonnen Genmais illegal in die Nahrungskette gebracht. Der Genmais mit der Bezeichnung "Bt10" enthalte Resistenzgene gegen ein Antibiotikum, das in der Behandlung von Menschen weit verbreitet sei. Der Mais sei zudem kein Futtermais für Tiere sondern ein Süßmaiss, der explizit für den menschlichen Verzehr gedacht ist. Syngenta habe auch über die Menge der in den Handel gelangten Menge an Saatgut falsche Angaben gemacht, schreibt das Umweltinstitut. Zuerst sei nur von einigen hundert Tonnen die Rede gewesen. Das Unternehmen habe sich zunächst auch nicht dazu äußern wollen, in welche Länder der Mais exportiert worden sei. Inzwischen habe es jedoch zugegeben, dass auch in die EU geliefert worden sei. Die Maislinie "Bt10" sei in keinem Land der Welt für den menschlichen Verzehr zugelassen, unterstrich das Umweltinstitut. Andreas Bauer, Gentechnikexperte beim Umweltinstitut München betonte, dass US-Behörden und Syngenta seit Monaten von der Kontamination wussten, ohne die Öffentlichkeit zu informieren. Er sprach von einem "Vertuschungsskandal ersten Ranges". Alle Maisimporte aus den USA müssten umgehend gestoppt und alle Produkte, in denen der Mais gefunden werde, müssten aus dem Verkehr gezogen werden.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=10771



Syngenta's GM Maize Scandals
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/599693/

Date: 20.3.05

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

THE TRUTH IS OUT.

Dear Editor

Being concerned why Councils allow so many Telecommunication Masts (TM’s) in our communities I started asking the question “How much money does my Council (Tameside, Greater Manchester) receive from these mast being on Council land?” To my surprise my Council said “Out of the 85 masts at present in Tameside they get £199,629 a year in business rates that they then give back to Central Government who then re-distribute in the form of a grant to Local Government.

I was then interested into how much nationally would this total be and so I wrote to the Chancellor’s office under the “Freedom of Information Act” and was directed to the Government Valuation Officer in Manchester and what he relayed to me explained why this and every Government loves TM’s wherever they may put these masts.

In the UK there are 21,706 masts paying a Rateable Value and the total sum a year is a staggering £303,421,394. No wonder the Government encourages mobile phone companies to blight our communities with these masts.

The L.C.P are against masts in our communities and want to see such masts removed from housing estates, leisure centres, hospitals and most of all our schools NOW.


Jack A Crossfield
Party Leader.
Local Community Party (L.C.P.)
Candidate for the General Election 2005 in Ashton-under-Lyne including, Droylsden, Failsworth and Hollinwood.


FYI

Regards
Lisa


From Mast Network

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=624667


Informant: NHNE

The primary focus of the January and February Gauss Network meetings was a proposal to create a support group specifically for people who have chosen not to have cell phones. It is intended to be international and include anyone who for any reason opts out of mobile telephony, plus a sub-chapter for people who have been forced against their will to have a cell phone (by job, family, etc.) but would like to quit. There is a consensus that the primary focus should be on people with no cell phones because most have had to sacrifice relationships and many suffer tremendous social pressure, not to mention the physical torment some experience. The group would provide information and emotional support to people in their quest to be rid of these dangerous, enslaving, environmentally destructive devices.

The proposal was brought up by Mr. Yuzo Hidaka, who described his search for work in delivery services without a cell phone. He found a job under these conditions with one company, and was able to demonstrate that he could work more efficiently than drivers with cell phones, who tended to waste time chatting or texting and also suffered lapses of attention, for example, allowing the customer to walk off with registered mail chits while they answered their ringing phone. Public phones are becoming less frequent (I see them at intervals of 1 km along most major roads), but with careful planning, attention and a good memory for places (all of which may be diminished by cell phone use), a delivery driver can be more efficient without a cell phone. However, laws have changed in Japan recently, putting more pressure on companies to keep track of their delivery personnel, therefore they are likely to demand cell phone use, notwithstanding the recent big news that even hands-free use leads to increased occurrence of accidents and the fact that delivery vehicles are bigger, resulting in deadlier accidents.

