Im Anhang finden Sie die Ergebnisse der Befragung der Direktkandidat/inn/en des Bundestagswahlkreises Bad Tölz/Wolfratshausen zu drei Themenfeldern:

1) Mobilfunk (Grenzwertreduzierung auf 10 Mikrowatt/m²)
2) Verbot der Agro-Gentechnik
3) Grundrecht auf körperliche Unversehrtheit und Verursacherprinnzip

Da es sich um Themen handelt, welche die Wähler bewegen, bitten wir um geeignete Veröffentlichung / Verbreitung.

http://www.omega-news.info/ergebnis_wahlpruefsteine_bt_wahl_2005.doc


Dr. Hans Schmidt
Netzwerk der mobilfunkkritischen Bürgerinitiativen im Landkreis Bad Tölz - Wolfratshausen

http://openpr.de/news/60484.html

--------

Bundestagswahlen in Deutschland - Anfragen an Parteien und Kandidaten

Frage von R.G.

03.09.2005

Sehr geehrter Herr Lafontaine,

wir möchten von Ihnen gerne wissen, wie wichtig für Sie das Thema "Gesundheitsgefahren durch elektromagnetische Felder ( Mobilfunk, DECT-Telefone usw.) ist. Laut unserem Grundgesetz hat jeder Bürger das Recht auf Leben und körperliche Unversehrtheit. Bei allen im Bundestag bisher vertretenen Parteien spielt die durch viele Studien nachgewiesene Gefährdung unserer Gesundheit durch Mobilfunk usw. überhaupt keine Rolle. Die Mobilfunkbetreiber können eine Ungefährlichkeit dieser Technik nicht nachweisen und benutzen im Einvernehmen mit den politisch Verantwortlichen uns Bürger als Versuchskaninchen. Alle wissenschaftlichen Hinweise auf eine Gefahr unserer Gesundheit werden aus rein wirtschaftlichen Gründen verharmlost und bestritten. Inzwischen sind schon sehr viele Menschen durch die ständige Bestrahlung durch die Sendemasten erkrankt. Die PDS war vor der letzten Bundestagswahl (2002) noch die einzige Partei, die sich dieses Themas annahm. (Herr Jüttemann, PDS Thüringen) Informieren können Sie sich über dieses Thema im Internet u.a. www.elektosmognews.de www.hese-projekt.org usw. Im Saarland gibt es in dieser Sache auch viel Protest durch das "Bündnis saarländischer Bürgerinitiativen Mobilfunk".

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Renate G.

Antwort von Oskar Lafontaine

06.09.2005

Sehr geehrte Frau G.,

ich persönlich habe kein Handy, weil mich das ständige Gebimmel stören würde. Im Zusammenhang mit den möglichen Gesundheitsgefährdungen kann ich Ihr Anliegen verstehen. Die grundsätzliche Nachweispflicht für die Unbedenklichkeit sollte bei den Netzbetreibern liegen.

Ich gebe gern zu, dass ich auf dem Gebiet nicht der Experte bin. Nach Rückfragen habe ich Informationen erhalten, dass die Netzleistungen und somit die möglichen Gesundheitsbeeinträchtigungen viel geringer sein könnten, wenn nur unter freien Himmel mobil telefoniert werden könnte. Das Prinzip des "jederzeit an jedem Ort" erzeugt Belastungen, die vermeidbar wären.

Die zukünftige Bundestagsfraktion der Linken wird sich diesem Thema wieder annehmen.


Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Oskar Lafontaine

http://www.kandidatenwatch.de


Aus: Elektrosmognews vom 14.09.2005

--------

Die Parteien im Demokratie-Test: Sieger Linkspartei und Grüne - CDU/CSU auf letztem Platz
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/983978/

AN OUTSIDER'S VIEW - JENNY.

I read the latest Mast Sanity PR announcement with despair. How tragic that we are being forced to live a life cocooned in protective devices and kept functioning by taking expensive remedies. As I said earlier (and please forgive me for repeating myself) the many thousands of victims of this technology in the UK must surely make this a human rights issue on a grand scale. We need some decisive action.

I mention this again because I sense a subtle change in strategy occurring, whereby people will accept and / or be expected to protect themselves against the technology, rather than requiring the technology to change to protect people (see the article on the HPA Report).

Is Mast Sanity as a charity, able to seek advise from Human Rights lawyers on this? Being forced to sleep under Faraday cages, lining walls and curtains with metal, carrying protective boxes etc etc, is frankly outrageous, and surely amounts to the subjugation of a vast number of British citizens. Sadly, for many there is no choice if they are to survive and function with any degree of normality. Perhaps they could send the bills for these protective measures to their local councils and demand that they pay them! However, that's an action that could have a sinister backlash. What would happen if the Government suddenly saw this as a way of getting round their difficulties?

I can almost hear their devious minds clicking away.

'How can we deal with this - it's just not going away, is it? Do you think we ought to throw them a sop? How about looking at ICNIRP - I mean it's just not convincing anyone anymore is it, and it's not making us look good.' What??!! You must be joking. Lose all that revenue, all those kick backs and jollies. Not on your life. Besides, the Ops would hang us out to dry. No, there must be another way .... I know ...

The Swedish method looks promising. We could save billions by not having to make the technology safe - all we have to do is put the people into protective custody instead! Clever eh?' 'You mean make them all walk around with masks and those big puffy white suits that astronauts wear?' 'Are you taking the piss? No, we fund protective materials for ES sufferers, and that way we would be seen to be caring, compassionate, and actually doing something!' 'Great, but won't it be pricey?' 'No, it'll look good on paper but in practice we won't need to spend anything. They'll have to be nearly dead to qualify and even if they do, we could pass a law to say that if only one member of a household is ill, there'll be no entitelement.'

