Volksbegehren gescheitert - Masten bis zehn Meter bleiben genehmigungsfrei - Erbitterter Schlagabtausch zwischen Betreibern und Initiatoren

von Alexander Görlach

München - In Bayern hat die Ökologische Partei (ÖDP) gegen die Mobilfunkindustrie und deren Interessenvertreter gekämpft - und verloren. Mit einem bundesweit ersten Volksbegehren sollten künftig alle Sendemasten und Antennen genehmigungspflichtig gemacht werden. Bislang gilt dies nur für Anlagen, die höher als zehn Meter sind. Nur 400 286 Personen, das sind 4,4 Prozent aller Wahlberechtigten, hatten sich in den ausgelegten Listen in den Rathäusern des Freistaats eingetragen. Zehn Prozent hätten es sein müssen, um die Gesetzesvorlage der ÖDP im Bayerischen Landtag einzubringen.

In den knapp zwei Wochen des Volksbegehrens haben sich Netzbetreiber und Öko-Partei erbitterte Gefechte geliefert. Die Mobilfunker argumentierten: Je mehr Antennen, desto besserer Empfang. Je dichter die Antennen zudem beieinander seien, um so kleiner sei die Leistung, mit der sie arbeiten müssten. Gesundheitsschäden gäbe es dadurch keine. Für die ÖDP war und ist - auch nach verlorenem Referendum - die Leistung der Antennenanlagen die Crux. Um noch im letzten Winkel der Republik Mobilfunk zu garantieren, sei die Leistung zu hoch eingestellt und verursache dadurch Gesundheitsschäden und Krankheiten bis hin zu Krebs.

Klaus Buchner, Bundesvorsitzender der ÖDP und Professor für Physik an der Technischen Universität München, führte bei seiner Argumentation stets eine Erhebung an, die in der bayerischen Stadt Naila durchgeführt worden war. Sie habe ergeben, "dass langfristige Schäden durch Mobilfunkantennen messbar sind". Die Krebsrate habe sich in stark belasteten Gebieten in Naila fünf Jahre nach Aufnahme des Sendebetriebs 1994 verdreifacht. Die als gefährlich definierten Territorien liegen in einem Radius von 400 Metern um die beiden Sendemasten.

In der Zentrale der Initiative "Mobilfunk in Bayern" hat man wiederum mit Kritik an Buchner nicht gespart. "Sämtliche Expertenkommissionen und auch das Bayerische Gesundheitsministerium lehnen diese Untersuchung von Naila rundweg ab", sagte Mathias Walther, der Sprecher der Gruppe. Die Abschlussuntersuchung zu dieser Studie liege bis heute nicht vor. Kritik an der Arbeit weise insbesondere auf das "Fehlen geeigneter Parameter hin, die eine Verbindung zum Mobilfunk herstellen könnten", fasst Walther zusammen.

Erwähnt werden muss, dass die Initiative "Mobilfunk in Bayern" auch mit Netzbetreibern zusammenarbeitet. Deshalb verweist man bei der Initiative mit besonderer Freude darauf, dass unabhängige Gremien wie der Bayerische Gemeindetag das ÖDP-Volksbegehren ebenfalls abgelehnt haben. Unisono haben Netzbetreiber und Mobilfunkinitiative der ÖDP vorgeworfen, gezielt die Ängste der Bürger zu instrumentalisieren.

Die Öko-Partei versicherte hingegen, dass es ihr nicht darum geht, Mobilfunk generell zu verteufeln. "Wenn sie mit dem Handy telefonieren, gefährden sie nur sich", sagt Claus Scheingraber, ein Weggefährte Buchners. Der Körper gewöhnlicher Handytelefonierer, der sich kurzfristig durch Telefonate in einer erhöhten Feldstärke befindet, repariere ständig Zellen, die durch die Wellen zerstört werden. "Aber gegen die Antennen kann ich mich als normaler Bürger nicht wehren", sagt Scheingraber. Deswegen sollte jede Anlage dieser Art erst einem Genehmigungsverfahren unterzogen werden, bei dem auch die Gesundheit der Anwohner eine Rolle spielen soll. Die größte Gefahr gehe für Menschen während der Nacht aus, meint Buchner. Im Schlaf produziere der Körper nämlich den Krebsabwehrstoff Melatonin. Die elektromagnetischen Wellen der Handymasten aber störten die Bildung dieses Hormons. Das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz hat in der Zwischenzeit erklärt, dass man nur mit komplizierten Messgeräten bestimmen kann, ob konkrete elektromagnetische Wellen nun von Mobilfunkantennen oder anderen Quellen ausgehen.

Die ÖDP verweist auch darauf, dass sich Mobilfunkantennen negativ auf den Wert von Immobilien auswirken. "Menschen haben Angst vor Mobilfunkstrahlung und meiden Wohnungen in Antennennähe", wird der Münchner Makler Hubertus von Medinger zitiert. Oftmals würden bei Wertgutachten Abschläge zwischen fünf und 15 Prozent des Verkehrswertes berücksichtigt, "abhängig von der Entfernung zu den Antennen".

Gesundheitsminister Werner Schnappauf (CSU) wertete das Scheitern des Volksbegehrens als klares Votum für den bestehenden Mobilfunkpakt. In dem Abkommen mit der Staatsregierung haben sich die Mobilfunkkonzerne bereit erklärt, die Kommunen über geplante Standorte zu informieren. Laut Schnappauf hätte ein Erfolg des Volksbegehrens nur den bürokratischen Aufwand erhöht.

Artikel erschienen am Mi, 20. Juli 2005

http://www.welt.de/data/2005/07/20/748122.html


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

Die Nailaer „Bürgerinitiative zur Verminderung der Strahlenbelastung“ sieht sich durch das Ergebnis vor Ort in ihrer Arbeit bestätigt. „Die Bürger sind schlichtweg in Naila besser informiert als andernorts“, sagt Ursula Schiller dazu. „Sie verhalten sich nicht mehr so unkritisch.“ Das Scheitern des ÖDP-Volksbegehrens sieht Schiller als Herausforderung für die Bürgerinitiative. „Unsere Aufgabe ist es, die Bürger weiter über die Risiken der Mobilfunktechnik zu informieren und Gesundheitsvorsorge zu betreiben. „Was die verantwortlichen Stellen nicht leisten, müssen die Bürger eben selber in die Hand nehmen.“

Dr. Horst Eger, Sprecher der Ärztegruppe, die für die Nailaer Mobilfunkstudie verantwortlich zeichnet, sieht das Scheitern des Volksbegehrens eher gelassen. „Man kann solche Sachen nicht erzwingen“, meint er. Und weiter: „Egal, wie das Volksbegehren ausgegangen ist, es ändert nichts an der Notwendigkeit der Tatsache, dass wir uns als Ärzte weiter darum kümmern müssen, welche Gesundheitsstörungen in der Nähe von so genannten Basisstationen auftreten.“

Brief an Stoiber

Omega siehe unter: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/832935/

In diesem Zusammenhang weist Eger darauf hin, dass sich vor kurzem eine Gruppe von Ärzten aus dem Raum Bamberg in einem offenen Brief an Ministerpräsident Edmund Stoiber gewandt und darum gebeten hat, sofortige Gesundheitsuntersuchungen an Menschen in der Umgebung von Sendestationen zu veranlassen. Die Vermutung, dass die bestehenden Grenzwerte für die Strahlung zu hoch liegen, sei erst jetzt wieder bei einem internationalen Kongress bestätigt worden.

Dr. Eger: „ Es gibt nach wie vor keine Studie, die zeigt, wie es den Menschen, die im Bereich von Mobilfunkstationen leben, geht. Außerdem wurden bestehende Grenzwerte zum Beispiel nie dahingehend differenziert, ob zum Beispiel Erwachsene oder Kinder der Strahlung ausgesetzt sind.“ Und man dürfe nie vergessen, dass Menschen subjektiv unterschiedlich auf Strahlung reagieren. „Dass man sich als Arzt für das Wohl seiner Patienten einsetzt, kann ein gescheitertes Volksbegehren nicht beeinflussen.“

Hoffnungsvoll

Monika Schuberth-Brehm, die vor allem im Raum Wallenfels für das Volksbegehren geworben hatte, will sich durch die bayernweiten 4,4 Prozent nicht unterkriegen lassen. „Die mehr als zehn Prozent in Wallenfels sprechen doch dafür, dass sich die Informationsveranstaltungen gelohnt haben. Überall, wo es Bürgerinitiativen gibt, wurde die Zehn-Prozent-Hürde für das Volksbegehren geknackt. Ich bin nicht enttäuscht, sondern eher voller Hoffnung, da jetzt mehr Menschen als vorher über die Problematik informiert sind.“ THOMAS HAMPL

http://www.frankenpost.de/nachrichten/regional/frankenwald/resyart.phtm?id=826385 (Auszug)


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

Shropshire Star 19.07.05

Plans to build a 12-metre-high mobile phone mast near playing fields in Bridgnorth are to be considered by town councillors tonight for the second time.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone wants to erect the mast on Mill Street, near Severn Park.