Regarding the usefulness of cell phones in emergencies, Mr. Hidaka noted that when he called the police, they often didn't show up for twenty minutes or more. It seems they are often overwhelmed by cell phone calls, many of them frivolous. Other disadvantages include the high cost of dialing a cell phone number from a land line.

A big problem in Japan, and elsewhere, I imagine, is news bias. We hear about miraculous rescues, but failures or cases where a phone was used to facilitate a crime are downplayed. For example, in the aftermath of the Niigata earthquake last fall, cell phone service was lost to many places. One search was apparently delayed when loved ones assumed 'no news is good news,' but in fact there had been an accident but no way for the victim to communicate. Nonetheless, I know one lady whose family subsequently demanded she get her own cell phone "in case there is a big earthquake like the one in Niigata." Regarding children and cell phones, even if we discount the medical concerns, the devices can be a tool for criminals to use against the children. Recently, a young girl here was kidnapped and killed, and the unimaginably cruel perpetrator used the child's cell phone to send photos of the crime to the distraught mother. This was reported, but the wisdom of having children carry cell phones was never called into question. Regarding the emitted radiation, there have been cases of loss of control of wheelchairs, for example, resulting in a few fatalities, but this is not widely known. The anger of people who feel themselves to be physically affected is more widely known, but ascribed to neurosis.

Meanwhile every one of us without a cell phone has been asked repeatedly when we are going to get with it. Especially in Japan, but probably elsewhere too, you are considered selfish for being so inconvenient. If you say, "They give me headaches," people respond, "Well then why don't you have your child/spouse/roommate use one for you?" The government body overseeing mobile telephony has officially declared that there are no effects. That is the heart of the problem for us.

One person attending the January meeting has worked as a conductor on commuter trains in the Tokyo area. His job has included cautioning people not to use cell phones aboard the train. He has had fights three times, and just avoids people who look like they would cause trouble. Many of us have experienced this here. No matter how politely you approach people, they are so unaccustomed to being asked for understanding that they take your request as an attack and respond unpleasantly. I myself have tried providing such people a leaflet with information on why I am making such a strange request, but gave up when it became obvious that these were not read, but contributed to Japan's ubiquitous litter.

There is still some disagreement over what the Japanese name of the support group should be. Currently favored appears to be "Non Keitai" (keitai= cell phone). I have proposed "Union of Mobile Non-Users" which rolls off the tongue nicely, but if anyone has a better idea, please let me know. Other details have yet to be worked out. I will provide a translation later of Mr. Hidaka's call for people to join the group.

A different topic, which is now a focus of much debate in the media, concerns the effects of computer games on children. People have noticed effects all along, including lack of interest in studying at school. Recently certain kinds of violent crime have increased, and computer games are being blamed. One recent article in the Japanese press mentions that some see violence, withdrawal and other antisocial behavior as caused by TV games, but ascribes it to bad content of games, stressing the usefulness of computers in education. A second article discusses filtering the content. Computers are needed to some extent for participation in current adult society, but about 99% of school kids use computers and cell phones solely for games and entertainment. Regarding the psychological view that the content is what is causing the violence, this is very difficult to measure and leads to purposeless debating on whether humans are normally violent or peaceful at heart. Yet it is hard to avoid a sense of crisis on observing the effects of IT on children.

The amazing things power companies can get away with never cease to shock us. A new high tension line of 66,000 V is being constructed in Ome City, western Tokyo, on 12-meter pylons, resembling those used for household electricity supply. The lines will be a mere six meters above ground and will extend four km through a hilly semi-rural area, leading to protests of possible environmental degradation from the EMF.