'Great! The Ops'll love it. They'll get free reign across the country and we get lots of lovely dosh!' Pause 'But what about the ... er ... backlash? (said in an embarrassed whisper) 'Won't the people suspect ...?' Laughter. 'Of course they will, but so what? They'll put up with it, they always do. Actually I quite enjoy seeing them frustrated at every turn. It's become quite a spectator sport, especially for us at the ODPM. Just thank your lucky stars that most of them are too nice or too law abiding to do anything radical. If they started that kind of caper we'd really be in the sh ....! '

With huge apologies to Yes Minister, and of course sincere apologies to those who hate people who gum up the system with time wasting trivialities, even if they are trying to make a serious point. I keep trying to find a box to fit into but can't. Jenny

--------

Jenny.

You are a gem.

Can you remember a few years ago when the government said it was going to give a computer to every poor child so they could have one at home.

They can't understand why the funds are all still in the safe.

And there was this about doing something about a deprived area of a city, it was a name given area. But 3-4 years later when a reporter went to take a look, it looked the same, only more deprived.

Words are cheap, especially hot air. Always have been.

You just promise the same just before the next election, and get voted in again.

So, now you have another 4 years where you can rally around telling everyone how great you are,

You have promised to make radical changes to this and that, knowing that no one investigates it for another

4 years, and then the same old, same old.

And if someone reminds you of the misery at home that you promised to do something about, you are busy to go somewhere else to look at other peoples misery, and have a nice time away from the homemade one. And when you come back you talk about having to do something about the Global misery and the homemade stays the same and forgotten, because you have such big ideals.

The same old Merry-go-round.

Agnes

--------

Thanks Agnes - and I couldn't agree more. The terrible truth is we have been manipulated from first to last. Being patient, reasonable and acquiescent is just what they want - always has been. We've been playing into their hands for years. We can't afford to for much longer. As long as we continue to play by their rules, we'll always lose! We need to start making our own rules - people power is a far greater force than governments and big business - we should start using it. Jenny

--------

Wonderful stuff, Jenny and Agnes, and I wholeheartedly agree with you. I have faith in people power, but will the people have faith that they can do it? That is the question. In Poland many people are behind a person who is helping to get masts down. In other countries people are backing those who are trying to make changes. Will the UK achieve this? This rests with the people. It seems in the UK that every bit of research or evidence that is brought forward is overlooked, watered down, or dismissed! Will this continue to be so? If it does, then the people will need to speak out or nothing can be achieved.

Agnes, I understand your feelings so well. Not only do I talk to sick people on the advice line, but some of my family and friends suffer, and so do I. When I first realised how callous and evil some are, I was totally gutted and shocked. When I got over this, my hate and anger were tremendous - warpath variety with no let up! But having reasoned with this, in view of my deep belief and faith in Our Creator, I came out the other side and feel I now work more productively, when I am not zapped too much!

Sandi

--------

Jenny.

You are a gem.

Can you remember a few years ago when the government said it was going to give a computer to every poor child.

So they could have one at home.

The cant understand why the funds are all still in the safe.

And there was this about doing something about a deprived area of a city, it was a name given area

But 3-4 years later when a reporter went to take a look, it looked the same, only more deprived.

Words are cheap, especially hot air. Always have been.

You just promise the same just before the next election, and get voted in again.

So, now you have another 4 years where you can rally around telling everyone how great you are,

You have promised to make radical changes to this and that, knowing that no one investigates it for another 4 years, and then the same old, same old.

And if someone reminds you of the misery at home that you promised to do something about, you are busy to go somewhere else to look at other peoples misery, and have a nice time away from the homemade one. And when you come back you talk about having to do something about the Global misery and the homemade stays the same and forgotten, because you have such big ideals.

The same old Merry-go-round.

Agnes

--------

I could not agree more.

I am trying to do my bit now, and showing the telecoms as what they are, a greedy, sinister lot whose only care is the cash they can rake in, in a short time, not the tragedy the inflict on those standing in their way.

With the big help of Eileen O´Connor we have finally got through to the press, and the sum: £. 407,398,06 seems to have been enough to make them sit up straight.

And, by now they have put on investigative reporters, so maybe there is hope after all. Please cross your fingers for me.

Judging by the way they have reacted to the press, they are not used to be challenged (and do not like it) at the moment they are trying on the LIE bit again to turn things their way.

But I have nothing to loose anymore, so I will not give up.

I will use everything I can to show them for what they are.

Wish me luck. I am scared shitless, but I will not give up.

I have stopped being patient, reasonable and nice, all that is left is hate.

I went to Worcester yesterday, with the GGC Midlands Today and stood outside my old home

After 1½ years it is still vacant, and I can see it is crumbling, it is 200 years old, it needs TLC

On a steady basis, and it is not getting any.

Sorry, I still love that house, and my happy times there Pre-H3G mast.

So, I guess I am like you really are describing, a rabid dog, full of disgust for the people who have no regard for others lives and health as long as they can cash in.

And, that goes for the telecoms and the people who call them selves the rulers of this land.

Who ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR WELLBEING, BY LAW, but only act on fads that they think can make them look good, and whatever gives cash there is to be scraped up.

So, lets hope all of us shake of the apathy, and join the unions. And get active.

Sorry for the raving, but my feelings are very, very strong.

Best regards.