The application is identical to previous plans which were rejected by town councillors and thrown out by the district council's development control committee back in April.

The original application was rejected on the grounds that it would be detrimental to the visual amenity of the area.

Controversial plans by O2 to erect a phone mast at the Crown Meadow football ground were rejected at the same time.

Epsom and Banstead ic Surrey 19.07.05

A GOVERNMENT planning inspector agreed that a 20ft mobile phone mast disguised as a tree will be an eyesore.

But he's still given the go-ahead for the 02 (UK) mast at the junction of Yew Tree Bottom Road and Reigate Road, Epsom Downs.

Inspector Peter Drew's permission, overuling Reigate and Banstead Council's refusal of planning permission, will be a blow for householders in the area who staged a big show of opposition.

And those who have to live with it on their doorsteps are likely to be furious at his pronouncement that, while it's ugly, they are going to be the only ones putting up with it near their homes.

Mr Drew's report said: "The proposed tall structure would be highly visible from the junction and would harm the appearance of the area.

"However, it would only have localised impact."

The Surrey Wildlife Trust had objected to the mast.

But Mr Drew's views were: "Although the mast will not conserve the nature conservation interests of the site the need for the proposal outweighs the need to safeguard nature."

This is Local London

THREE proposals to install phone masts in Three Rivers were rejected last week.

The applications, all for T Mobile, were for masts in Baldwins Lane in Croxley Green, Hill Farm in Stag Lane, Chorleywood, and land at the junction of Valley Road with The Clump in Rickmansworth.

All three were unanimously rejected at a meeting of Three Rivers' development control committee last Thursday.

Council leader and committee member Ann Shaw led the calls for all masts to be rejected.

She said: "The development control committee looks at each mast application individually on its merits in the situation proposed.

"We objected to the masts proposed for Baldwins Lane and the junction of The Clump and Valley Road as too obtrusive and prominent in the street scene.

"The Hill Top Farm site was rejected as inappropriate development in the Green Belt."

Anti-mobile phone mast campaigner Yasmin Skelt, of Chorleywood, said: "Everyone in our group is very pleased with the council's decision.

"Residents joined forces to oppose these applications and the decisions show local democracy in action." For full story see Friday's printed version of the Watford Observer.

11:02am Tuesday 19th July 2005

This is Bromsgrove 19.07.05

PARENTS worried about the effects a mobile phone mast may have on their children's health took to the streets to highlight their campaign to have it resited.

T-mobile wants to put up a 12-metre high mast, disguised as a telegraph pole, near a filling station on the brow of Old Birmingham Road. The site is just 70 metres from Rhymes Nursery.

The toddlers' parents are not happy about the plan and last Friday Bromsgrove's MP Julie Kirkbride joined in their protest.

Residents and parents have previously met with representatives from the phone company to voice their fears over the long-term health risks from the mast.

Then it was agreed that T-mobile would look at alternative sites suggested by residents.

Miss Kirkbride said: "I really would appeal to T-mobile to reconsider the location. This is a purpose-built nursery offering first-class facilities. If mobile phone companies have a policy of not locating masts near schools, they should apply that policy to nurseries."

Beacon Labour county councillor Peter McDonald, who originally took up the residents' concerns, also urged the company to give serious thought to the residents' pleas.

"I sincerely hope they heed the genuine concerns many people have. If parents remove their children because of the mast it could have serious consequences for the nursery," he said.

Parent Mark Bromhall's comment was typical of many. He said: "Our children should be protected. Asbestos and smoking were once considered safe. It takes a long time for the effects to become known."

John Shaughnessy, a spokesman for T-mobile, said his company is currently examining the eight alternative locations suggested by residents and parents to see if they are suitable from a point of view of access and network coverage.

Exeter Express and Echo

12:00 - 20 July 2005

Residents on a city estate have reacted angrily to the news that plans for a mobile phone mast just metres away from their homes are set for approval. Hutchison 3G wants to build a 12-metre high mobile phone mast in Whipton - near hundreds of houses, a hospital, children's centre and three schools.

Planning officers from the city council have now recommended the go-ahead for the mast.

A report on the development, which is produced to help guide the decision of councillors on the development control committee, says: "We are pleased that we have been able to identify a site that will minimise the environmental impact of the proposal."

It goes on to say the site "represents the best available option in the area".

But campaigners who set up Whipton Against Masts are furious at the recommendation. They are also angry because there is no mention in the report of their petition or 300 letters of opposition to the mast.

Campaign founder Laurence Davey said: "I am trying to get the report declared invalid because it does not contain the correct information. We have now collected nearly 700 signatures from residents complaining about the mast being built."

Jon Sprague of Hill Barton Lane, where the mast would be built, said: "We feel like nobody is listening to us and I don't understand why they are recommending approval when so many residents are against it."

A spokesman for Exeter City Council said: "We changed the date when objection letters had to be handed in because we only have 56 days to consider the proposal and we needed to write the report before the development control committee meeting on July 25.

"The reason we didn't include the number of objection letters is because there were an unusually high number and it would have taken too long to process them. But this means the amount will be stated at the committee, which probably means they will carry more weight."

The Echo's Shock Waves campaign has been calling for more research into the health effects of masts.

Cumbernauld Today

THE issue of installing phone masts in residential areas in Cumbernauld is to be debated at a meeting at the Link Community Centre - on the same day that an official visit will be made to a site in Abronhill to consider a plan to erect a mast on it.

Called by the Cumbernauld Mast Relocation Group, the meeting, next Tuesday, July 26 at 7.30pm, is aiming to "help co-ordinate campaigning against the mast and to address problems in the planning process when the masts are proposed in particular locations."

Group spokesperson Barbara Harvey said: "Personal experience of campaigning against the building of a mast in my area has made me acutely aware of some of the health concerns regarding these masts. We are hoping to make people aware of this and to share experiences with others in how to campaign in their communities to successfully object to the siting of a mast. We also have concerns about the planning process which seems to favour the telecommunications companies."

The group is planning a petition, which will be presented to the Scottish Parliament. Barbara added: "We hope people who are concerned about this issue will come along to build a co-ordinated and effective campaign in our town."

An application to build a mast at McCashin's garage in Abronhill was originally vetoed by NLC but an appeal has since been lodged.

20 July 2005

Today 20.07.05

HEALTH officials who faced furious criticism after telling a mobile phones company it could put a base-station on the roof of Bronglais Hospital this week came under renewed pressure to cancel the deal. Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust were targeted by angry residents and Ceredigion MP Mark Williams after it was revealed it gave the go-ahead to phones company 3 despite a new study warning that radiation from base-stations affects brain-waves and can seriously damage health. Hundreds of residents living close to the hospital were this week backed by Ceredigion AM Elin Jones, who demanded the trust immediately cancel its contract with 3 because of continuing uncertainty over the safety of base-stations. She said she had been contacted by many “worried” people living in the area who feared their health could be at risk if the plan went ahead. Trust chief executive Allison Williams has refused to reveal how much the trust - which is £1.1 million in the red - will earn from the phones deal, and has admitted that the trust board was not told of the agreement, despite known public concerns about the safety of mobiles technology. She has hinted that, if protests continue, officials will consider cancelling the contract with 3. St David’s Road residents said there was widespread public concern about the mast proposal and protested that they had not been consulted about the plan. A residents association this week told Ms Williams: “It is a cause for concern that we have not been consulted on this matter, especially as accountability and transparency should be expected of a publicly-funded body. “In our view it is particularly inappropriate that a hospital should be promoting technology with which there are health concerns. We would ask that you seriously reconsider this decision.” 3 has insisted there is no “general” risk to the health of people living or working near base-stations. But the company was involved in new controversy after planners admitted a temporary mast in a farmers co-op yard at Parcyllyn was unauthorised. Officials could face criticism after saying 3 would not be told to dismantle the mast because the firm had now made a planning application. Trefechan residents celebrated after Ceredigion planning councillors voted unanimously to refuse a bid for a 12-metre Orange mobile phones mast in the old Welsh Brewers yard following protests. But a mobiles mast in a lay-by at the Waunfawr junction at the top of Penglais Hill w a s approved. It will be the third in the immediate area and will be only 300 metres f r o m P e n g l a i s school.

