ISIS Press Release 09/11/05 Zambia Holding Firm to GM Ban Amid Aggressive GM Awareness Campaign

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

Zambian Minister of Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Mrs Judith Kapijimpanga, told the international conference on Genetic Engineering and Sustainable Agriculture in Lusaka, 3-6 October, that her country had taken a bold stance to reject GMO foods and conditions attached to them, “much to the annoyance of some donors.”

The Zambian government is committed to rejecting GM foods and aids to protect humans and animals and the environment. It is taking a precautionary stance on GM and ensuring sustainable agriculture.

She said the problem of food insecurity in Africa was a result of complex issues including droughts, floods, poor rural infrastructure, unreliable input distributions, subsidies, farmers' attitudes and agricultural policies. It required an integrated approach for sustainability.

The public and farmers have no access to reliable information and data, which is why the government is investing K900 million (~US$200 000) to set up a national institute of scientific research on GMO testing, to enable scientists to generate knowledge on biotechnology. She challenged the media to obtain and report accurate information on biotechnology and biosafety.

Hon Abel Chambeshi, Zambia's Minister for Communication, in closing the conference, reiterated that Zambia is committed to ban the release of GMOs and confine them to the laboratory. Safety and sustainable agriculture need to be given more attention at all levels, he said . Informed decisions need to be made in Zambia and within the region. Scientists should confine as much as possible their research in the laboratory, and only allow those approved as safe by regulation .

“Conservation farming and organic farming are proven to work,” Chambeshi said, “let us continue with them to eradicate hunger.”

Zambia shook the world when it took the lead in rejecting GM food aid in 2002 in the midst of projected famine (greatly exaggerated by the press and pro-GM lobby), opting instead to purchase food surpluses from within the country and the African region ( SiS 16 and SiS 17). The country recovered sufficiently to export maize surpluses to Angola in 2004.

Unfortunately, drought hit the sub- Saharan African countries including Zambia during the 2004/05 growing season, leaving many local communities short of food. So, once again, the pro-GM lobby has been taking the opportunity to promote GM crops for feeding the poor and hungry; and Zambia and other countries have been under tremendous pressure to accept GM food aid.

I was among the scientists, government and non-government representatives, and journalists invited to attend the international conference.

Not surprisingly, many participants rejected the idea that GM crops have a role to play in sustainable agriculture, especially for poor farmers; and considered it a waste of time to even discuss the GM option.

Dr Drinah Nyirenda, executive director of Programme Against Malnutrition, said there was need for technologies that optimised food production and utilisation. Any technology that fails will simply perpetuate poverty and hunger. “GM technology does not quality because it does not satisfy the issues raised on food availability, safety, environment and biodiversity sustainability on which the vulnerable small-scale farmer depends.”

Several promising approaches to sustainable agriculture were described at the conference (“Brother Paul's organic cotton & vegetable farm” and “Farmer who values his freedom above all”, this issue).

My message was simple. Once the hype, lies, half-truths and corruption are stripped away, there is no evidence GM crops have delivered any of the benefits promised by proponents, such as improved yields, reduced pesticides, or economic gains for small farmers; quite the opposite is the case. And there are large uncertainties over the safety of GM crops for health and the environment.

Most of all, farmers will lose control of seeds, for GM seeds are protected by patents; and apart from having to purchase seed every year, they must pay additional “technology fees”.

Furthermore, even if farmers choose not to grow GM crops, companies like Monsanto could and would still take them to court for patent infringement, should their fields become contaminated with GM seed or pollen. And organic farmers are not the only people under threat from GM contamination – a myth perpetrated by the pro-GM lobby – but farmers growing conventional crops as well.

Europe, a major food importer, has set GM contamination thresholds for conventional imports, above which they have to be labelled as GM. Countries around the world are due to follow suit.

US journalist Jeffrey Smith, whose book Seeds of Deception exposed the cover-ups and suppression of scientists and scientific evidence over the safety of GM food and feed, applauded Zambia's precautionary stance in rejecting GM food aid.

“We have neither the legal biosafety regulatory framework, nor the capacity to deal with GM imports, while large uncertainties remain over the safety of GM crops for health and the environment,” explained Dr. M. M. Lewanika, head of the Institute of Biotechnology in Zambia.

Two apologists for GM crops stood out, not so much in projecting a rose-tinted view of a biotech future under the now familiar refrain of “keeping all options open” even though “GM crops are not a panacea”, nor in denigrating and questioning organic agriculture at every opportunity; but in using an identical, crudely emotive tactic to try to morally blackmail their audience into accepting GM crops.

Dr Luke Mumba, chair of the Bio-safety Council of Zambia and researcher at the University of Zambia, included in his powerpoint presentation a photograph of an emaciated child crawling on barren ground with a vulture standing nearby, watching. The starving child, Mumba told us, was crawling towards food aid, with the vulture at its back. The child managed to reach the food aid and was saved, but the journalist who took the picture committed suicide.

Remarkably, Dr. Joseph M Wekundah, Mumba's counterpart from Kenya used the same picture in his talk and repeated exactly the same story.

Thanks to Jonathan Matthews of GMWatch ( GM Watch daily, 13 October 2005 http://www.gmwatch.org ), I later learned that the photograph was taken in Sudan in 1994, long before GM food aid became an issue. No one knew if the child was saved. The photographer made no attempt to save the child, and committed suicide because he ran out of money.

Mumba chairs the Biotechnology Outreach Society of Zambia, launched 2003, and dedicated to an “aggressive awareness campaign” to change Zambia's “negative attitude towards GM crops” http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=189. He has been invited to speak in conferences organised by industry-funded groups such as EuropaBio and CropGen in Europe and the UK.

This article can be found on the I-SIS website at
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/

Ein Augenschein vor Ort sollte am Montagnachmittag klären, ob eine geplante Mobilfunkantenne am Schlössliweg 2 in Biberist zulässig ist oder ob die Anlage so nicht gebaut werden darf.