Agnes

http://www.raytownreporter.com/rumb.html


Informant: Dani Djinn

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16567754%255E30417,00.html


Informant: Anna Webb

http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050826125021191


Informant: NHNE

by Charlie Cray, TomPaine.com

As the hurricane waters recede, we face another feeding frenzy for the same crony contractors who botched the job in Iraq.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050913/watch_whos_cleaning_up.php

by David Corn, TomPaine.com

Allowing Republicans to investigate the Bush administration's response to Katrina is the wrong way to prevent future government negligence.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050913/what_went_wrong.php

BY NICOLA HODGSON

Derbyshire Evening Telegraph

09:30 - 12 September 2005

Residents believe that their human rights would be abused if a 25-metre mobile phone mast is approved by councillors.

Seventy people have signed a petition objecting to the mast, which would be built at New House Farm, in Etwall Road, Mickleover.

The Human Rights Act means people have the right to respect for private and family life, home and possessions.

Exemptions include when something is in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country.

A report to the council said: "The objectors to the mast have raised the human rights issue. They assert that it is not a matter of overriding national security or public interest."

However, the report said that there was a public interest because the Government has stated that it wishes the public to have access to the latest mobile phone technology.

It is also considered that the distance between the mast and homes means there would not be any "material impact" on the human rights of people living there.

The location of the mast has already been changed twice by a matter of metres since the application by T-Mobile (UK) Ltd was first submitted to South Derbyshire District Council.

It was moved once at the request of the council to ensure that the bulk of the equipment was screened by trees and the second time by the company after the landowner asked that the mast be moved further away from houses in Ladybank Road. The nearest houses to the site are 300 metres away, in Paxton Close.

Pamela McCahey, of Howden Close, Mickleover, has signed the petition. She lives about 400 metres away from the site of the proposed mast.

She said: "We are not concerned about seeing the wretched thing, we are objecting on human rights and health issues.

"The people who want to put it up can't give us any accurate figures for radiation levels."

A letter signed by 63 people also raises objections including health concerns and the visual impact the mast would have.

The proposal is recommended for approval subject to conditions including that work on the mast should start within three years of permission being granted, and within three months of the equipment becoming surplus to requirements it should be removed.

A spokesman for T-Mobile said: "Based on more than 40 years of research, T-Mobile is confident that its base stations, operating within strict national and international guidelines recognised by the World Health Organisation, do not present a health risk to any member of the public."

Omega this is not true. See under:
http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Wissenschaft+zu+Mobilfunk/
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Cancer+Cluster
http://www.buergerwelle.de/body_science.html

Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/

The development control committee meeting takes place tomorrow, at 6pm in the Council Chamber at the Civic Offices, Civic Way, Swadlincote.

Sep 13 2005

icBirmingham

Britain's biggest mobile phone operators have hit back at Birmingham City Council's attempt to block the siting of telecommunications masts close to schools and hospitals.

The Mobile Phone Operators Association accused the council of behaving " disingenuously" by suggesting that the companies were not opposed to a ban on masts at sensitive sites.

The council's stance, which was approved by the cabinet yesterday, conflicts with a Government ruling that there are no health risks attached to mobile phone masts and that there should be no no-go areas for antennae.

Omega here are health risks attached to mobile phone masts. See under:
http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Wissenschaft+zu+Mobilfunk/ and
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Cancer+Cluster
http://www.buergerwelle.de/body_science.html

Norman Gillan, a spokesman for the MOA, said his organisation was not properly consulted by the council, which could as a result be in breach of its statutory duties.

Mr Gillan, representing Hutchison 3G UK, O2, Orange, T-mobile and Vodafone, said the council's stance on phone masts contradicted advice laid down by the Secretary of State and was opposed by the MOA.

"There is clear guidance on issues surrounding health and the council have decided to disregard this advice," Mr Gillan said.

The MOA is particularly concerned at remarks by Mick Wilkes, chairman of the council's main scrutiny committee, who said it was significant that the mobile phone companies had not lodged an official objection to the sensitive sites policy.

Coun Wilkes (Lib Dem Hall Green) said the operators had expressed support for sensitive sites policy when it was discussed at a scrutiny hearing. They appeared to have changed their minds since then.

"I wonder if they have been given a nudge by someone?," he added.

Coun Wilkes said: "What we are trying to achieve is a settlement in the best interests of all concerned including the phone companies and the citizens of Birmingham."

The council faces a wait now to hear whether the Government will intervene, forcing it to scrap the policy and allow phone masts to be sited near to schools and hospitals.

By Nic Brunetti
Bucks Free Press

RESIDENTS are calling on council chiefs to reject a new application for a controversial phone mast and end their year-long battle with T-Mobile.

As reported in June, opponents to the mast in Wycombe Road, Marlow, won their fight against the planning decision that allowed the mast to go up just metres from their homes.

They submitted the case for judicial review but settled out of court with Wycombe District Council, who agreed to a consent order that quashed the planning decision.

However, the order meant that the mast would only be taken down if a new application by the mobile phone giants was unsuccessful.

And now T-Mobile has submitted a full planning application with residents promising a full rally of opposition before the final decision is made.

David Reynolds, leader of the residents, said he hoped the council would take a closer look at plans this time around.

This includes legal arguments in the original case, where the council admitted it did not contact Great Marlow School about the mast, despite a Government report saying that radiation beams of the "greatest intensity" strike the ground between 50 and 200 metres.

Great Marlow is only 150 metres from the mast which was put up last year but has yet to be activated.

Mr Reynolds said: "We hope that the council will see sense and refuse the application so the mobile phone mast can be put somewhere more appropriate."