Unliebsame Ergebnisse: US-Klimaforscher unter politischem Druck (20.07.05)

Drei amerikanische Klimaforscher sind durch einen republikanischen Kongressabgeordneten aufgefordert worden, ihre gesamte Karriere und die Erkenntnisse ihrer Forschung offen zu legen. Führende Wissenschaftsverbände der Vereinigten Staaten haben gegen dieses Vorgehen protestiert, weil sie darin den Versuch sehen, unerwünschte wissenschaftliche Daten zu unterdrücken. Weil der republikanische Kongress-Abgeordnete Joe Barton die Studien von Klimaforschern anzweifelte, hatte er das Privatleben inklusive der finanziellen Hintergründe der drei Klimaexperten Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley und Malcolm Hughes durchleuchtet.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=11442

http://www.mayeticvillage.fr/QuickPlace/antennes-relais/Main.nsf/h_8A6555B4311F2976C1256C7F008280FB/4222A7873749FDDCC12570430041352A/?OpenDocument&ResortAscending=14


Informant: Froggy

Jahresveranstaltung SIB

Ort: ETH, Rämistr. 101, 8092 Zürich
Zeit: 09:00-16:00 Uhr
Datum: Freitag, 2. September 2005
Partner:
Veranstalter: VEREIN mailto:info@baubio.ch

Ein hochkarätiges Referententeam aus den Österreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz wird an diesem Anlass in der ETH über dieses brisante Thema dozieren.

Einladung und Anmeldung
http://www.baubio.ch/download/web_images/2005_Einl_Ges_u_Mobilfunk_V15_1.pdf

Mobilfunk-Volksbegehren: In Wildsteig 39,55 Prozent dafür

VON BRIGITTE GRETSCHMANN

Landkreis - Zwischen der Roche-Stadt Penzberg und dem Bauerndorf Wildsteig liegen nicht nur 50 Kilometer Fahrstrecke, zwischen den beiden Orten liegen auch Welten beim Abstimmungsergebnis zum Volksbegehren "Gesundheitsfürsorge beim Mobilfunk": In Penzberg gab es mit 5,49 Prozent die geringste Beteiligung, in Wildsteig mit 39,55 Prozent die höchste. Landkreisweit unterschrieben 10,47 Prozent der Wahlberechtigten. Das ist das zweitbeste Ergebnis bayernweit. Im Nachklang des Begehrens erhalten alle Ärzte im Landkreis vom Aktionsbündnis eine Dokumentation über gesundheitliche Folgen des Mobilfunks.

"Natürlich sind wir mit dem Landkreisergebnis sehr zufrieden", so Karl Edenhofer (Oberhausen) vom Aktionsbündnis für das Volksbegehren. Liegt der Landkreis mit seinen 10,5 Prozent doch hinter Bad-Tölz Wolfratshausen (10,6 Prozent) zusammen mit Lichtenfels auf dem zweiten Platz in Bayern. Bayernweit - hier wurden 4,4 Prozent erreicht - sei allerdings eine Chance für mehr Gesundheitsvorsorge vergeben worden. Die Mobilfunkbetreiber, so befürchtet er, "werden jetzt verstärkt in Wohngebiete drängen".

Edenhofer vergleicht die Folgen des Mobilfunks mit denen der Holzschutzmittel: "Wie gefährlich die sind, das konnte auch erst nach 30 Jahren nachvollzogen werden." Um den Ärzten im Landkreis Weilheim-Schongau eine Hilfestellung bei Diagnosen unklarer Krankheitsbilder zu geben, wird das Aktionsbündnis binnen der nächsten beiden Wochen allen die Broschüre "Dokumentierte Gesundheitsschäden unter dem Einfluss hochfrequentierter elektromagnetischer Felder (Mobilfunkanlagen)" zuschicken.

Das Wildsteiger Votum von 39,55 Prozent erklärt sich Edenhofer unter anderem damit, dass dort, wie überhaupt im Landkreis, von Mitgliedern des Aktionsbündnisses sehr viel gearbeitet wurde. "Der Bürgermeister ist außerdem voll hinter uns gestanden", so Edenhofer weiter. Auch ein "konkretes Problem mit einem Masten" habe das Bewusstsein der Bevölkerung geschärft.

Emotional verunsichert

Die guten Ergebnisse für Volksbegehren gerade in ihrem Stimmkreis - das zur Forstreform hatte es auf 17,5 Prozent gebracht - führt die CSU-Landtagsabgeordnete Renate Dodell vor allem "auf die starken Kräfte, die hier wirken" zurück, namentlich nannte sie seit Jahren bekannte Umweltaktivisten wie Hans Schütz aus Peiting. Zudem sei die "Bevölkerung emotional verunsichert". Dass das Volksbegehren bayernweit gescheitert ist, bezeichnet Dodell, auch stellvertretende CSU-Fraktionsvorsitzende im Landtag, als "insgesamt richtig". Denn: "Es hätte in der Tat keine Verbesserungen für die Bürger gebracht".

mm

20.07.2005

http://www.marktplatz-oberbayern.de/regionen/weilheim/art1616,295827.html?fCMS=b5503317a5f7ea2f76d17c4eaae8b2e8


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

Top Iran leaders meet Iraqi premier, pledge security cooperation:

Iran's top leaders on Monday backed fellow Shiite Muslim-dominated Iraq's quest for stability and peace, but its supreme leader also criticized the U.S. presence in Iran's war-ravaged neighbor.

http://snipurl.com/gcyi



Iraq's dangerous new friend:

On sunday, George W. Bush's war against terror was turned upside down — and this time the president might even notice. That's because when "our guys" in Iraq start firmly allying with an "axis of evil" nation, its got to ring some warning bells, no?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9513.htm



US-backed groups organize regime change in Iran :

If the CIA and its associated regime change NGOs succeed, it could be a very bloody black & blue coup.

http://snipurl.com/gcyl


From Information Clearing House

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is scheduled to convene in Richmond to consider a question with vast implications for civil liberties and the fight against terrorism: whether the president can indefinitely detain, without criminal charges, a U.S. citizen captured on American soil.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9595.htm

Tony Blair takes advice from his security experts when it fits with his foreign policy, and ignores it when it doesn't.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9505.htm

By Larry Johnson

We joined the CIA to fight against foreign tyrants who used the threat of incarceration, torture, and murder to achieve their ends. They followed the rule of force, not the rule of law. We now find ourselves with an administration in the United States where some of its members have chosen to act like foreign tyrants.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9512.htm

http://www.omega-news.info/presseinformation_2005_07_19.PDF

Bürgertreffen in Purkersdorf: Neuer Funkmast beim Roten Kreuz

Purkersdorf 19. Juli 2005:

Ein neuer Mobilfunkmast für UMTS Dienste der Unternehmen Mobilkom und T-Mobile Austria soll in der Nähe der Station des Roten Kreuzes errichtet werden. Besorgte Bürger diskutierten mit Gemeinderäten vor Ort, was man dagegen tun kann.

Für Rückfragen stehe ich Ihnen jederzeit zur Verfügung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Mag. Robert Marschall Geschäftsführer
TriCoTel Telekom GmbH
Anton Haglgasse 14-16 / 1 / 4
A-3003 Gablitz; Austria
Festnetz + Fax: 02231 / 68 3 67
E-Mail: marschall@tricotel.at

2005/07/20 Wed

Once again our wonderful councillors rejected a mast application. T-Mobile and Vodaphone are moving in on our area of Oxford for their 3G coverage and last night the councillors rejected a mast proposal for a second time on the basis of lack of evidence of consideration of mast sharing and also that the applicant, T-Mobile, had changed their advised cell size for mast coverage from 4 km to 1 km diameter.

Re this, diameters measure circles, are their cells circular? What about overlap? It must mean that they want a mast every 300m therefore?

There has been a decision to report the council officers to the ombudsman for not pursueing this question of mast sharing. Don't know if that will be a good move.

There was quite a bit of discussion at the meeting re health concerns and a number of the councillors agreed that health should be taken into account but felt that they were not allowed to do so.

Now about to write, again, to my disinterested MP.

Cheers Ann

--------

Good for them!

And this is quite right: 3G ranges are small. The latest industry comment in the press is that in excess of 130,000 additional masts will be required to provide the 5 operators with complete infrastructures.

The cells need to overlap, but not too much. It's going to be a planning mightmare for them.

As for mast sharing, they can't always, and with the limited range, someone else's site won't be so useful for filling their gaps!

Two solutions: every mast has all 5 operators on it, then they all get equal coverage, with 20% of the structures. Then all they need is to cope with their respective demand levels.

OR: one set of masts AND only one set of high capacity antennae to cope with everyone's traffic. (technically more complex) (the gas and water utility model)

Consequence? Whichever option, with the spread of frequencies that 3G brings, total power of emissions into the environment is set for a massive increase.

And before you ask, no, I would not want a single mast with 5 x 3G on it anywhere near me!

Andy

Inter Press Service News Agency
by Jim Lobe

07/19/05

It's always difficult to play defence and offence at the same time, but when the geo-political ground is shifting beneath one's feet and damaging leaks are spurting out of the White House and Downing Street plumbing like Fourth of July fireworks, it's more difficult than usual. At least, that's the sense one gets after watching the frantic manoeuvrings this week of far-right and neo-conservative personalities who found themselves trying, on the one hand, to persuade their compatriots to prepare to take on new enemies in what they call 'World War IV,' while, on the other, mounting rear-guard actions against faint-hearted allies who want out of Iraq and Democrats who are calling for the head of President George W. Bush's 'brain,' Karl Rove...