Das Grundstück Schlössliweg 2 in Biberist gehört der Swisscom. Im Dezember 2004 wurde ein Baugesuch für eine Kommunikationsanlage, sprich eine Mobilfunkantenne mit GSM- und UMTS-Technik, publiziert. Darauf gingen 157 Einsprachen ein. Im Mai 2005 wies die Baukommission Biberist alle Einsprachen ab. Eine Partei legte Beschwerde gegen den Entscheid der Baukommission ein. «Dies ist ganz kurz zusammengefasst die Vorgeschichte, weshalb es zum heutigen Augenschein kommt», erklärte Rudolf Eng, juristischer Sekretär des Bau- und Justizdepartementes, am Montag.

Zum Augenschein hatten sich die Beschwerdeführer, die Verantwortlichen von Seiten der Gemeinde Biberist und des Kantons und eine ganze Menge Zuhörerinnen und Zuhörer aus der Nachbarschaft eingefunden. Letztere zeigten damit ihre Unterstützung für die Beschwerdeführer. Für die Bauherrin Swisscom war nur gerade Walter Keller als juristischer Vertreter anwesend. «Der Termin ist Swisscom bekannt, wohl ein Kommunikationsloch», meinte er dazu nur trocken.

Drei Hauptbeschwerdepunkte

Drei Hauptbeschwerdepunkte gebe es vor Ort zu klären, so Eng. Die Beschwerdeführer würden behaupten, dass das Baugesuch nicht konform publiziert worden sei. Es sei bemängelt worden, dass die Publikation nur im Biberister Teil des «Azeigers» veröffentlicht wurde. Das Grundstück Schlössliweg 2 liege aber genau an der Grenze zwischen Biberist, Solothurn und Zuchwil. Eine Publikation in den beiden Nachbargemeinden wäre ebenfalls nötig gewesen, wurde argumentiert. Zweitens würden die Beschwerdeführer bemängeln, dass die Liegenschaften in der Nähe der geplanten Antenne an Wert verlieren würden und das Quartierbild gestört werde. Schliesslich wurde auch ins Feld geführt, dass die Strahlung gesundheitliche Schäden nach sich ziehe. Dabei wurde auch auf die in der Nähe liegende Tagesschule Mittelland, den Kindergarten an der Wassergasse und den Kinderhort gegenüber dem Grundstück auf Zuchwiler Boden aufmerksam gemacht. «Angestellte von Swisscom haben dem Einsprecher zudem erklärt, dass der Standort hier gar nicht geeignet ist für eine solche Anlage», meinte Max Flückiger, als Anwalt der Beschwerdeführer.

Grenzwerte knapp eingehalten

Die Publikation des Baugesuches sei von Seiten des Baudepartementes genügend gewesen, erklärte Rudolf Eng. Es sei zumutbar, sich die Inserate der Nachbargemeinden anzusehen. «Die geplante Antenne kommt in eine Gewerbezone. Ein solcher Mast ist zwar nichts Schönes, aber unverhältnismässig wird das Ortsbild hier nicht gestört», meinte Markus Schmid, kantonaler Beauftragter für den Ortsbildschutz, zum letzten Beschwerdepunkt.

Auch die Grenzwerte der NIS-Verordnung (nicht ionisierende Strahlung) würden laut Berechnungen des Kantons eingehalten, erklärte Markus Chastonay, Leiter Fachstelle betriebliche Luftreinhaltung, Lärm und Elektrosmog im Amt für Umwelt. Er machte aber darauf aufmerksam, dass zwei Liegenschaften mit Werten von 4,93 und 4,94 v/m (Volt pro Meter, bei einem erlaubten Grenzwert von 5 v/m) stark tangiert würden. Keinerlei Gefahren konnte er aber für die Tagesschule, den Kindergarten und die Krippe sehen.

Omega siehe dazu "Die Schweizer Grenzwerte: eine Mogelpackung erster Güte" unter: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/283430/

Max Flückiger verlangte im Namen seiner Klienten, dass die Berechnungen vor dem Bau der Antenne von einer unabhängigen Stelle nochmals durchgeführt werden: «Gerade weil sich so knappe Werte ergeben.»

Das Urteil wird vom Bau- und Justizdepartement gefällt. Es wird den Parteien schriftlich zugestellt. (sda/nim)

08.11.2005 10:45

http://tinyurl.com/bp3mc

Interesting slant on our problem: Sylvia


Electro-Magnetic (EM) weapons are one of the newest and most serious military developments in the world today. Enormous secrecy surrounds their development, which is helped by the fact that they rely on the complex physics of non-ionizing radiation and on bio-electromagnetics. They can be broadly broken down into two categories - those aimed at the environment and those aimed at living systems, or in reality the human central nervous system.

In the case of the environment, very large quantities of energy can be literally 'broadcast', like radio, to create certain special environmental effects - radical changes in the ionosphere to affect communications, and possibly even the weather, as well as reflection to earth to perform such feats as x-raying the earth to find underground installations, possibly large transfers of energy to power equipment, or to apply destructive forces anywhere on earth, including EMP effects (Electro-Magnetic Pulse, associated with nuclear explosions), and simpler tasks like submarine communication, using very long waves.

The more sinister aspect concerns the ability to use low energy density waves of particular frequencies and special waveforms to literally 'tune into' the human central nervous system (CNS), something that has been achieved in the laboratory, according to publicly available scientific literature. This might be done on an individual scale, to temporarily or perhaps permanently alter psychological states, so as to elicit certain behaviours from human beings. It is alleged that many victims have been tested involuntarily for decades now with this technology. It is also suggested that these weapons have been used in some actions, most especially the Gulf War and against the Greenham Common women in the UK. In this case they would have a mass effect, in that they are aimed at large groups. This use is sought not only by the military, but, alarmingly, by the police forces as well, clearly for the purpose of controlling unruly domestic populations.