Mr Reynolds said he is still awaiting payment for his legal costs, which the council were ordered to pay as part of the consent order.

The council has since said Great Marlow will be contacted over the new application after a review of notifications policy.

As the new submission is a full planning application, it means there is no time deadline for a decision which was previously the case with a General Permitted Development Order. These give telecom companies the right to have masts approved if a decision is not made within 56 days but this cannot happen this time.

Mr Reynolds said he believed this would allow greater scope for objections and a better chance for councillors to consider residents' views.

A T-mobile spokesman said: "As a result of the consent order issued, T-Mobile has submitted a full planning application to the local planning authority."

Sep 13 2005

icSurrey

By Joan Mulcaster

A COUNCILLOR is so convinced it is possible to manage without a mobile phone she refuses to have one.

Jan Mason, the vice-chairman of Epsom and Ewell Council's planning committee, voted with other members to refuse planning permission for the 20 metre mast in Court Recreation Ground - a decision applauded by protesters in the public gallery.

She said: "I have chosen not to have one on moral grounds, but I should think most people in this room do have one."

Officers had recommended approval of the proposed structure - a timber clad, green-painted attempt at tree-like camouflage.

The committee turned the plan down as being unacceptable in a public park.

But both councillors and planners agreed that the march of the masts into Epsom and Ewell and other UK environments was not going to go away.

And Mrs Mason pointed out that, although it would have been the first in a recreation ground, it was not the first in a public open space.

She said: "There is one in Horton Park Golf Club."

The near 1,000-name petition and scores of letters from roads round the popular recreation ground represented so far the largest protest ever against a mast in the borough.

Mum-to-be Jane Case and Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Green finished off weeks of campaigning with an impassioned plea to the Thursday night committee that the mast should be rejected on visual and health grounds in a park where the greatest users were toddlers in Court Rec's playground.

Although protesters went home happy, they do not know yet if the five networks due to be served by the multi-company mast will appeal to the Department of Environment.

Planning officers pointed out that, with usage of mobiles ever increasing, the masts were unavoidable.

The non-voting Liberal Democrat councillor Lionel Blackman suggested more research should be done on the aesthetics, to find out what other countries were doing to disguise them as trees.

He said: "This could take the edge off the unpleasant aspects of masts."

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=30499


Informant: Ed

In the last month it has become clearer than ever that the so-called war on terror is being used as a pretext to destroy civil liberties and democratic rights in Australia.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/642/642p7b.htm


From Information Clearing House

According to Philip Giraldi, “the United States is developing a plan for the bombing of supposed military targets in Iran, which would include the use of NUCLEAR WEAPONS. The US strike would take place after a 9/11-type terrorist attack on the US. However, the US attack would not depend on Iran actually being involved in the terrorism.

http://snipurl.com/hmhw


From Information Clearing House

Scores of Mississippi National Guardsmen in Iraq who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina have been refused even 15-day leaves to aid their displaced families.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10240.htm

The figures on the city's poverty were appalling. The poverty rate was nearly triple that of the national average. More than 40 percent of public school kids were illiterate, and half would drop out before graduation.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10235.htm

Witnesses said the officers fired their guns above the heads of the terrified people to drive them back and "protect" their own suburbs.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10241.htm

Elizabeth Reyes, 30, said she was dismissed last week for violating the agency's media policy after she was quoted in a Sept. 3 story by The Washington Post about tax deductions on Rove's homes in Washington and Texas.

http://snipurl.com/hmhj


From Information Clearing House

Leaving prisoners behind in appalling conditions.
http://snipurl.com/hmhh


From Information Clearing House

Now, his body been here for almost two weeks. Two weeks tomorrow. All right. That this man's body been laying here. And there's no reason for it. Look where we at? I mean, it's not flooded. There's no reason for them to be, left that body right here like this. You mean, just totally disrespect. You know? I mean two weeks. Video and transcript.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10259.htm

By any standard of human decency, condemning many already poor and now bereft people to subpar wages - thus perpetuating their poverty - is unacceptable.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10257.htm

Who will reap this bonanza? Not the people employed to remove wreckage, build houses and restore the infrastructure. While Congress was appropriating nearly $52 billion in relief and reconstruction programs last week, Bush quietly suspended the Davis-Bacon Act in the flood region. This law mandates that workers on federal construction projects be paid at least the prevailing local wage.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10256.htm

The Yoo Doctrine, as it might be called, fits with the broader Bush-administration view that pursuing American interests is best for the country and the rest of the world.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10253.htm

The United Nations is investigating the CIA's use of British airports when abducting terrorism suspects and flying them to prisons around the world where they are alleged to have been tortured.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10250.htm

His ruling in Rumsfeld vs. Hamdan confers absolute authority on the President to imprison suspects indefinitely without any legal process in place to challenge their imprisonment. But, if this is true, than why do we need courts or judges at all? Why not simply resolve these issues by executive fiat?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10251.htm

By Jason Miller

America’s wealthy, predominately white power-brokers dominate the US government by utilizing their money to win elections, buying elected officials through campaign finance, applying expensive lobbying efforts to sway votes and decisions, and exerting influence through powerful corporations.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10260.htm

http://www.sauvonsleon.fr/main.php?param=dernieresinfos&date_news=2005-09-09


ASL FRANCE News

*Government compliance with FOIA appears to be deteriorating in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, even for requests to learn about dangerous chemicals leaking as a result of Hurricane Katrina.* Excessive delays in releasing information are common -- with some FOIA requests taking more than a year to fulfill. Even when documents are turned over, agencies frequently black out huge amounts of information.