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29525


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

New Yorker
by Seymour Hersh

07/18/05

By then, the men in charge of the C.I.A. were 'dying to help out, and make sure the election went the right way,' the recently retired C.I.A. official recalled. It was known inside the intelligence community, he added, that the Iranians and others were providing under-the-table assistance to various factions. The concern, he said, was that 'the bad guys would win'...

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050725fa_fact


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

FreedomWorks
by Dick Armey

07/19/05

From the courts to Congress, American property rights are under siege from the socialists and the social engineers. In a decision better suited to Red China than the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that local governments can seize your private property and give it to other private owners, so long as the new owners offer a plan to generate more tax revenue, jobs, or even to just make the property look better. This outrageous decision, called Kelo v. New London, is sadly not out of the ordinary. Rather, this Supreme Court ruling is one event in a long and disturbing chain of policies that undermine property rights and the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution...

http://tinyurl.com/9zn82


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The American Spectator
by The Prowler

07/20/05

According to White House staff and outside advisers on the nomination process, the Roberts nomination sends a very clear signal to both conservatives and Democrats. 'This choice sends the message that this President has the desire to not get boxed in by his enemies,' says a White House source. 'He could have taken the easy way out, or comparatively easy way out, and nominated a perfectly acceptable woman like Clement, or even Jones. But he didn't. He replaced a woman justice with a man, and real conservative one at that. If that doesn't send a message to Republicans about where this President's head is at, I don't know what will'...

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8466


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Mother Jones
by Judith Coburn

07/18/05

'Cost of the war': a cliché to normalize the carnage, like the anaesthetizing term 'collateral damage' and that new semantic horror, 'torture lite.' And yet the 'cost of the war' report, by now a hackneyed convention of American journalism, includes only American casualties -- no Iraqis -- itself a violation of the American mainstream media's own professed commitment to 'objectivity.' Three years of 'anniversary' articles in the American media adding up the so-called 'cost of the war' in Iraq have focused exclusively on Americans killed, American dollars spent, American hardware destroyed, with barely a mention of the Iraqi dead as part of that 'cost.' The dead are counted. But they are Americans. The names are named. But they are Americans. The names and numbers of the dead are intoned aloud or their photographs papered on media 'walls' and they are always only American. Publishing or pronouncing the names of the American dead everyday without ever mentioning the names of the Iraqi dead offers a powerful message that only American dying matters...

http://tinyurl.com/78mg7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Slate
by Emily Bazelon

07/19/05

Since Sandra Day O'Connor resigned almost three weeks ago, John Roberts has been the Washington, D.C., establishment choice to take her seat on the Supreme Court -- among Democrats as well as Republicans. As a deputy solicitor general for George H.W. Bush, Roberts wrote a brief arguing that doctors in clinics receiving federal funds shouldn't be able to talk to their patients about abortion (the Supreme Court agreed) and in passing called for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. But some liberals are quick to argue that on the Supreme Court, Roberts would be open to rethinking such right-wing positions. They take comfort in his reputation for being likeable and fair-minded. Roberts may indeed turn out to be a wise, thoughtful, and appealing justice. Tonight when Bush announced his nomination, Roberts talked about feeling humbled, which won him points on TV. But an opinion that the 50-year-old judge joined just last week in the case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld should be seriously troubling to anyone who values civil liberties...

http://www.slate.com/id/2123055/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Artikel von Winfried Wolf in der umfassenden, ungekürzten Form (pdf), er erschien in zwei Teilen, leicht gekürzt, in der "jungen Welt"
http://www.labournet.de/branchen/auto/vw/allg/systemvw.pdf

Aus Liebe zum Aktionär: Der Skandal bei Volkswagen wird dazu benutzt, den Konzern umzukrempeln und die betriebliche Mitbestimmung in Frage zu stellen. Artikel von Georg Fülberth in Jungle World vom 20. Juli 2005
http://jungle-world.com/seiten/2005/29/5910.php


Aus: LabourNet, Mittwoch, 20. Juli 2005

July 19th 2005

EARTH CHANGES TV NEWSLETTER

Mount St. Helens Starts to Rumble

by Mitch Battros – ECTV

Over the last few days earthquake activity has increased at Mount St. Helens. The latest was today’s 3.2 magnitude quake. This comes on the heels of a series of smaller quakes in Utah, Colorado, and Arkansas.

Today, the USGS Cascade Range Observatory released this notice:

Current status is Volcano Advisory (Alert Level 2); aviation color code ORANGE: Growth of the new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens continues, accompanied by low rates of seismicity, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases, and minor production of ash. During such eruptions, changes in the level of activity can occur over days to months. The eruption could intensify suddenly or with little warning and produce explosions that cause hazardous conditions within several miles of the crater and farther downwind. Small lahars could suddenly descend the Toutle River if triggered by heavy rain or by interaction of hot rocks with snow and ice. These lahars pose a negligible hazard below the Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) but could pose a hazard along the river channel upstream.

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that any ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift eastward.

Potential ash hazards to aviation: Under current eruptive conditions, small, short-lived explosions may produce ash clouds that exceed 30,000 feet in altitude. Ash from such events can travel 100 miles or more downwind.

Recent observations: A M2.8 at 8:55pm yesterday caused a large rockfall that sent an ash plume about 2,000 feet above the rim of the volcano. The rockfall removed a large piece off the top of the growing dome, and it destroyed one of the seismometers in the crater. Seismicity returned to normal levels after the event. Next week crews will go out to make visual observations and possibly deploy a new seismometer.

Although my research does not address a connection between solar activity and seismology and volcanism, I certainly cannot rule it out.

Please forward - distribute widely

http://www.stopcafta.org/
http://www.afsc.org/trade-matters/stop-the-cafta-vote/why-afsc-opposes-cafta.htm http://www.cispes.org/english/Campaign_Against_CAFTA_FTAA/ http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/globaleconomy/cafta_ftaa_main.cfm http://www.share-elsalvador.org/cafta/congress_kit.htm http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/cafta/ http://www.stoptheftaa.org/cafta/ http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0712-06.htm http://www.foodfirst.org/stopcafta

-------- Original Message --------

NO TO CAFTA ....Please forward widely and take action!! Call Your Congressman via 202-225-3121 (Switchboard) Vote will be this week or next, prior to August recess.

Subject: CAFTA Alert: Dr. Nick Gonzalez Says Patients Will "Die In" If CAFTA Passes To: unlisted-recipients; (no To-header on input)

July 18, 2005

An important alert from veteran investigative journalist Peter Barry Chowka (p.b.chowka@gmail.com):

CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, is scheduled to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives before the end of July. The vote is expected to be close. In the balance may hang our freedom to access nutritional supplements. It is becoming clearer now that CAFTA intersects with other questionable international trade agreements and the UN's CODEX to pose a potential threat to U.S. consumers' continued freedom to access therapeutic dose nutritional supplements.

In an exclusive new story, I am reporting today as the countdown to the CAFTA vote moves into its final days that pioneering innovative cancer physician Nicholas Gonzalez, M.D. has issued a challenge to members of Congress: If CAFTA passes the House and access to supplements is affected, he writes (see below), many of his cancer patients have promised that they will put a new twist on a traditional form of American protest - they will sit in at their Congressmen's offices and stay there until they die.

A copy of the article is included in this e-mail. Please feel free to forward it on. The article, with updates, can be read at these URLs:

http://members.aol.com/pbchowka/gonzalez-cafta.html

http://AltMedNews.net


Breaking news from peter barry chowka at altmednews.net

Leading Innovative Cancer Doc Nicholas Gonzalez, M.D. Warns Congress on CAFTA: If the House Votes 'Yes' And Access to Nutritional Supplements Is Limited, Cancer Patients Will Sit In At Your Offices Until They Die © By Peter Barry Chowka
(July 17, 2005)

Nicholas Gonzalez, M.D. , a pioneering practitioner of leading edge nutritional medicine in the United States, has taken a strong stand on the CAFTA bill currently being considered in the House of Representatives. He promises that if CAFTA passes, is signed into law, and winds up limiting the ability of Americans to get high dose nutritional supplements, many of his cancer patients will sit in at their Congressmen's offices until they die.

In his private practice in New York City, Gonzalez treats patients, most of them with cancer, exclusively with nutrition, supplements, and detoxification, avoiding conventional therapies and so-called integrative approaches that attempt to combine orthodox treatments with complementary adjuncts. In 1999, after publishing a pilot study in a medical journal on the success of his treatment on advanced pancreatic cancer patients, Gonzalez received an unprecedented $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a prospective clinical trial of his therapy. That trial is still ongoing.

On July 15, 2005, Gonzalez wrote letters to his member of Congress, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert (R-IL). The subject was Gonzalez' vehement opposition to H.R. 3045 CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement which is scheduled to be voted on by the House before the end of the month. CAFTA has already passed the U.S. Senate by a close vote.