There has also been news in Japan recently regarding electrical sensitivity, with specialists calling for "preventative measures against electrical hypersensitivity, a condition about which there is still little known." Diagnosis, it says, is difficult and many aspects of the causal relationship between electromagnetic radiation and symptoms remain unclear, but specialists are calling for prevention and countermeasures. One man is noted to have changed residence five times (in Japan, note there are significant financial barriers to changing residence):

"'I get a headache just from passing below power lines,' says tax accountant Mutsuo Sano (70) of Futtsu City, Chiba Pref. In 1993 he developed a burning chest pain of unknown origin, which persisted. He traveled in to Tokyo from his residence in Kamakura to seek medical care, but train travel also caused him pain. In 1996, an acquaintance suggested the possibility that it was due to electromagnetic radiation, and it clicked. He had been renting out the first floor of his house as a cafeteria and was living on the second floor, right above the commercial refrigeration equipment and fluorescent lighting. Just outside the window were high tension lines. 'I was exposed to considerable EMF through the floor,' says Sano.

"He has changed residence five times to try and escape from such an environment. He chooses his place to sleep at home based on the readings of an EMF meter. Last autumn, he settled into his current residence. He has found some relief from the pain, but as a preventative measure, he shuts off the electric power breaker before sleeping. Since he cannot use a personal computer because he feels the EMF, he works with a calculator. On the train, he boards cars with no motor under the floor, and in town, he keeps an eye open for overhead high voltage lines and avoids them.

"The term electrical hypersensitivity was coined in America in around 1990, but people were known to be affected by it before then."

There has also been more study on changes in blood flow in persons with EHS:

"The Kitasato Kenkyujo Hospital Clinical Environmental Medical Center (in Minato-ku, Tokyo), together with the Japan Posterity Fund (currently the Fund for Safety in Food and Lifestyle), investigated changes in blood flow due to EMF exposure. They chose five healthy persons and five others claiming symptoms of electrical hypersensitivity, and exposed them with no announcement of timing to EMF ranging from 16 Hz to 1 megaHertz. Only one of the healthy subjects showed any changes, but all of the subjects who'd been aware of their own sensitivity to EMF showed a decrease in blood flow at the times they were exposed to the EMF, with some showing a decrease of as much as 40%. Prof. Ko Sakabe of Kitasato University, who headed the research, says, 'There are still few cases and the scientific relationship between the changes in blood flow and the symtpoms is not well understood yet, but this may provide a basis for establishing a method of diagnosis.'

"With no standards for diagnosis except the patient's subjective awareness, EHS has been diagnosed in many cases as a psychological disease in which the patient 'imagines he is harmed by EMF' or treated as an autonomous nervous disorder. The symptoms also vary widely among sufferers, including headaches, chest pains, fatigue, lethargy, insomnia, trembling of fingers, palpitations, breathlessness, pains in eyes, nose or joints, dry skin, etc. Scientific journalist Takenori Ueda says that according to the Sweden's Association for Electrical Hypersensitvity, 'As of now the only ways of treating EHS are to avoid EMF and to rest. If you are aware of it, it would be wise to take precautions such as reducing of time you use electrical devices.'

"Tetsuo Kakehi, representing the citizens group 'Gauss Network, the All-Japan Network for Addressing EMF-related Problems,' which established Japan's 'Electrical Hypersensitivity Network' in 2000, says 'Of the 1000 or so members the Gauss Network, about 100 have EHS. There are no solid figures, but the number of people with EHS appears to be increasing.'"

A lot of really great research gets done in Japan. As I've noted before, this is a blessing in disguise of being politically powerless. If the powers that be don't have to worry about you, they don't have to bother trying to squelch you. I caught a snippet on TV about some university research into the phenomenon of people sensing the presence of unseen others. The research demonstrated that people can in fact feel changes in electrical voltage caused by muscular motion in the unseen person. They performed an experiment which showed that seven out of ten people could sense changes in electrical voltage of equipment nearby. They hypothesized that it was sensed via pressure receptors in the skin. The subjects reported a creepy feeling or sensation of fingers on their back. Hairy people are said to be more sensitive, but otherwise it is unclear why some are more sensitive than others. Some are so sensitive, they said, that they can identify unseen, unheard persons approaching them. The TV gave far too little information: voltages, Teslas, etc., and I missed the name of the university. But one thing is clear: the subjects were not being exposed to thermal levels of EMF.