*A flawed tool-- Environmental reporters' experiences with the Freedom of Information Act http://www.sej.org/foia/fallout.htm#091205 *

Published by Society of Environmental Journalists
http://www.sej.org


Informant: Teresa Binstock

The crisis wrought by Katrina, shaped by the policies of a government that neglected long-term needs, could help shift the balance of politics, Moberg explains. So far, no one has stepped up.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091205F.shtml

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0912-06.htm



Cindy Sheehan
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Sheehan

http://tinyurl.com/cd49x


From ECOTERRA Intl.

This week's United Nations World Summit is in danger of being derailed by the United States. The US is working to ensure that its outcome will do little to alleviate the suffering and human rights violations experienced by the world's poorest people - most of them women and their children.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/091205WB.shtml

If the White House wants to move the debate about Hurricane Katrina beyond what it calls the "blame game" for bodies decomposing in the streets of New Orleans, then here's a constructive step that President Bush could take to protect people in the future: Tackle global warming.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/091205EB.shtml

Declaring that "the environment is not a luxury, not a Gucci accessory bag or a fancy silk tie affordable only when all other issues have been resolved," the head of the United Nations ecological agency today called on this week's World Summit to give the environment its due priority as the key to human development.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/091205EA.shtml

Critics have begun to voice a new criticism of President Bush's nominee after Katrina demolished parts of the Gulf Coast. Sen. Barack Obama, a black Democrat, worries that the nominee has not taken racial issues seriously in his judicial thinking. Speaking about the black residents of New Orleans, who were the storm's most visible victims, Dean said that Roberts' "entire legal career appears to be about making sure those folks don't have the same rights everybody else does."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091205S.shtml

CounterPunch
by Paul Craig Roberts

09/12/05

Readers have insisted to me that Bush administration incompetence, even at the level of criminal negligence, cannot explain the New Orleans disaster. They insist there must have been willful intent as the disaster is too large and was too predictable to be the result of mere incompetence. Readers cite the following circumstantial evidence in behalf of their views: The response of federal emergency management was delayed until survivors desperate for food and water (and some for a drug fix) began looting. In keeping with James Q. Wilson's 'broken window' analogy, looting for survival quickly spread into general lawlessness on the part of some elements. ... The lawlessness provided cover for the federal government to violate the Posse Commitatus Act and send in regular military troops to police civilian populations .... Lawlessness, the eruption of which was guaranteed by delayed relief, provides cover both for martial law, which suspends constitutional protections, and for the confiscation of legally owned private firearms in violation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. ... These suspicions are widely held. They demand careful investigation both by Congress and the news media. If there are valid grounds for the suspicions, our remaining liberties are at risk. Even if the suspicions are groundless, they are highly corrosive of many Americans' belief in their system of government... [Editor's note: By George, I think he's 'got it' - MLS]

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts09122005.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CounterPunch
by Bill Glahn

09/12/05

It wasn't all that uncommon during this catastrophe to see reporters lose their composure. During the past few days, however, things have shifted back to standard operating procedure. For the major media, that means to point blame but protect the system. It benefits them. The White House wants reporters to refer to refugees as 'displaced persons.' 'We don't have refugees in the United States.' Bullshit. These folks are refugees. 'We were abandoned' is not a reflection of individual blame. It is a condemnation of the whole system. I inherited my tears from these folks. They were not tears of sorrow. They were not tears of pity. To apply the French twist to it, they were 'larmes de colere.' Tears of rage...

http://www.counterpunch.org/glahn09122005.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Village Voice
by Laura Rozen

09/12/05

For the Bush spin machine, the dual disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the official response to it presented a rare instance where the facts proved hard to manipulate. The idea was to push blame away from the White House and toward Louisiana Democrats like Governor Kathleen Blanco. But suddenly, the dog wouldn't wag. The props, the carefully stage-managed Bush photo opportunities, the anonymous White House quotes smearing local officials, kept unraveling just as fast as the spinners can issue them. And they just keep unraveling. Here are a few examples...

http://villagevoice.com/news/0537,rozen,67724,2.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Village Voice
by Nat Hentoff

09/09/05

In chilling contrast, let us look at Bush nominee for chief justice John Roberts. When he was a judge, on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, he ruled significantly in a 2004 case, Hedgepeth ex rel. Hedgepeth v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. As you consider his conception of justice, would you confirm John Roberts as chief justice of the United States, now that he has been nominated by Bush? The facts of the case are detailed by constitutionalist John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, which helped provide a lawyer to the mother of the plaintiff: 'On October 23, 2000, 12-year-old Ansche Hedgepeth ... arrived at a Washington, D.C., Metro station to catch the train home.' She put one of the french fries she'd bought in her mouth. 'Immediately, a police officer demanded she put down her french fries and remove her backpack. Although Ansche never resisted or failed to cooperate with the officer, she was told to place her hands behind her back and she was handcuffed.' Ansche was informed she had broken the law against eating in a subway station, and her shoestrings were removed by a policeman, who searched her. ... The likely future chief justice John Roberts ruled for a unanimous three-judge panel that Ansche's Fourth Amendment and equal-protection rights had not been violated...

http://villagevoice.com/news/0537,hentoff,67717,6.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Raw Story
by Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky

09/11/05

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen's store at the corner of Royal and Iberville streets remained locked. The dairy display case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without electricity, running water, plumbing. The milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the food, water, pampers, and prescriptions and fled the City. Outside Walgreen's windows, residents and tourists grew increasingly thirsty and hungry. The much-promised federal, state and local aid never materialized and the windows at Walgreen's gave way to the looters. There was an alternative. The cops could have broken one small window and distributed the nuts, fruit juices, and bottle water in an organized and systematic manner. But they did not. Instead they spent hours playing cat and mouse, temporarily chasing away the looters...

http://tinyurl.com/76web


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Christopher Westley

09/12/05

What if there was no such thing as FEMA? I asked myself that question after reading about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's bungled efforts to serve the poor and suffering in the area formerly known as New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, FEMA was criticized for inaction, epitomized by Director Michael Brown's August 29th memo suggesting workers be allowed two days to get to the ravaged region. (Incredibly, Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke defended the two-day delay as necessary to provide workers with adequate training.)

http://www.mises.org/story/1908


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/opinion/12krugman.html


Informant: NHNE

The Free Liberal
by Bernie Quigley

09/12/05

There is a natural stasis to bureaucracy that brings management to fight failure with failure and it is perhaps most hidebound at the Pentagon. Thus this week, the Pentagon has drafted a revised doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons that envisions commanders requesting presidential approval to pre-empt an attack. The 'pre-emptive' posture, which alienated most all of the world from our legitimate attempts to fight terrorism after 9/11 is sure to frighten them off this time. This idea was first presented publicly by 'man of faith' journalist of the Christian Right, syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, who called for the use of nuclear weapons against the Taliban in a nationally syndicated column shortly after 9/11. These people are right out there where the buses don't run...

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/001414.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Mother Jones
by JoAnn Wypijewski

09/05

The Pentagon's recruitment crisis is only the latest evidence that the authors of Operation Iraqi Freedom forgot something on the way to war: the adamant memory of Vietnam, and not in the usual sense. There's a truism among military strategists that 'the war before' colors the one you're fighting. World War II corporatized the military, in everything from management style to procurement to the seemingly permanent draft, even as it helped make the middle class and valorized combat experience as the ultimate manly credential. The Vietnam War was born of all that and then convulsed on it, transforming the draft into political dynamite and restructuring the Army to make wars like the one in Iraq unthinkable, or so almost everyone on up to Colin Powell once thought. Now retired Army officers will say openly that there's no precedent for running a full-scale war with a volunteer army; they will cite the Powell Doctrine -- prescribing war only on condition of mass public support, swift and overwhelming force, and a clear exit strategy -- as the lost lesson of the war before, the thing that Bush and Cheney, with no experience of Vietnam, were mindless of, and that Powell, whether too weak, too ambitious, or too loyal, failed to impress upon them. Such critiques miss the fundamental lesson, which is that soldiers forced to become criminals for old men's ambitions won't all come home quietly...

http://tinyurl.com/a38f2


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Kn@ppster
by Thomas L. Knapp

09/12/05

I can think of a hundred reasons why Bush should be impeached. Unfortunately, the very people -- of both parties -- who would have to draw up and approve the articles (the US House of Representatives) and who would have to try and convict him (the US Senate) are co-conspirators in the relevant offenses. The House and Senate (including many Democrats) approved the illegal war on Iraq. The House and Senate (including many Democrats) and in general the previous (Democratic) administration made, or adopted as true, most or all of the false claims used to justify that illegal war. The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee himself voted for the war and declined to make a serious case against it in his campaign, choosing to kvetch about the details of its execution rather the legality or propriety of its commencement or conduct. Were FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, or the Lake Pontchartrain levee project underfunded? The budget is passed by Congress before it's signed by the president. Was FEMA director Michael Brown incompetent? He didn't get where he was without vetting and confirmation by the US Senate (which, as far as I can tell, occurred on a unanimous voice vote). Graft? Influence-peddling? Corruption? Sure, they're all there -- but you can't swing a cat on Capitol Hill without hitting a lobbyist carrying a brown paper bag full of unmarked, small-denomination bills, either...

http://knappster.blogspot.com/2005/09/impeachy-keen.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Downing+Street+Memo

Christian Science Monitor

09/12/05

What did you know, and when did you know it? That query, dating from the Watergate probe, is perhaps the best known question ever asked during a congressional hearing (at least since the McCarthy era). But the kind of scandal that prompts such a bare-knuckled interrogation does not appear on John Roberts's golden resume. The US Supreme Court nominee, now appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, is being questioned about his conservative leanings, his past writings, and his courtroom advocacy of far-right constitutional interpretations. ... Nonetheless ... Roberts was in close proximity to what ultimately became the Reagan administration's Iran-contra scandal...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0913/p03s01-usfp.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Washington Times

09/12/05

The politics of Hurricane Katrina was playing out long before the pumps started draining New Orleans, with Democrats seeing an opening to attack the president and a longtime friend of the Bush family convinced that all Republicans are now in big trouble. Republican political consultant Michael Edelman, who has known the Bush family for decades, said the perception that the federal government failed miserably to react quickly enough to the crisis puts the Republican control of Congress at risk next year. 'The Democrats have an issue in this hurricane,' Mr. Edelman said. 'They were given it and they are going to run it up the flagpole. If the Republicans in Congress are not careful, they are going to lose the midterm elections. They know it, too. They can smell it'...