The subject came to the attention of the Green Group of the European Parliament in 1996, and we have slowly developed a knowledge base and large archive in this highly specialized area. Several special meetings culminating in a Foreign Affairs Committee Parliamentary Hearing have been held at the European Parliament as a result, and finally the Group managed in early January '99, with the help of interested Members in other Groups, to have Parliament pass a resolution referring very critically to this subject. This subject also has very serious implications for standard setting for non-ionizing radiation, because the levels of exposure at which one can manipulate the human being are very low indeed, since it is the tuning and the waveform which matter, not the levels, which is the reason that Russian exposure standards are apparently 1000 times lower than the US standards. Setting standards suited to the use of mobile phones and power lines, so as to avoid the long term health effects, while very desirable indeed, may not even be low enough to prevent the use of these weapons, and may even legalize their use, something the Greens must be very careful of, since we have been responsible for this subject to date in the European Parliament (Lannoye, Belgium and Tamino, Italy).

Ideally, for now, we should exclude military sources, specifically weapons, as opposed to communications equipment, from EU legislation on non-ionizing radiation altogether.

It is worth comparing the standard setting processes for non-ionizing and for ionizing radiation, as they are remarkably similar. The military, via the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), played a major role in originally setting ionizing standards at ridiculously high levels by burying or ignoring the science, leading to the need for continuous reductions in the acceptable exposure levels. Something similar appears to happening with non-ionizing radiation, in that a very similar unelected 'independent' advisory committee (ICNIRP - International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) has offered advice in this area, which is accepted blindly by the European Commission, despite the fact that, once again, much of the science is being ignored, and the precautionary principle, for some odd reason, seems not to apply.

The fact that two of the US representatives on ICNIRP are associated with the military has echoes of the past, and is most suspicious. The focus of public attention so far has been a project in Alaska called HAARP (High frequency Active Auroral Research Program), which is a massive 'array' transmitter designed to manipulate the ionosphere for military purposes - communications effects, earth x-rays, and possibly weather manipulation (despite conventions banning this). But the range of uses of this basic technology is very wide, much wider than its predecessor, ionizing radiation (nuclear). The primary difference is that electromagnetic waves can be 'tuned' so as to have certain effects on living systems, whereas the 'chaotic' nature of ionizing radiation does not facilitate this and the result of exposure to it is normally direct damage only.

As stated above, scientists have been able to 'tune' EM to facilitate remote direct communication with the central nervous systems of living creatures, and they are of course especially interested in using this fact to manipulate human beings. According to their own official documentation, the military and the police use them to control populations. They were used in a crude form by the Soviets against the US Moscow embassy in the '60s with fatal consequences for the ambassador himself, and it is believed that they were used in what is called a 'superfence' against the Greenham Common women, and also to demotivate the Iraqi troops during the Gulf War. The Soviets tried in the 70s to prevent an arms race in this area by means of a Convention, but the US rejected these efforts, and has moved ahead very rapidly, also within NATO, into a dominant position.

Unless this development is stopped, we are entering an Orwellian '1984' type scenario, which could potentially permanently transfer enormous power to those in control of the technology. It must also be seen in the wider context of the one-sided arms race currently underway, where the US is re-arming, by continuing with 'Star Wars', and is aiming to be totally dominant in 'Space Power' by 2020. Electromagnetic weapons play a key role here, alongside ABMs, lasers and particle beam weapons.

http://www.motherearth.org/nuke/info8.php

"Nach der Vorstellung des Hartz-Papiers hieß es, mit seiner Umsetzung könne innerhalb von 2 Jahren die Arbeitslosigkeit um 50% reduziert werden. Das hat schon damals nur geglaubt, wer nichts von Arbeitsmarktpolitik verstand oder verstehen wollte.“

Informationen zur Eingliederungsvereinbarung

Aktuelle Infos sowie Beispielbrief zur Abwehr der Eingliederungsvereinbarung und Beispielbrief zum Widerspruch der Eingliederungsvereinbarung Beitrag im Forum von "Widerspruch und Klage“ zum Thema Eingliederungsvereinbarung vom 06.11.2005

http://www.widerspruch-und-klage.de/thread.php?threadid=1006&sid=5d75de2855fb3f6dfe4a14ce379ed74c


Aus: LabourNet, 9. November 2005

Maria (si se puede) (Yes we can)

HipHop-track von Holger Burner bei LaborB (mp3, 4´21 min, 3.9 MB)

http://www.laborb.org/mukke/maria.mp3 und der Text dazu
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/maria.html


Proteste gegen Ein-Euro-Jobs

Bildungssyndikat übergibt Unterschriftenlisten gegen 1€-Job-Praxis des Studentenwerkes der Justus-Liebig-Universität (Giessen)

Presseerklärung der FAU vom 28.10.05
http://www.fau.org/artikel/art_051028-170556

Übersicht über regionale Anti-Hartz-&-Co-Bündnisse
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/regionen.html

wurde aktualisiert.


Aus: LabourNet, 9. November 2005

My name is Helen Perivier and I'm the toxic campaigner for Greenpeace International. I'm writing to you because I need your help now.

http://prefs.greenpeace.org/mail-links/clicks/10255.1951729.5409

In only 8 days the European Parliament will be voting on a vital chemical law (known as REACH) on 17 November 2005. This law should protect our health and environment from toxic pollution. But dirty industry lobbying is threatening REACH. The chemical industry wants to continue the use of thousands of chemicals without telling us what the effects these chemicals would have on our health or environment. The chemicals industry lobby wants hazardous chemicals used even when safer substitutes exist.

This vote is vital to the future of the REACH and I need your voice to show that EU citizens want a law that protects our health and environment. Please help us and urge the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to vote for a strong law that truly protects us from hazardous chemicals.