The Gauss Network cooperates with other environmental organizations with similar focus, such as those opposing the insanity of building nuclear reactors in seismically active zones. In February, we were treated to a presentation about the Ladakh people of the high Indian Himalayas, the happiness they found in the old ways of life, which exhibited great wisdom, and the misery that modernization has recently imposed. They fall victim easily to advertising, which is aimed particularly at young men, so a counteractive measure has been established of sending a few of the young men to New York to see what the actual reality is behind the bright make-believe world of advertising. This has been successful, but people need to come together more because the task is so big.

For anybody visiting Japan, Gauss Network usually meets once a month on the third Saturday in the afternoon. For more information call them at 042-565-7478, e-mail: tez7@nifty.com, home page: http://www.gsn.jp/


Informant: Pat Ormsby

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/antennen_ueber_das_baurecht_verhindern.pdf

Rathaus-Antenne gestoppt: Bürger machen mobil
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/rathaus_antenne_gestoppt_buerger_machen_mobil.pdf

Bebauungsplan als Waffe gegen Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/472279/

Planungshoheit der Gemeinden
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/400143/

Beschränkung von Mobilfunkanlagen durch Verabschiedung entsprechender Bebauungspläne
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/352950/

Our new blog, "From the Field," is getting some attention. It's also ruffling some feathers.

A couple of weeks ago, Columns, the University of Washington alumni magazine, ran a cover story on Henry Lai's work on the health effects of microwave radiation and their possible implications to cell phones. You can read it at: http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/march05/wakeupcall01.html

The article begins by describing a phone call someone made to the NIH trying to shut Lai down soon after he found that microwaves could break up DNA. On our blog, we said that Bill Guy had made the call (see the March 11 entry).

A little background: Guy has --arguably-- been the most important establishment player in the microwave health controversy over the last 30 years.

A week later, we received an angry, three-page letter from Guy. "I most vehemently and unequivocally deny that I, or anybody that I am aware of, made any calls to NIH...," he wrote.

We went back to our files. Our conclusion is that we don't think that Guy's memory is serving him well.

But this is really a story about how the wireless industry has closed down health research in the U.S., while aggressively discrediting all findings suggestive of a risk.

Guy's letter to Microwave News and our response are posted on our Web site.
Bill Guy, WTR, Henry Lai and DNA Breaks: Some History

Simply go to:
http://www.microwavenews.com/fromthefield.html

Let us know what you think.

Best,
Louis Slesin, PhD
Editor
Microwave News, A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation
155 East 77th Street
New York, NY 10021, USA
Phone: +1 (212) 517-2800; Fax: +1 (212) 734-0316
E-mail: mwn@pobox.com
Internet: http://www.microwavenews.com

The American tradition of free speech is under attack across the country, as law enforcement agencies -- under the guise of the war on terror -- intimidate ordinary citizens into silence.

http://tinyurl.com/4ak7e


From Information Clearing House

We can't count on restraint from people like Mr. DeLay, who believes that he's on a mission to bring a "biblical worldview" to American politics, and that God brought him a brain-damaged patient to help him with that mission.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8402.htm

As children, we were taught that the military protected us in times of war. We learned about soldiers being killed and wounded by 'the enemy', and how people died if they got shot or if a bomb landed on them. Sometimes innocent people got killed during a war, but the fact that most victims were civilians was carefully hidden from us by our elders.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8394.htm

Australians are as just as concerned about United States foreign policy as Islamic extremism and regard the US as more dangerous than a rising China, according to a new poll.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8398.htm