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050911-113936-2115r.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

New Orleans Times-Picayune

09/11/05

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said he has 'commandered' the Sam's and Wal-Mart stores in the parish and ordered them to open as soon as possible. Lee said he took the action after he learned that a Wal-Mart store wanted to open recently but was told by FEMA officials that it could not. 'I am upset with FEMA and some of their regulations,' Lee said. After talking about the situation concerning the Wal-Mart on Thursday, Lee said he briefly talked to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans on Friday. He asked her to check on the situation and find out if there was a legitimate reason to keep the store closed. But because of communication difficulties, he did not hear back and took the situation in his own hands. Lee said he gave handwritten notes to Wal-Mart stores in Harvey and Kenner saying they were ordered to open as soon as possible. Lee said Parish President Aaron Broussard agreed with the decision. Lee said anyone from FEMA who tries to close either store will be arrested by deputies...

http://tinyurl.com/8a2e4


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

MSNBC

09/12/05

FBI agents often violate the bureau's rules for handling confidential informants, rules revised after FBI abuses in the 1990s, the Justice Department's internal watchdog said Monday. A review of 120 confidential informant files from FBI offices around the country found violations in 104 cases, or 87 percent, Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said. His 301-page report, parts of which were blacked out, examined FBI compliance with rules that govern most criminal investigations...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9317523/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Bellacio

09/11/05

'All Our Visitors Bring Happiness,' reads the wrought iron sign on the front column of Albert Cousin's 102-year-old Victorian house. Not Wednesday. Sheriff's deputies in body armor and holding rifles came to try to force Cousin and other residents of St. Bernard Parish to get out of town. ... For the past few days, residents have found comfort in food and water brought by units of the Georgia National Guard, who arrived Labor Day weekend. ... With such efforts under way, the rousting of residents was left to deputies from neighboring parishes, and law enforcement members from as far away as Oklahoma City. The forced eviction of stubborn occupants of this parish, the first community downriver from New Orleans, is more aggressive than similar efforts in the city...

http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=8220


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050911/ap_on_sc/greenland_arctic_thaw


Informant: Anna Webb

WHAT'S NEW ON CORPWATCH Holding Corporations Accountable << http://www.corpwatch.org >> Hurricane Katrina and Climate Justice Joshua Karliner September 12th, 2005

For nearly five years George Bush has infuriated much of the world by refusing to take action on global warming. Instead, he has called for more study. In a way, he got what he wanted with Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12629

IN THE NEWS

US: F.D.A. Had Report of Short Circuit in Heart Devices
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12623

HONG KONG: Yahoo, Chinese Police, and a Jailed Journalist
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12621

US: No-Bid Contracts Win Katrina Work
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12620

US: Cover-up: toxic waters 'will make New Orleans unsafe for a decade' http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12622

US: Boeing May Avoid Criminal Prosecution
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12619

US: Katrina-Hit States Turn to Private Security Firms
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12617

IRAQ: Reconstruction Falters and Running Out of Money
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12605

AFRICA: Amnesty accuses oil firms of overriding human rights
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12626


CorpWatch -- Holding Corporations Accountable
1611 Telegraph Ave, Suite 702 Oakland, CA 94612 USA Tel: 510-271-8080 Fax: 510-271-8083 URL: http://www.corpwatch.org Also check out http://www.warprofiteers.com


Informant: Scott Munson

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/11/nfuel11.xml


Informant: Scott Munson

FROM: Tom Atlee <cii@igc.org >
* The Co-Intelligence Institute * PO Box 493 * Eugene, OR 97440

"Have the past struggles succeeded? What has succeeded? yourself? your nation? Nature? Now understand me well - it is provided in the essence of things that from any fruition of success, no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary?" -- Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road


I will be sending several emails to you in the next couple of days, and then you will have almost two weeks of silence from me as I attend another gathering for intensive inquiry about our global situation and how to respond creatively, this time in England, at a location sufficiently off the beaten path that I will be mostly offline.

Thankfully, there are many voices now calling for accountability, compassion, aid, and justice. My own voice will call for building our capacity to transform our civilization into something more collectively wise and intelligent, something that continually finds new ways to work for all life.

This particular mailing brings to light some interesting ideas for using Katrina for positive, sustainable change. Tomorrow I will send one on "Talking to Katrina and Each Other" and a collection of responses to the mailing on love and systems change.

Coheartedly, Tom


SUSTAINABLE RESPONSES

I recommend exploring the WorldChanging blog http://www.worldchanging.com where Alan AtkKisson's great essay is posted. I just read the excellent "New Orleans: Everything has Changed" by Alex Steffan http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003436.html . The whole blog is filled with positive, useful material -- sort of a Whole Earth Catalog blog. Use the categories list at the top of each page to find articles that interest you.

Here's a hot tidbit from http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003454.html "Design, Disasters and the Value of Thinking Big" by Jamais Cascio Good disaster design should, in my view:

* Be decentralized, and thereby less likely to be rendered inoperative by damage to a centralized facilities, etc.

* Be in the hands of the general public, so as to leverage technology that is already in use and that people are likely to have with them when disaster strikes, so they can get up-to-the minute information.

* Be two-way, so that the general public and/or responders who may be the first to come upon an emerging problem can feed information back to authorities.

* Be redundant, because various technologies have distinctive strengths and liabilities that may render them unusable, or, make them crucial fall-back options.

* Allow dissemination of information in advance, so they can be quickly activated and/or customized in an emergency (instead of requiring massive data-dumps in the midst of a crisis).

* Foster collaboration, because multiple agencies and jurisdictions may be involved and will need to share information from a wide range of sources on a real-time basis.

* Be transparent, so as to determine when changes are needed and that undesired functions are not being performed.

* Default to harmlessness, so that when systems fail (and they will), they can fail gracefully, in a way which does not itself make problems worse.