If you have digital image of yourself or your family please add your picture to the virtual gallery showing that real people want to end chemical contamination.

http://prefs.greenpeace.org/mail-links/clicks/10256.1951729.5409

We will personally deliver these pictures to MEPs on the day of the vote.

If you don't have a digital image please email your MEP at http://www.chemicalreaction.org/

Thank you for your support - together we can make a difference. Please spread the word by sending this email to all your friends.

Kind regards,

Helen Perivier
Greenpeace International

A MOBILE phone company has won the right to put up a phone mast in Bakewell despite officials turning down their application.

The Peak Park Planning Authority refused the application from the Hutchinson 3G Group UK Ltd in May this year. But the phone company appealed against the decision to put up a mast on Butts Road, and won last week.

A resident who did not want to be named, said: "It's a bit of a waste of time having a Peak Park Authority who are supposed to take care of these things when their decision is overturned.

"It will be 20m away from my property. I know they said there is no health issue, but you can't convince people who will live near it.

"It isn't a good thing to have in the centre of Bakewell."

Bakewell Town Councillor Joyce Steel said: "In my personal opinion, I don't think it's a suitable position. It's too close to properties and right in the centre of the town. It's going to be an eyesore."

The application was refused by the Peak Park planning committee on the grounds that it would harm the conservation area and harm residential properties. Twenty one letters of objection were also received.

The company appealed against the decision, and the appeal was allowed by the planning inspector.

The inspector decided the mast would only be seen from a short section of Butts Road, and could not be seen from ground level in the town centre.

The Peak Park required a condition be put on the planning permission that the mast must be painted to blend in with the surroundings, and removed when no longer required.

Narendra Bajaria, chair of the planning committee, said: "Each application is considered on its merits, and in this case the committee felt that the phone-mast would have a detrimental effect on the character of the Conservation Area, the setting of the listed buildings and the amenities of nearby residents.

"The inspector allowed the appeal after careful consideration of those arguments and we have to accept his decision."

A spokesperson from Hutchinson 3G Group UK Ltd, said: "We are pleased with the inspectors decision to allow us this site as we do need a site in the town in order for people to use their phones."

By Amy Thurston

09 November 2005

http://www.matlocktoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=749&ArticleID=1248349

09.11.05

Nach Auffassung der Umweltschutzorganisation Greenpeace kommt die kostenlose Ausgabe so genannter Emissionszertifikate einer Industriesubvention gleich. Hierbei handelt es sich um staatliche Berechtigungsscheine zur Emission des Treibhausgases Kohlendioxid. In einem offenen Brief an die designierte Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, SPD-Chef Franz Müntefering und die neuen Mitglieder des Bundestages schreibt die Organisation, "diese Milliardengeschenke" setzten falsche Marktsignale, verzerrten den Wettbewerb und behinderten effektiven Klimaschutz. Greenpeace fordert, die Kohlendioxid-Emissionszertifikate nicht mehr kostenlos zu vergeben, sondern an die Industrie zu versteigern. Das würde nach Auffassung der Organisation für die Energiekonzerne Anreize schaffen, den Kohlendioxid-Ausstoß deutlich zu verringern.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12249

"Zweite Zahnbürste im Bad": Verringerter Kündigungsschutz und Elternhaftung für arbeitslose Kinder (09.11.05)

Nach Auskunft von Unions-Fraktionsvize Ronald Pofalla wollen CDU/CSU und SPD beim Kündigungsschutz die Probezeit auf 24 Monate verlängern. In dieser Probezeit soll Arbeitnehmern ohne Angabe von Gründen gekündigt werden können. Laut offizieller Begründung sollen damit mehr unbefristete Arbeitsverhältnisse entstehen und Ketten-Arbeitsverträge vermieden werden. Mit der Neuregelung sei auch der Unions-Plan vom Tisch, wonach Arbeitnehmer zwischen Kündigungsschutz und Abfindung wählen können. Die globalisierungskritische Organisation Attac kritisierte die Zustimmung der SPD zu dieser zweijährigen "Probezeit". Damit werde der Kündigungsschutz für Neueingestellte und Jobwechsler faktisch abgeschafft. Ob das Arbeitsplätze schafft, sei mehr als fragwürdig. Mit Sicherheit führe es aber zur "Verunsichung und Erpressbarkeit der Arbeitnehmer".

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12242

Information ouverte de Next-up organisation à:

Monsieur Xavier BERTRAND, Ministre de la Santé et des Solidarités,

Madame Michèle FROMENT-VEDRINE, Directrice Générale de l’Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Environnement et du Travail (AFFSET),

Professeur Jacques ROLAND, Président de l'Ordre National des Médecins.

L' Agence de Protection Sanitaire d'Angleterre (HPA) Réexamine sa position sur un nouveau phénomène de Santé l' Electro Hyper Sensibilité (EHS)

http://www.next-up.org/main.php?param=electroehs

Ray McGovern
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110905Y.shtml

http://rwor.org/a/022/bush-calls-for-endless-war.htm


Informant: C. Clark Kissinger

From ufpj-news

Einladung und Programm zum Friedenspolitischen Ratschlag 2005
Freitag/Samstag/Sonntag, 2./3./4. Dezember 2005, Universität Kassel

Neue Kriege in Sicht?

* Ein oder mehrere Imperien? USA, EU und die neuen Mächte

* Kriegsherde Naher, Mittlerer und Ferner Osten – Der „euroasiatische Spannungsbogen“

* Deutsche Soldaten in aller Welt – Kosten, Gefahren, Strategien, Widerstände

http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/rat/2005/programm1.html

What if, after pressuring the CIA, Cheney discovered that the CIA's Iraqi WMD claims in the 1990s were all based on false assumptions?

http://www.tompaine.com/uncommonsense/index.php#6684

by Greg LeRoy, TomPaine.com

The so-called free enterprise success story depends heavily on U.S. taxpayers.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051109/walmarts_tax_on_us.php

by David Corn, TomPaine.com

With their own problems piling up, Republicans want to discredit the Dems who are pushing for investigating the use of Iraq intelligence.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051109/smearanddistract_time.php

Next week, Robert Greenwald's latest documentary film WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price will premiere at 6,000+ homes, churches, family businesses, schools, living rooms, community centers and parking lots across the country -- a true people's premiere.