Gonzalez provided me with copies of his letters and gave me permission to publish and comment on them.

Gonzalez critiques CAFTA and its potential to limit Americans' freedom to access nutritional supplements. In addition, he informs the two members of Congress that if CAFTA passes the House, is signed into law, and results in supple ment freedom being curtailed, his patients will sit in at their Congressmen's offices "until they die." In the letter to Hastert, Gonzalez adds, "That will include your office, incidentally, since they perceive you as being in charge of the House."

CAFTA, along with NAFTA, GATT, activities of the United Nations' (UN) WHO (World Health Organization), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), and CODEX, is one of an alphabet soup of policies, programs, and highly bureaucratized and unresponsive international agencies that, in the context of an increasingly globalized one world economy, are coming together to change the way of life and impact personal freedom in individual nations, including the United States. As has become clear only recently, CAFTA represents a potentially serious threat to Americans' (that is, residents of the United States') ability to purchase nutritional supplements, especially at therapeutic (high) dose levels.

For almost a decade, a relatively small number of analysts, medical professionals , journalists, consumer organizations, and activists has been monitoring developments re: CODEX and how CODEX might affect freedom to buy and use a range of nutritional supplements in the U.S. and other countries. The murky CODEX issue has been particularly difficult to unravel and to educate and mobilize consumers around - very much unlike earlier struggles regarding nutritional supplements, which always involved a single piece of legislation in the U.S. Congress that was identifiable as either bad or good by proponents of nutritional medicine and freedom of medical choice.

This summer, a number of developments, involving CODEX, CAFTA, a decision by a court of the European Union (EU) on regulating supplements in the EU member countries, etc., are accelerating the recognition that limitations on nutritional supplement freedom in the US are fast approaching. Previously, that dire scenario may have seemed unlikely to come to pass, but in fact, as Gonzalez contends, It can happen here.



A copy of the Gonzalez letter to Maloney:

July 15, 2005

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
1651 Third Avenue #311 New York, New York 10128

Dear Congresswoman Maloney:

I am writing with some desperation to express my strong opposition to CAFTA which is soon coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives. I sincerely hope someone in your staff reads this letter, as the lives of my patients could be in jeopardy should CAFTA pass and become law.

I am a physician who lives in your district, and practices in Manhattan. I have a very traditional medical education background (AB Brown, postgraduate work at Columbia, MD at Cornell, fellowship in cancer immunology). Since I was a medical student, first under the direction of the then President of the Sloan Kettering Institute, I began researching intensive nutritional approaches to the treatment of advanced cancer. Though in the past my work has been considered controversial, in recent years I have received significant academic support. In 1993, the National Cancer Institute invited me to present my work to a senior level group in Bethesda, and at their suggestion I pursued my first clinical trial, an evaluation of my approach in the treatment of inoperable pancreatic cancer, considered the most deadly of cancers. The results of that effort, which went beyond anything previously documented for the disease, were published in 1999 in the research journal Nutrition and Cancer. As a result of that study, the National Cancer Institute awarded me a large grant to support further clinical trials of my work, currently being conducted at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. My current approach involves the use of high dose pancreatic enzyme and nutritional therapy in the treatment of advanced malignancies, and does not involve the use of chemotherapy. All the supplements we prescribed are considered nutritional supplements; though we have full FDA approval for the study, none of these supplements required a prescription. I want to mention that my research has been strongly supported by both Republicans and Democrats, particularly Senator Tom Harkin and Congressman Dan Burton, both of whom have met with me to discuss my work.

What does this have to do with CAFTA? Everything, since should CAFTA pass in the US, by the definitions of CAFTA, my therapy, the clinical trial itself, could become illegal.

Few Congressmen and certainly few Senators realize that CAFTA requires harmonization with existing European legislation regarding food and dietary supplements under the CODEX regulations. This is the genesis of the potential problem. The pharmaceutical industry has in Europe mounted a relentless campaign to use CODEX to virtually eliminate the over the counter sales of most nutritional and herbal supplements, and turn them into prescription items which could then be sold at much higher prices, completely under the control of drug companies.

Currently, as you probably know, nutritional supplements are available over the counter in this country, and do not require a prescription. I believe as a physician and scientist that this easy availability of such products has been of great benefit to millions of Americans, as a substantial and ever increasing amount of scientific literature supports the beneficial effects of many nutrients that are too often inadequately provided in food.

CAFTA, if passed, would require the US harmonize its dietary supplement legislation with that of CODEX, forbid the over-the-counter sale of the great majority of useful supplements, and destroy the valuable US supplement industry. Since my therapy utilizes only nutritional supplements, should CAFTA pass, and CODEX supercede American protection of their availability, my treatment would come to an end, my promising research would be dismantled, and many hundreds of my patients whose lives depend on this treatment will die. I am not exaggerating, and any of your staff are invited to come to my office to discuss these critical issues with me.

Nutritional supplements have a long history of safety except in very rare cases when misused; their safety profile is far more impressive than that of many over the counter drugs such as aspirin, which yearly is responsible for several hundred deaths. Nutritional supplements as currently available offer many benefits in terms of disease prevention and good health, as documented clearly in the extensive nutritional literature, and they are a subject about which millions of Americans are passionate. You may not be aware, but for 30 years the pharmaceutical industry in the US has sought to gain complete control of what they perceive as a lucrative industry, by turning nutritional supplements into prescription items. Their attempts, often hidden beyond sacred tenets of "consumer protection from dangerous supplements," have little to do with the consumer and everything to do with industry control.

Many of my own patients are desperate, as they learn the dangers of CAFTA and CODEX to their lives. But that's just the beginning; within the past few weeks, millions of Americans, including many who feel their health depends on the availability of their supplements, have started to organize. The political ramifications are enormous. I have scores of my advanced cancer patients who have already said should CAFTA pass and their supplement supply be compromised, they will picket the offices of any Congressman and Senator who voted for CAFTA, and they plan to stay and die right in front of the offices. [emphasis added.]

I have been rather amazed that so many politicians seem unaware of what CODEX is, how the drug companies have used it to infiltrate CAFTA, and its true origins from the pharmaceutical industry who have failed for thirty years to get control of the supplement business.

I hope you believe that I am not exaggerating when I tell you a vote for CAFTA is a vote for the death of my patients.

For your information, I do have a website with rather extensive discussions about me and my work. The address is:

http://www.dr-gonzalez.com

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Gonzalez, M.D.


For Health Freedom, John C. Hammell, President International Advocates for Health Freedom
556 Boundary Bay Road Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702 USA http://www.iahf.com jham@iahf.com
800-333-2553 N.America
360-945-0352 World



Informant: sash

Alasdair Philips (Powerwatch) says:

Re: the Microconnect news story.

I don't know who (? Liverpool Council?) said: "It said the transmitters emit between 1,000 and one million times less radiation than a mobile phone." But it is a load of crap.

It is EXTREMELY difficult to find any technical details about BT's Microconnect system. However I tracked this down after they installed some in Chester earlier this year:

The MDA transmitters apparently start at 2 W and run up to 7W fully servicing several Operators.

A mobile phone, 900MHz band, puts out 2W/8 = 0.25W max and typically operates a hundred times lower than this. Say 0.007W A mobile phone, 1800MHz band, runs at half this power (0.0125W) but usually has to operate higher because the signals attenuate more easily. So, again, let's say 0.007W typically.

So we have the MDA base station starting at 8 times MORE powerful than a mobile phone (or 28 times if operating at 7W), to 1000 times MORE powerful that a typical phone call. Also, their antenna gain is at least 5 times, so for EIRP multiply the figures by another 5. It would be good to find out where all that 1000 to 1,000,000 times less radiation than a mobile phone crap came from. Poor show from the BBC News reporting such rubbish figures without checking. I won't be at the meeting on Tuesday because the AP Group chose a day that is a Plenary meeting of the Govt SAGE Group on controlling low-frequency EMF exposure for members of the general public. Many key EMF/health people, including me, will be at the SAGE meeting instead.

It is a shame, but the date for the plenary SAGE meeting was set over six moths ago and so nothing could be done about it now. It is a pity that the AP group didn't check with the Dept Health as George Hooker and Hilary Walker, the two top DH EMF people, are both on SAGE and will be at the SAGE meeting. They are also the two key people at the DH responsible for advice on microwave irradiation of the public and so would have been the obvious people for the AP group to contact.

It seems the Tuesday meeting is mainly for MPs and the general public

This Liverpool council and the BBC News disinformation needs to be made public. It would be great if you can make a fuss about it on Tuesday. It is irradiation by stealth. The trouble is, 7W, with some gain in the MDA antenna, can result in stronger signals in nearby bedrooms that a large rooftop mast would give. And there will be 1000s more for any given area just to get the required coverage.