* Be usable by the old and infirm, as the median age is advancing steadily around the world, and the senior members of society have their own ergonomics and anthropometrics.

* Make the Invisible Visible, so as to give people a chance to see danger before its too late, whether water-born pathogens, leaks of toxic chemicals, or overcrowded evacuation centers.

TOXICS

The pumping of highly polluted waters from New Orleans (and elsewhere) into Lake Ponchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico is extremely bad for the environment. And the proposal to use chlorine to kill the germs will add further to the damage. I don't know if it is too late to contemplate the use of natural remedies in this case, but their existence should be widely known, and the issue thoroughly discussed as a result of Katrina, since this problem will repeat many times in the future. Among the resources available on this subject:

John and Nancy Todd of the New Alchemy Institute

http://www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/newalchemy.html http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/DO_JohnTodd.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0517/p15s03-bogn.html

have done exceptional work on the bioremediation of toxics, with totally organic water purifications systems.

Paul Stamets has identified toxics-cleaning mushrooms http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/19680/

One unverified report that's circulating http://tinyurl.com/dq8da says that Effective Microorganisms http://www.emamerica.com is also a very powerful toxic clean-up agent and that "Jon Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, is willing to purchase all of the stocks of EM from the production plant in Tucson, about 25 tons, and ship it to the New Orleans Disaster Relief. Once there, each gallon of EM can be activated 2000 times from its original quantity, which would total 50,000 tons."

A good book to have on hand for future catastrophes is NATURE'S OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS http://ucpress.edu/books/sc/pages/SC50995.html .

GASOLINE CONSUMPTION

For an imaginative quick way to start getting gas consumption under control, Vicki Robin writes:

Here's something every driver can do right now to address the rising prices at the pump and looming gas shortages.

I drive a Honda Insight with an electronic miles per gallon gauge that gives me constant feedback on my driving. Every millimeter of pressure on the gas pedal shows up instantly, driving that little line of lights down towards 0. Every bit of coasting drives them up towards 100 mpg. Getting that line of lights to dance upward becomes a game. Getting the total average mpg per tankful to ratchet up becomes a challenge. In the process, I've become a champion gas-saving gal in my little 2-seater silver bullet. All from feedback. This game saves perhaps 20% in gas consumption. At this moment, that's significant. With a tank of gas for ordinary cars inching over 50 bucks a pop, just the financial savings alone might attract you to installing such a miracle meter in your car. You can - and it will pay for itself in a few tankfuls. Right online at http://tinyurl.com/dxf4q you can buy a little $30 "vacuum gauge" your mechanic can install in an hour. Before my insight, I always installed one on my dash. You could try your local auto supply store as well. A "vacuum gauge" is not quite as jazzy as my onboard computer, but that little needle will still train your foot to be lighter than Fred Astaire's.

Behind the utility of saving money is the imperative in this moment of using less oil. Our supplies are vulnerable - politics and storms can both wipe them out. Violence associated with diminishing essential resources is an age-old problem for our species. Wars are fought over water, food and fuel. People turn mean, hoard, abandon their neighbors, disregard calls for sacrifice when they fear their personal needs won't be met. They vote down collective solutions like public transportation while they have access to oil.

Retooling the whole fleet of American cars to get better gas mileage will take many years. Building public transportation that is so good that people would rather use it than their cars will take even more years. Getting the right policies in place that reward efficiency and penalize waste will take ongoing political wrangling. But if everyone in the US put one of these little $30 gauges in their cars, we could better defend ANWR. We could reduce the temptation to bully other nations for their oil. Imagine the whole fleet of American cars with little vacuum gauges driving delicately down the highways at the optimum gas-saving speed of under 60 miles per hour. Imagine a 10% or more reduction in demand for gas. Imagine arriving at destinations a little less frazzled. Imagine bumper stickers that say "I know my MPG - do you?" "Driving for a solution - MPG meter on board". Imagine a little thing each of us can do that would actually help this big mess. Of course the big work of engineering a more fuel efficient fleet, changing policies, building public transportation and developing new sources of energy all needs to be done. But what's the little guy to do in the meantime? I say, spend $30 and join the exciting game of getting that gauge to go in the right direction.

By the way, I regularly get 52-55 miles per gallon. Please save me from my gloating by getting an MPG meter too. PS - I know acknowledgements are the custom in books, not emails, but I want to briefly bow to the late Dana Meadows who introduced me to systems thinking. For Dana's article about her experience of that mpg gauge on her Honda Insight, go to http://www.sustainer.org/dhm_archive/index.php?display_article=vn844insighted
PPS - What if, with the stoke of an executive pen, such meters were required equipment along with air bags? Hmmm. Know any executives...


Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * PO Box 493 * Eugene, OR 97440


Informant: Martin Greenhut

http://tinyurl.com/c4kbn


Informant: NHNE

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/3401/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-30-census-poverty_x.htm?csp=15


Informant: bdpoe

New Orleans man claims the levy was "blown up"
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=91213;show_parent=1

--------

LOCALS, OFFICIALS SUGGEST LEVEES WERE INTENTIONALLY BLOWN
http://www.prisonplanet.com/Pages/090905levees.htm


Informant: NHNE

--------

SECOND UPDATE: Monday Sept. 12, 2005 @ 8:23 AM ABC News Video with Ear Witness to Explosions and states emphatically "They blew this levee" Click the link below the story

Click Here to Watch the ABC NEWS Video
http://www.halturnershow.com/EarWitnessVideo.html


John Johnson
Change-Links Progressive Newspaper
change@pacbell.net

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=91159;show_parent=1



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Downing+Street+Memo