Click here to attend or host a local screening!
http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php?track=caf/

In the most significant test of the political environment since 2004, Americans yesterday resoundingly supported the new priorities of Democratic candidates over the status quo policies of President Bush and Republican leadership. With just less than a year until congressional elections in 2006, Democrats have gained momentum with a clear vision for progress and a national mood firmly united against the leadership of national Republicans.

Even the conservative newspaper Washington Times wrote

"The unexpected closeness of the Virginia race -- in a conservative state that President Bush carried by nearly 54 percent of the vote last year -- is a result in part to the GOP's eroding position in public opinion polls." -- Washington Times, 11/8/05

Thank you for all your help, and congratulations again to our Democratic governors-elect in New Jersey and Virginia.

Sincerely,

Rahm Emanuel Chairman, DCCC

Former Sen. Bob Graham of Florida said Friday that he thinks Vice President Dick Cheney was a "conspirator" in a Bush administration campaign to discredit former ambassador Joe Wilson and expose Wilson's wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110905O.shtml

For the nation's top oilmen, it is a new and uncomfortable reality. They were summoned by the Republican leadership of the Senate and appeared this morning before two congressional panels to explain why prices climbed as high as they did and what they intend to do with their companies' soaring profits. The executives hope to persuade legislators not to take tough punitive action.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110905I.shtml

Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Thorsten Polleit

11/08/05

For governments in general and the US government in particular, Ludwig von Mises had a policy recommendation: do not increase the stock of money any further. He made this point in 'Monetary Reconstruction' (written in 1952 and published in 1953): 'The first step must be a radical and unconditional abandonment of any further inflation. The total amount of dollar bills, whatever their name or legal characteristic may be, must not be increased by further issuance.' Why did Mises take such a position, one which would presumably provoke outright opposition from many of today's mainstream economists?

http://www.mises.org/story/1956


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Boston Globe
by Thomas Oliphant

11/08/05

Only in a country governed by the triumvirate of George Bush, Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert could the following set of events unfold with absurd smoothness. The Senate narrowly approves a 'deficit reduction' bill as part of a larger package that will increase the deficit. That was last week. The House narrowly approves its own Draconian 'deficit reduction' bill as part of a larger package that will increase the deficit. That is likely to be this week, barring a last-minute revolt of moderate congressmen. The final version of the legislation ... jettisons the sensible portions of the Senate bill and adds the worst of the House measure. ... President Bush then approves the result, and the country is again another day older and deeper in debt. This kind of government -- you might call it the institutionalization of irresponsibility -- is what the vast majority of Americans, who tell pollsters by large margins that the country is headed in the wrong direction and that both the president and Congress are not doing their jobs well, reject. But they are getting it anyway...

http://tinyurl.com/bekyr


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Washington Times
by Bruce Fein

11/08/05

Judge Samuel A. Alito's confirmation as an associate justice to replace Sandra Day O'Connor would mark a genuine turning point in U.S. Supreme Court decisions. With Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, Judge Alito would make the fourth of a band of philosophical brothers schooled to interpret the Constitution and statutes in accord with their original meaning, as the Founding Fathers intended. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and other architects of the Constitution described the judiciary as the least dangerous branch, partly because the court's interpretive power was meant to be circumscribed by the text and manifest purposes. As Lord Acton might have predicted, the court's absolute power to interpret corrupted its intended limits absolutely...

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20051107-100012-1331r.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://openpr.com/in/461

Please, note that my coworkers and I have got yet another article published:

Rajkovic V, Matavulj M, Johansson O, "Histological characteristics of cutaneous and thyroid mast cell populations in male rats exposed to power-frequency electromagnetic fields", Int J Radiat Biol 2005; 81: 491-499

This paper emanates from a very fruitful collaboration between the Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro, and my own research group at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. We have actually already presented some of the data at two conferences:

Rajkovic V, Matavulj M, Johansson O, "Histological and stereological analysis of cutaneous mast cells in rats exposed to 50 Hz EMF", 6th International Congress of the European Bioelectromagnetics Association (EBEA), Budapest, Hungary, November 13-15, 2003 (abstr.)

Rajkovic V, Matavulj M, Johansson O, "An immunohistochemical and morphometrical study of the power-frequency electromagnetic field influence on skin and thyriod amine- and peptide-containing cells in rats", BioEM 2005, Dublin, Ireland, June 19-24, 2005 (abstr.)

...and we also have further papers to be finalized.


As most of you already know, several years ago I and Peng-Yue Liu could, i.a., demonstrate a large increase in the cutaneous mast cell count in persons with electrohypersensitivity as compared to normal healthy individuals [cf. e.g. Johansson & Liu, ""Electrosensitivity", "electrosupersensitivity" and "screen dermatitis": preliminary observations from on-going studies in the human skin", In: Proceedings of the COST 244: Biomedical Effects of Electromagnetic Fields - Workshop on Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (ed. D Simunic), EU/EC (DG XIII), Brussels/Graz, 1995, pp 52-57]. In addition, also an effect on cutaneous mast cells from normal healthy volunteers in front of ordinary TVs/PCs could be shown [Johansson et al., "Cutaneous mast cells are altered in normal healthy volunteers sitting in front of ordinary TVs/PCs - results from open-field provocation experiments", J Cutan Pathol 2001; 28: 513-519]. Based on these findings, Shabnam Gangi and I could summarize this "mast cell hypothesis" in two papers [Gangi & Johansson, "Skin changes in "screen dermatitis" versus classical UV- and ionizing irradiation-related damage--similarities and differences. Two neuroscientists' speculative review", Exp Dermatol 1997; 6: 283-291; Gangi & Johansson, "A theoretical model based upon mast cells and histamine to explain the recently proclaimed sensitivity to electric and/or magnetic fields in humans", Med Hypotheses 2000; 54: 663-671]. My working hypothesis since then is that electrohypersensitivity is a kind of irradiation damage, since the observed cellular changes are very much the same as the ones you would find in tissue subjected to UV-light or ionizing radiation [see e.g. Johansson, "Elöverkänslighet - en form av strålskada" (="Electrohypersensitivity - a kind of irradiation damage", in Swedish), Tf-bladet 2004; (3): 12-13].