Andy



Tuesday, July 19, 2005 10:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Mast Network] This is getting the big sell!

Does anyone know if there is any information on these 'boosters'? Any studies? If anyone knows a website link, please let me know. These have been mentioned quite a lot in Bromley recently but we need to know more. Many thanks.

Angie Shields (ORAM)

----- Original Message -----

Saturday, July 16, 2005 8:29 AM Subject:
[Mast Network] This is getting the big sell!

Source: Liverpool City Council Published Friday, 15 July, 2005 - 11:27

A pioneering new project by Liverpool City Council is ringing the changes - and it's set to eradicate the need for large mobile phone masts.

Proposals are being developed to install tiny, hi-tech mobile phone antennae throughout Liverpool. The 15cm structures will sit on existing street furniture, such as lamp posts, CCTV cameras and road signs.

The new antennae are far less unsightly than large mobile phone masts, and are environmentally friendly. Each mini-antenna, which has the capacity to be used by several mobile phone companies at the same time, emits between 1,000 and a million times less radiation than a mobile phone.

The council's Executive Member for Customer and Corporate Services, Councillor Dave Antrobus, said: "This is a groundbreaking solution to the increasing number of mobile phone masts in Liverpool. Unlike current masts, which are obtrusive and unsightly, these antennae are small, compact and discreet.

"Many people have concerns over the health and safety issues surrounding mobile phone masts, and this project will help tackle this, by providing more environmentally-friendly alternatives which emit a tiny fraction of the radiation of large masts.

"And with up to five mobile operators sharing a single antenna, we are hoping there will be a significant reduction in applications for individual phone masts. Ultimately, this hi-tech project could lead to many existing masts becoming redundant, and some being removed altogether. It's a great idea."

The number of mobile phone users in the UK has grown from five million in 1995, to 55 million by 2004. As a result, there has been a huge increase in demand for mobile phone masts.

The influx of new masts throughout the UK is often unpopular with residents. Members of the public regularly object to new masts being erected in their neighbourhood on possible health and safety grounds.

The new project would solve the problems involved in erecting large mobile phone masts in communities, offering a forward-thinking, environmentally-friendly alternative.

Chair of the council's planning committee, Councillor Lady Doreen Jones, said: "Applications for mobile phone masts cause more difficulty than most other types of planning applications. There are often objections from residents, but there are very limited grounds on which the council can judge these applications

"Government guidance means our decisions must be based purely on visual amenity and design, and not on grounds of possible health and safety implications, which means applications for new masts can cause great controversy in communities.

"Hopefully, this new project will provide us with a solution to these problems, and help reduce conflict with local residents."

The city council is working with BT on the 'microconnect distributed antennas' project.

The proposals will go before the city council's executive board for approval on Friday 22 July 2005.

Ends

For further information, please contact Damian Richards-Clarke on 0151 225 2464 or 07736 216434

With a record number of dead seabirds washing up on West Coast beaches from Central California to British Columbia, marine biologists are raising the alarm about rising ocean temperatures and dwindling plankton populations.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/071905EA.shtml

Escape from Halifax - Wanted For Conspiracy to Save Seals
From: Long Haul Infoshop <resist@tierra.ucsd.edu>
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 09:17:18 -0700


This email was sent to you by Long Haul Infoshop at resist@burn.ucsd.edu because they thought you might be interested in this article from http://www.infoshop.org/inews . Long Haul Infoshop wrote: For your information.


Escape from Halifax - Wanted For Conspiracy to Save Seals Monday, July 18 2005 @ 06:01 PM PDT Contributed by: Anonymous

Escape from Halifax - Wanted For Conspiracy to Save Seals Sea Shepherd News

07/15/2005

Captain Paul Watson delivered a lecture in a somewhat hostile environment on Tuesday, July 12. He narrowly escaped with his freedom.

He arrived at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia to deliver a lecture on the Canadian seal slaughter sponsored by the Animal Rights Collective of Halifax.

Captain Watson did on-camera interviews with the local television stations before beginning his talk. The lecture was attended by about fifty students and members of the public. There were also Department of Fisheries and Oceans officers in the audience and four police officers.

Captain Watson used the opportunity to blast the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for destroying the Atlantic fisheries.

"It was Canadian government mismanagement and incompetence that destroyed the cod fishery on the East coast and the salmon fishery on the West coast. It is the same incompetence that is presently destroying the snow crab fishery. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans with their hired biostitutes have catered to the interests of corporate greed for decades and they continue to refuse to consider the interests of conservation. They continue to scapegoat the seals. As a result the entire eco-system of the Northwest Atlantic has been irreparably damaged," said Captain Watson.

When questioned about the welfare and the concerns of fishermen, Captain Watson was blunt and to the point. "The fishermen are responsible for the situation they find themselves in. It was their draggers, their trawlers, and their long liners that wiped out the fish. They have no one else but themselves to blame. My sympathy lies with the species they plundered and not with them," he said.

Needless to say this was not the message that the Fisheries officers wanted to hear.

After the talk, some students told Captain Watson that the police had positioned themselves to cover the exits to the room. Captain Watson assumed that this meant he might be arrested or served with a summons, most likely for actions with the ship during the March and April seal campaigns.

Looking out a window of the Student Union Building, Captain Watson could plainly see a parked paddy wagon and police cars. A paddy wagon meant an arrest and jail - this was not a mere summons.

Captain Watson took a back exit but was immediately spied by a plain clothes policeman who called out his name. Captain Watson stepped into a stairwell and ran down three flights of steps. He could hear the man chasing him down the steps. He heard additional footfalls joining the first. He reached the ground floor and ran up a second set of outdoor steps around a couple of corners and entered a pub. He made his way to an upstairs deserted beverage room where he decided to sit down, pull out his laptop, and do some work while he waited for the police officers to grow tired of searching for him.

From the window, he could see the officers scurrying around the Student Union Building. He saw them enter the pub. They looked around and left apparently unaware of the upstairs beverage room.

Inside the Student Union Building, the students who attended the talk were followed to their cars when they left the building.

Captain Watson waited in the beverage room for three hours. He could see the plain clothes officers sitting in two cars watching the building.

At 6:00 p.m. the pub closed and the manager found Captain Watson in the beverage room. Captain Watson said he was up there because it was a quiet place to work and he needed to finish a report. The manager said he could take his time to pack up. At 6:15 p.m., Captain Watson slipped out a side door and avoided the police by walking through back lanes, a park, and around to his car which was parked only a half a block behind the officers.

Captain Watson stepped off the sidewalk to the back of his car, quickly opened the driverís door, slipped behind the wheel, and drove away, passing the police officers who were intently looking at the building.

He then drove out of Halifax.

Captain Watson was actually in Nova Scotia to attend a joint Board meeting by the Sierra Club of the United States of which he is a Director and the Sierra Club of Canada. The meeting is being held in White Point, Nova Scotia, not far from where the Farley Mowat had been berthed in Liverpool in March earlier this year.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans was aware that Captain Watson would be attending this meeting and was prepared to arrest him at the meeting.

Captain Watson decided to leave Nova Scotia instead of attending the meeting.

The question: What were the police intending to arrest him for? Apparently Captain Watson is wanted for conspiracy to disrupt the Canadian seal hunt by bringing his ship to the seal killing grounds without the permission of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Captain Watson and his crew had all applied for the permits to go to the hunt and they were told they could be issued permits but only on the condition that the ship would dock in the Magdalen Islands and the crew report to the DFO offices to receive the permits. Captain Watson and his crew could not do so because the fishermen of the Magdalen Islands threatened to kill him and his crew if they landed in their community. And this was not an idle threat. In 1995, Captain Watson was beaten severely in the Magdalens and his crew threatened when he attempted to introduce seal-brushing to the sealers (a cruelty free non-lethal form of utilizing seals by gently brushing their molting hairs which could be used in the same way eider down feathers are utilized ñ the hollow transparent seal hairs have the same insulating qualities as eider down).

During this yearís Seal Campaign, eleven Sea Shepherd crew were arrested on the ice in March and charged with violating the "Seal Protection regulations" by approaching within a half nautical mile of a sealer without permission.

The Sea Shepherd Eleven are scheduled to appear in court for trial in September in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Immediately prior to their arrest, some of the Sea Shepherd crew were violently assaulted on the ice by sealers. The brutal attacks were video-taped and clearly show sealers striking the Farley Mowat crew members with sealing clubs.

Despite this evidence, no charges have been laid against any of the sealers. Instead the government is using the statements by the assaulted crew members and the videotape as evidence that the crew members are guilty of the crime of photographing a sealer killing a seal.

Captain Watson did express concern at the Dalhousie lecture that this leniency towards allowing the sealers to commit physical assaults against seal defenders is giving the sealers the confidence to escalate their aggression. "When someone is murdered on the ice by a sealer, it will be the Canadian government that is responsible for giving the green light to violence against seal defenders," he said.