One very fierce criticism from certain 'opponents' has been that such mast cell alterations in persons with electrohypersensitivity (or in normal healthy volunteers!) can not be due to the action of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and/or airborn chemicals, but must be due to psychological or psychiatric personality disturbances, cognitive malfunction, or likewise. The purpose and objective of the present study was - therefore - to determine whether rat mast cells in skin and thyroid gland, as well as cutaneous nerve fibers and eosinophils, are sensitive to the influence of power-frequent EMFs.

In summary, it turned out that the numerical and volume densities of intact type A mast cells in the thyroid of the exposed group of rats were significantly higher as compared to the control (p<0.05 for both). [N.B. The obtained animal results can not be understood by psychological or psychiatric theories, but are claimed to be due only to the EMF exposure.]


As usual, we are eagerly hoping for some funding to be able to continue our research efforts. We would be very happy to also include microwaves of mobile phone character in future studies.

[If you want to have a reprint, please, send me an A4/C4-envelope with your name and address on. For Swedes: Om Du vill ha ett särtryck, skicka mig då ett A4/C4-kuvert med Ditt namn och postadress på. Frankera med 2 st. valörlösa frimärken eller 11 kronor i brevporto.]

Olle Johansson, assoc. prof.
The Experimental Dermatology Unit Department of Neuroscience Karolinska Institute
171 77 Stockholm
Sweden


http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Olle+Johansson

Slate
by John Dickerson

11/08/05

For weeks, the city's permanent class has speculated about whether Patrick Fitzgerald would indict Karl Rove. If he does, then Rove will resign as Scooter Libby did. But as each day passes with no action from the special prosecutor, Rove is looking safer and safer. So, the lunchtime conversation has shifted. The question now is: What should President Bush do if his top political adviser is not indicted? Fifty-nine percent of Americans think Rove should resign from the White House. (The most amazing aspect of this: that 59 percent of Americans know who Rove is.) Only 36 percent of Americans 'now believe that Bush has lived up to his campaign pledge to restore integrity to the White House.' So, will Bush fire Rove to try to improve public perceptions about his administration? Or will he continue to rely on Rove's advice and ignore his critics?

http://www.slate.com/id/2129655/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

TechCentralStation
by Glenn Harlan Reynolds

11/09/05

Republicans might be tempted to root against Sperling here. To the extent that the activist left tugs the Democratic Party into Jimmy Carterland, that's probably good for the GOP's chances in 2006 and especially 2008. But the fact remains: Sooner or later, the Democrats will win the White House, and/or a majority in Congress, and when they do it will matter a lot whether they're promulgating the economic policies of Bill Clinton, or the economic policies of Jimmy Carter -- or Michael Moore. For the good of the country, Republicans should be rooting for Sperling, not against him...

http://www.techcentralstation.com/110905B.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

11/09/05

As blowback from the lies that duped us into war plunges Washington into a maelstrom of investigations and counter-investigations, Ahmed Chalabi adds insult to injury by making a return trip to the Imperial City. He's staying at the ritzy-glitzy Ritz-Carlton, where he's staked out a whole bloc of rooms at (U.S.) taxpayers' expense, and is slated to meet with Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, Treasury Secretary John Snow, and the Chalabi fan club over at the American Enterprise Institute. Gee, that's funny: I could've sworn Chalabi was under investigation for turning over highly sensitive U.S. intelligence to the Iranians, and had his Iraqi home and headquarters raided by American and Iraqi troops last year. Not to mention the fabrications he retailed to New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who reported them as fact and plastered them all over the front page of the 'newspaper of record'...

http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=7961



Return of the tinker

The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias

11/08/05

In a more just world, Ahmed Chalabi would spend the rest of his life afraid to set foot in the United States. After all, what could possibly await him in Uncle Sam's jurisdiction but a bundle of awkward subpoenas and summonses? ... But returning he is. Not to be interviewed by FBI counterintelligence officers. Not to testify before a grand jury. Not to be hauled in front of a congressional committee or two. ... He'll be back in our nation's capital Wednesday afternoon to deliver a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. The topic: 'An Insider's View: Democratic Politics at Work in Iraq.' Vital questions about how and why the United States wound up invading and occupying Iraq in order to dismantle a nuclear weapons program that didn't exist won't be addressed. Instead: 'Will the constitution provide the foundation for a democratic system that can be a model for the Middle East?'

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=10597


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Cato Institute
by Alan Reynolds

11/09/05

If prices or crude oil and gasoline really rise and fall at the whim of U.S. petroleum companies, why would oil and gas prices ever fall? Texas crude fell to $12 in February 1999. Was that because U.S. oil companies suddenly became less greedy? 'Average U.S. gasoline price tumbles to $2.48 a gallon,' said a recent headline at USA Today, noting gas prices had dropped by at least 55 cents. The crude oil price dropped 9.8 percent in October. The Dow Jones stock index for oil and gas companies fell 9.2 percent. On the futures market, natural gas prices fell 18 percent in a single week. Mr. O'Reilly's spin zone had to spin a new theory. He now argues that, while prices rose due to some inexplicable hurricane of greed, they later fell because 'oil companies have been scared into lowering prices of oil'...