Captain Paul Watson is now safely out of Nova Scotia and is safe to return to his ship to prepare for campaigns to oppose poachers in the Galapagos and confronting outlaw Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary.

http://www.seashepherd.org


Comment on this story at
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050718180124723#comments


Peace! *STRIDER*

Von: Aktionsbündnis Münsterland gegen Atomanlagen
Datum: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 21:14:12 +0200

ND 18.07.05:

Peilsender gegen Castorgegner Göttinger Student zwei Wochen lang von der Polizei verfolgt

Von Reimar Paul, Göttingen

Wenn die Castortransporte in der französischen Wiederaufarbeitungsanlage La Hague gestartet und auf dem Weg ins Wendland sind, dann richten Atomkraftgegner und Polizeistrategen ihren Blick auch auf das »Nadelöhr Göttingen«. Schon mehrfach gelang es Umweltschützern, hier – trotz Verbotes – an den Schienen zu demonstrieren und den Atomzug für kurze Zeit zu stoppen. Einmal rauschte der Zug bei Göttingen sogar durch eine veritable Barrikade aus Regenschirmen. Die Staatsanwaltschaft ermittelte deswegen ob möglichen gefährlichen Eingriffs in den Schienenverkehr, das Göttinger Amtsgericht vermochte einen solchen allerdings nicht zu erkennen und stellte das Verfahren gegen die verdächtigen Schirm-Blockierer auf Kosten der Staatskasse ein.

Den Staats- und Castorschützern blieb die listige Göttinger Anti-AKW-Szene allerdings ein Dorn im Auge. Das musste jetzt auch der Physik-Student Daniel H. erfahren. Der 25-Jährige bekam kürzlich Post von der Göttinger Polizei. Das Schreiben enthielt die Mitteilung, dass H. im Herbst 2004, in der Zeit vor der letzten Castorfuhre nach Gorleben, zwei Wochen lang rund um die Uhr beschattet und sein Telefon abgehört wurde. Eine vom Göttinger Rechtsanwalt Johannes Hentschel beantragte Akteneinsicht macht jetzt das ganze Ausmaß der polizeilichen Schnüffelei bekannt. »Vor meiner Haustür standen Tag und Nacht Beamte, die Polizisten folgten mir bis auf die Uni-Toilette und beobachteten, ob ich mich dort mit jemandem traf«, erzählt H., der von der Observation zunächst gar nichts mitbekommen hatte. Auch die Telefonate seiner Mitbewohner seien abgehört worden. Und am Auto eines Bekannten brachten Polizisten einen GPS-Peilsender an. »Offenbar reichte die Fantasie der Beamten so weit, dass sie annahmen, ich wollte das Fahrzeug auf die Schienen stellen, um damit den Castor-Zug anzuhalten.«

Dass sie ausgerechnet H. ins Visier nahmen, begründeten die staatlichen Castorschützer damit, dass der Student auch im eingestellten »Regenschirm-Prozess« angeklagt war und Mitglied im Göttinger Anti-Atom-Plenum sei. Auch die Gestaltung eines Plakates, das zu einer Anti-Atom-Party einlud, wurde H. zugeschrieben. Die Göttinger Polizeiführung, die Attacken gegen den damals bevorstehenden Castortransport befürchtete, veranlasste den Akten zufolge selbst die Observierung. Lediglich das Mithören der Telefonate musste man sich von einem örtlichen Amtsrichter genehmigen lassen. Rechtliche Grundlage für die Selbst-Ermächtigung der Polizei ist der umstrittene Paragraf 33a des kürzlich verschärften Niedersächsischen Gesetzes über die öffentliche Sicherheit und Ordnung (Polizeigesetz). Dieser Paragraf gestattet eine so weit reichende Bespitzelung, wenn »Straftaten von erheblicher Bedeutung« drohen.

»Es ist aber völlig absurd anzunehmen, dass von der Anti-Atom-Bewegung eine Gefahr für das Leben oder die Gesundheit von Menschen ausgeht«, weist Martin M. vom Göttinger Anti-Atom-Plenum entsprechende Verdächtigungen zurück. »Menschen gefährdende Gewalt haben wir immer ausgeschlossen.« Die Wurzel des Übels ist aus Sicht von Rechtsanwalt Hentschel die vage formulierte Regelung im Niedersächsischen Polizeigesetz, die auch bei leisestem Verdacht künftiger Handlungen des Betroffenen die gesamten Überwachungsmaßnahmen zulässt. Eine Klage gegen den Paragrafen 33a ist derzeit beim Bundesverfassungsgericht anhängig.

John Roberts

Here is the dope on John Roberts, the replacement for Sandra Day O'Conner.

Things aren't looking so good. This is from Slate.com:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2121270/?nav=ais

John Roberts Age: 50 Graduated from: Harvard Law School. He clerked for: Judge Henry Friendly, Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He used to be: associate counsel to the president for Ronald Reagan, deputy solicitor general for George H.W. Bush, partner at Hogan & Hartson. He's now: a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (appointed 2003).

His confirmation battle: Roberts has been floated as a nominee who could win widespread support in the Senate. Not so likely. He hasn't been on the bench long enough for his judicial opinions to provide much ammunition for liberal opposition groups. But his record as a lawyer for the Reagan and first Bush administrations and in private practice is down-the-line conservative on key contested fronts, including abortion, separation of church and state, and environmental protection.

Civil Rights and Liberties For a unanimous panel, denied the weak civil rights claims of a 12-year-old girl who was arrested and handcuffed in a Washington, D.C., Metro station for eating a French fry. Roberts noted that "no one is very happy about the events that led to this litigation" and that the Metro authority had changed the policy that led to her arrest. (Hedgepeth v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 2004).

In private practice, wrote a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that Congress had failed to justify a Department of Transportation affirmative action program. (Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Mineta, 2001).

For Reagan, opposed a congressional effort—in the wake of the 1980 Supreme Court decision Mobile v. Bolden—to make it easier for minorities to successfully argue that their votes had been diluted under the Voting Rights Act.

Separation of Church and State For Bush I, co-authored a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that public high-school graduation programs could include religious ceremonies. The Supreme Court disagreed by a vote of 5-4. (Lee v. Weisman, 1992)

Environmental Protection and Property Rights Voted for rehearing in a case about whether a developer had to take down a fence so that the arroyo toad could move freely through its habitat. Roberts argued that the panel was wrong to rule against the developer because the regulations on behalf of the toad, promulgated under the Endangered Species Act, overstepped the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce. At the end of his opinion, Roberts suggested that rehearing would allow the court to "consider alternative grounds" for protecting the toad that are "more consistent with Supreme Court precedent." (Rancho Viejo v. Nortion, 2003)

For Bush I, argued that environmental groups concerned about mining on public lands had not proved enough about the impact of the government's actions to give them standing to sue. The Supreme Court adopted this argument. (Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, 1990)

Criminal Law Joined a unanimous opinion ruling that a police officer who searched the trunk of a car without saying that he was looking for evidence of a crime (the standard for constitutionality) still conducted the search legally, because there was a reasonable basis to think contraband was in the trunk, regardless of whether the officer was thinking in those terms. (U.S. v. Brown, 2004)

Habeas Corpus Joined a unanimous opinion denying the claim of a prisoner who argued that by tightening parole rules in the middle of his sentence, the government subjected him to an unconstitutional after-the-fact punishment. The panel reversed its decision after a Supreme Court ruling directly contradicted it. (Fletcher v. District of Columbia, 2004)

Abortion For Bush I, successfully helped argue that doctors and clinics receiving federal funds may not talk to patients about abortion. (Rust v. Sullivan, 1991)

Judicial Philosophy Concurring in a decision allowing President Bush to halt suits by Americans against Iraq as the country rebuilds, Roberts called for deference to the executive and for a literal reading of the relevant statute. (Acree v. Republic of Iraq, 2004)

In an article written as a law student, argued that the phrase "just compensation" in the Fifth Amendment, which limits the government in the taking of private property, should be "informed by changing norms of justice." This sounds like a nod to liberal constitutional theory, but Rogers' alternative interpretation was more protective of property interests than Supreme Court law at the time.


Informant: Geraldo Cienmarcos

http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=Apt87SMNoOObt4rNWAK1Lg..

Mary Riley thought you would be interested in this action alert from ActForChange.com - the resource center for people with progressive values.

Mary Riley wrote: Mercy! This is appalling.

Scrap the Pentagon's New Database

To take action on this issue, click this link or copy and paste it into your browser:

http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=19269

Doug McIntosh
Gold Digest
15 June 2005

The True Federal Budget Deficit Is $880 Billion

It is amazing how brazen the New World Order has become in spreading its economic lies. Really, they have concluded no one actually reads what they write in such doublespeak places like Parade magazine. Parade appears each and every Sunday in most American newspapers and you would think they would at least try not to lie so openly about economic matters. Whether this is desperation, imperial arrogance or stupidity I leave for the reader to decide. All I can say is the hour is much later for America than many of the Sheeple think. The April 10th, 2005 Sunday Parade supplement tells me that for sure. The NWO struts about openly now, with no pretense of pretending anything anymore. The lies always precede the tanks my friend.