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5184


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The Price of Liberty
by Nathan A. Barton

11/07/05

Terance Jeffrey recently published the above commentary. While it is obviously about the Alito nomination, that is not why I am writing about it today. This little article very carefully summarizes the situation this nation has gotten itself into regarding who is 'entitled' to be treated as a person -- and how courts have decided that all humans are NOT persons, in the name of 'privacy rights.' It is a doctrine that should be branded as evil by ANY lover of liberty, no matter what their religious convictions may be: the situation should be condemned by conservatives, liberals, right, left, as well as libertarians: only the tyrant and totalitarian could stomach such a thing...

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/05/11/07/nathan.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

David MacGregor

11/08/05

The greatest threat to our freedom today is not terrorism, but what governments are doing to counter this perceived terrorist threat. Let me say that again. Terrorism is not the real danger we face, it's what governments around the world are doing to make us 'safe.' ... Terrorists do not have a grievance against Microsoft, General Motors or KFC. They do not have a grievance against your local supermarket. They do not have a grievance against YOU or your family. They have a grievance against your government...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/52/macgregor/macgregor7.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

USA Today

11/08/05

The recent indictment of Vice President Cheney's top aide has struck a nerve with the American public. Four in five, 79%, said the indictment of former Cheney aide I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby on perjury and other charges is important to the nation, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press...

http://tinyurl.com/7dv6g


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

USA Today

11/08/05

The Senate's top Democrats challenged President Bush on Tuesday to rule out a pardon for I. Lewis Libby, a former top White House aide who faces trial on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury in the CIA leak case. 'We also urge you to state publicly whether anyone in the White House -- including White House counsel Harriet Miers or Vice President Cheney -- has already discussed the possibility of a pardon with Mr. Libby,' added the letter, signed by Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and three other members of the leadership...

http://tinyurl.com/asuen


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

All Headline News

11/09/05

Democrats made a clean sweep of contentious and hard-fought governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey Tuesday, as well as rejecting all four of GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ballot initiatives. ... The only big Republican win came in normally Democratic New York, where Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg sailed to re-election after spending as much as $100 million of his own fortune to defeat Democrat Fernando Ferrer. ... With control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress and 36 governorships at stake in 2006, the off-year election offered grim news for Republicans seeking clues to next year's political climate and the long-term effect of Bush's plummeting approval ratings, now the lowest of his presidency...

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7000944756


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

09. November 2005

Zu den von SPD und CDU vereinbarten Kürzungen von 4 Milliarden Euro bei den Leistungen nach Hartz IV erklärt die Bundesfrauenreferentin der Linkspartei.PDS Monika von der Lippe:

Gekürzt werden soll bei der gegenseitigen Einstandspflicht in eheähnlichen Gemeinschaften. Gemeint ist die Beweislastumkehr: Wer zusammen in einer Wohnung lebt, muss nachweisen, dass keine auf Dauer angelegte Partnerschaft besteht. Schnüffelei und Denunziantentum von Amts wegen wird damit Tür und Tor geöffnet. Alternative Lebensformen werden per se misstrauisch beäugt und besonders streng unter die Lupe genommen. Sie befinden sich pauschal unter Rechtfertigungszwang. Auch soll der Rückgriff auf Unterhaltspflichtige verstärkt werden. Damit soll jungen Arbeitslosen die Möglichkeit genommen werden, bei ihren Eltern auszuziehen und ein eigenes Leben zu leben. Diese Eingriffe lehnt die Linkspartei.PDS rundweg ab. Auch Arbeitslose haben ein Recht auf ein geschütztes Privatleben. Schon im Wahlkampf hieß es, Hartz IV sei unverzichtbar, um Einsparungen zu erzielen. Dieses Argument war schon damals unsinnig. Heute heißt es, Hartz IV sei zu teuer, an den Leistungen müsse weiter gekürzt werden. Der Trend ist eindeutig: Die Regierung will sich aus ihrer sozialen Verantwortung stehlen, sie will die Ansprüche der Menschen auf Lohnersatzleistungen weiter beschneiden - und sie begeht einen fatalen ökonomischen Irrtum. Die Kürzung der Lohnersatzleistungen bei gleichzeitiger Erhöhung der Mehrwertsteuer bedeutet einen Kollaps für die Kaufkraft.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=30760

HLV INFO 174/AT

9-11-2005

Dr. Claus Scheingraber teilte am 8-11-05 folgendes mit:

Habe die Mailnachricht von Frau Prof. Dr. Kwee aus Dänemark übersetzt! Es ist schon unglaublich was da so auf Regierungsebene abgeht! Bei uns läuft das sicher nicht anders!

Claus Scheingraber


Presseerklärung der Universität Aarhus ...

"Sianette Kwee" <sianette.kwee@supertel.dk> schrieb am 03.11.05 18:54:55:

Die Universität Arhus hat folgende Presserklärung veröffentlicht:

„Vor einigen Jahren zeigte eine Studie aus Holland, dass bei 3G Mobiltelefon-Strahlung schwerwiegende Symptome und gesundheitliche Beschwerden in einer Gruppe von Testpersonen auftraten. Dies beunruhigte einen großen Teil der Dänischen Bevölkerung und erzeugte einen harten Widerstand gegen die Einführung der 3G-Technologie. Die Ergebnisse unserer Studie werden in 1½ Jahren veröffentlicht.

Hintergrund:

Um die Dänische Bevölkerung zu beschwichtigen, bewilligte das Dänische Parlament 15 Millionen Kronen für ein Forschungsprojekt über gesundheitliche Effekte bei nicht-ionisierender Strahlung. Das Geld wurde in 2 Abschnitten über 4 Jahre ausgeschüttet. Ein paar Gruppen die ohne jede Erfahrung in der Erforschung von elektromagnetischen Feldern waren, erhielten den Zuschlag. Letzten Monat wurde der letzte Teil der Gelder genau jenen Gruppen zugeteilt, die in den Vorstudien keine Ergebnisse gezeigt hatten.