Now, what got me going on this tangent were several items in the Sunday Parade. The first was the creation of the "problem", i.e. the "budget deficit" and second the NWO solution offered. On pages 4 and 5 we got the problem and on page 16 we get the NWO solution. We get a one page profile of Arnold's wife, Maria Shriver, the NWO's choice for the next first lady. Arnold's run for Prez began in Parade Magazine on April 10, 2005. Problem, reaction, solution: this is the NWO modus operandi. [...] Read the rest at:
http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_05/mcintosh061505.html or http://tinyurl.com/8tcoj


© Virginia Metze

News: Holding American companies responsible for high crimes committed overseas.

By Joshua Kurlantzick July/August 2005 Issue Mother Jones

IN THE SPRING of 2003, Terry Collingsworth was holed up in a Bangkok hotel, meeting with a group of Burmese villagers. Terrified by horrors they’d witnessed in Burma, the villagers had contacted local human rights activists, who in turn had gone to Collingsworth, executive director of a small Washington nonprofit called the International Labor Rights Fund, for salvation. Now, almost 10 years later, over the course of days in the hotel, Collingsworth was still sifting through the tales of abuse. The group had claimed that the oil company Unocal had hired Burmese army troops to secure the construction of a pipeline through the country, and that the troops had forced people living near the pipeline into slave labor. One woman was allegedly shoved into a fire holding her baby. Collingsworth, a wiry, clean-cut lawyer who speaks in rat-a-tat phrases and travels incessantly to meet with clients all over the developing world, was affected by their stories but not intimidated. He himself had witnessed and survived many desperate situations, like the time two years earlier, while visiting potential clients in Aceh, Indonesia, he made it through 17 army checkpoints before driving right into a gunfight between rebels and the army. [...] Read the rest at:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2005/07/ATCA.html or http://tinyurl.com/ca3kf


© Virginia Metze

It's the Empire, Stupid By ROBERT JENSEN July 14, 2005

To put the problems of U.S. foreign and military policy into the quip-ridden language of contemporary politics: "It's the empire, stupid."

Understanding this big picture is crucial as we struggle to respond politically to the disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq. Yes, the Bush administration is a threat, but it's not the threat. True, the neocons are a danger, but not the danger.

The threat and danger -- the rot at the core of U.S. actions abroad -- is not a single politician or school of thought, but the project of empire-building. That has gone forward through Republican and Democratic administrations alike, most intensely and recklessly since the end of World War II, when U.S. power and domination peaked. [...] Read the rest at:
http://www.counterpunch.com/jensen07142005.html


© Virginia Metze

By George McEvoy
Palm Beach Post Columnist

Saturday, July 16, 2005

I'm certainly happy that George W. Bush and Karl Rove are not Democrats. If they were, just imagine the mess this country would be in right now, even worse than the mess it is in.

First, there would be cries of "treason" directed at Mr. Rove from the Republican ranks. Some of the more overheated members of Congress would demand that he be taken immediately out back of the Capitol and shot by a firing squad.

After all, he revealed the identity of a covert CIA agent, did he not?

As for his alibi that he never mentioned the name of agent Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak, the Republicans would laugh out loud. What he did tell Mr. Novak was that "the wife" of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson worked for the secret agency. Mr. Wilson had been openly critical of some of President Bush's falsehoods that led us into war in Iraq, and this was the White House's way of getting even.

Names never are mentioned at police lineups, either. The witnesses just point a finger or say the number a certain suspect is holding. [...] Read the rest at the Palm Beach Post web site. http://tinyurl.com/8s5jx


© Virginia Metze

Patrick Fitzgerald has sent a reporter to jail and pulled back the curtain on top staffers' press chats. Does he have a case?

By Jonathan Darman and Michael Isikoff
Newsweek

July 25 issue - Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the 1970s, Patrick Fitzgerald was so determined to attend the prestigious Regis High School that even a rejection letter couldn't keep him away. When his carefully prepared application was denied, Fitzgerald dialed up Regis's director of admissions and protested that there must have been some mistake. Sure enough, the school had mixed up his entrance exam with that of another Patrick Fitzgerald of Brooklyn who got lower marks. The right Patrick Fitzgerald entered Regis that fall.

Now, Washington is wondering if it's gotten Patrick Fitzgerald wrong, too. For nearly two years, the special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame leak investigation has been the city's mystery man, pursuing a murky investigation whose only targets seemed to be members of the press. But as new details emerge about White House efforts to discredit Iraq-war critic Joe Wilson and his CIA agent wife, Washington insiders are seeing Fitzgerald in a new light. Maybe his hard-nosed investigation will do more than just punish reporters. Maybe Fitzgerald's leak investigation will actually uncover who leaked. [...] Read the rest at the MSNBC web site:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8599914/site/newsweek/
or http://tinyurl.com/bvd23


© Virginia Metze

Bush Greenwatch (tracking the Bush Administration's Environmental Misdeeds)
July 18, 2005 | Back Issues

Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), a longtime foe of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), is about to introduce a bill that will dramatically alter the reach of the act. Titled the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005, the Pombo bill has infuriated environmental groups, who have dubbed it the "Wildlife Extinction Bill."

ESA is in many ways the underpinning of the entire structure of America's environmental protection system. The Pombo bill would actually repeal ESA entirely in 2015. [1] [...] Read it all at Bushgreenwatch.org.
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000283.php


© Virginia Metze

By Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
Published on Saturday, July 16, 2005 by CommonDreams.org

Among those who are mournful and angry about the outcome of this election, doubtful about the integrity of the process, and opposed to the neoconservative agenda are Christians who believe the name of Christ is being pressed into service to market a political agenda impossible to align with the ethics, mission, or character of Jesus. Here are some of the identifying features of that agenda: -- suppression of authentic diversity and debate in the name of “unity” -- fearmongering and secret surveillance in the name of “safety” -- wanton military aggression in the name of “liberation” -- triumphalist rewriting of recent history to justify unprecedented economic imperialism -- use of religious language to persuade a poorly informed public to accept political control by the few -- literalistic and selective use of biblical texts to legitimate that control -- sale of government to big business to consolidate that control -- sloganeering, anti-intellectualism, and oversimplification to forestall reflection, analysis, and debate -- expropriation of public media to insure the success of all the above. [...] Read the rest at Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0716-29.htm


© Virginia Metze

By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: July 18, 2005
The New York Times

WASHINGTON, July 17 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected at least 3,500 pages of internal documents in the last several years on a handful of civil rights and antiwar protest groups in what the groups charge is an attempt to stifle political opposition to the Bush administration.

The F.B.I. has in its files 1,173 pages of internal documents on the American Civil Liberties Union, the leading critic of the Bush administration's antiterrorism policies, and 2,383 pages on Greenpeace, an environmental group that has led acts of civil disobedience in protest over the administration's policies, the Justice Department disclosed in a court filing this month in a federal court in Washington. [...] Read the rest at http://tinyurl.com/7hxpb


© Virginia Metze

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=87340;show_parent=1
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=87343;show_parent=1

While the western media desperately tries to deflects public interest with ever-increasing Richter figures now up to an hysterical 9.3, the BBC, HMS Scott and others inadvertently prove conclusively that the horrific event of 26 December 2004 was the biggest single war crime in recorded history.

http://www.vialls.com/subliminalsuggestion/tsunami2.html

Note on Joe Vialls July 14, 2005

To the many readers who have noted his absence in recent weeks, we are happy to report that Joe Vialls is still in the land of the living. However, in an email from him today Joe reports that he has been taken suddenly ill with total adrenal exhaustion.

In recent years Joe has become something of an authority on official malfeasance, writing on everything from the Beslan school massacre, the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman and the recent Asian Tsunami.

Coming shortly before the recent bombings in London, we cannot help but feel more than a little suspicious that the one man, who could have shed further light on the mystery surrounding these events, should be so suddenly incapacitated.

See our archive of articles by Joe Vialls:
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/columnist.asp?ID=3

Footnote – July 18, 2005

It is with profound regret this website has received word that Joe Vialls, one of the great figures of Internet journalism, has passed away. Truly insightful, outspoken and informed, his death is a great loss to independent journalism. Readers are advised to save Joe's work, as in the months and weeks ahead we suspect that the 'Powers that be' will attempt to remove his work from the Internet.

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=3346

Vialls Investigations Exposing Media Disinformation

http://www.vialls.com/


A motherload of information on this site. I had no idea this man existed until tonight, and tonight I also discovered that he has passed away quite suddenly, raising suspicions among his followers. The Tsunami report caused his site to be hacked.

If you have the capability, I would suggest you download the entire site so that his work will never be lost.

Di

http://www.terradaily.com/news/climate-05zzzt.html


Informant: Di