Siehe unter:
http://mobil.forsk.dk/portal/page?_pageid=382,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
(die Projekt-Beschreibung sollte in Englisch verfügbar sein)

Die oben genannte Gruppe aus Aarhus replizierte die Holländische Studie auf die gleiche Weise. In der nächsten Studie wird sie ebenso die Effekte von TETRA, benützt durch die Polizei, mit einbeziehen. Unter anderem zeichnete sie die Reaktionen der Testpersonen nach 45-minütiger Exposition auf. Sie betonen auch, dass es sehr wichtig ist, die berichteten Symptome mit dem psychischen und mentalen Zustand der Testpersonen zu verbinden. Der emeritierte Prof. Joergen Bach Andersen aus Aalborg trägt die Verantwortung für die Bestrahlung mit den Radiofrequenzen. Der besagte Direktor des Aarhus Institut ist im Programmkommitee und entscheidet über die Zuwendungen. Er ist auch Mitglied eines Regierungs-Experten-Komitees, das die Regierung über den Verkauf von 3G-Lizenzen berät und für das Zustandekommen der Einführung der 3G-Netze verantwortlich ist. Sein Standpunkt über die Elektrohypersensitivität war immer, dass sie nicht existiert, sondern es ist der emotionelle Zustand der Betroffenen.

Kommentar:

Es ist nicht notwendig auf die Ergebnisse weiter 1½ Jahre zu warten. Man kann schon die Schlussfolgerung annehmen, seit J.B. Andersen bereits Geld erhalten hat, startet die Entwicklung des 4G-Netzes. Die Regierung kann zufrieden sein, die Weißwaschungsgelder haben ihren Zweck erfüllt! Sie wünschte eine Dänische Forschungsstudie, weil sie sich darauf verlassen kann, dass es dann keine Einmischungen in ihre Mobiltelefonie-Pläne geben wird.

Sianette Kwee

Omega auf Englisch: "How long will the guinea pigs survive?"
unter http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1117889/

A classified report issued last year by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general warned that interrogation procedures approved by the CIA after the September 11 attacks might violate some provisions of the international Convention Against Torture, current and former intelligence officials say.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110905Z.shtml

by Ahmed Amr

Within a month of Judith Miller’s appearance before the grand jury investigating the outing of a CIA agent, Lewis Libby was indicted on five counts of perjury, making false statements and obstruction of justice. After reading the indictment, Patrick Fitzgerald pointed out that, “we would have been here in October 2004 instead of October 2005.” Once you do the math, it becomes apparent that the only vote that counted in the last presidential election was Judith Miller’s. Of course, Miller can’t take all the credit for obstructing the investigation. It was Arthur Sulzberger who decided to spend millions of dollars to take his flimsy arguments to the Supreme Court. When the highest court in the land ruled against the publisher of the New York Times, Miller volunteered to hide away in jail while Sulzberger orchestrated a mass media campaign to canonize his star WMD fiction writer as a first amendment martyr. The idea was to pressure Fitzgerald into making do without Judy’s testimony or wait for the clock to run out on the investigation. According to Miller, the NYT lawyers pressured her to go the distance and risk an obstruction of justice charge or a second grand jury. But on the advice of her personal lawyer, she decided to get herself out of jail and appear before the grand jury...

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Nov05/Amr1109.htm

by Gene C. Gerard

Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative unit of Congress, released a report

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06105.pdf

indicating that the Pentagon has been calling up reserve soldiers who are ill or medically unfit to serve. The reservists are serving primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is responsible for managing medical and physical fitness policy and procedures, the report determined that this office has no way to determine if reserve soldiers are fit to serve or have pre-existing medical conditions prior to deployment. Consequently, the GAO found that the Pentagon couldn’t confirm to the Secretary of Defense or Congress that reserve forces are medically and physically fit when they are called to active duty. Yet under federal law reserve forces are required to have a medical exam every five years and an annual review of their medical status...

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Nov05/Gerard1109.htm

http://tinyurl.com/8gf9p


http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=betrayal

Journalist 11/2005, S. 35 f.

Vormarsch der Killer-Enten

Fakten-Recherche zu Horrormeldungen

Schenkt man manchen Medien Glauben, so wird die Welt in naher Zukunft von einer Epidemie heimgesucht, ausgelöst durch Mutation eines Vogelgrippevirus mit dem faszinierend-schaurigen Namen H5N1. Auf welchen Fakten basieren die Horrormeldungen? Eine kleine Recherche.

Von Torsten Engelbrecht, David Crowe und Jim West

Schon auf Seite 1 lesen wir in der "Zeit" mit Schaudern: "Der Tod auf leisen Schwingen - die Vogelgrippe ist im Anmarsch." Weiter ist vom "bevorstehenden Angriff der Killerenten" zu lesen, und als gehe es darum, den Titel für den zweiten Teil des Hollywood-Schockers "Outbreak" zu kreieren, schreibt das Wochenblatt: "H5N1 spielt Blitzkrieg". Der "Spiegel" beruft sich derweil auf Aussagen von David Nabarro, im September zum UN-Chefkoordinator im Kampf gegen die Vogelgrippe ernannt: "Jeden Moment kann eine neue Grippe-Pandemie ausbrechen - und bis zu 150 Millionen Menschen töten." Das "Foreign-Policy-Journal" zitiert einen Experten der US-Seuchenbehörde CDC, der die Todesziffer flott auf 360 Millionen erhöht. Reinhard Kurth, Leiter des Robert-Koch-Instituts, ist mit seinem Interview mit der FAZ nicht mehr zu toppen: "Eine Pandemie bedroht potenziell alle sechs Milliarden Menschen."

Bei so viel medial vermittelter Weltuntergangsstimmung muss allemal die Frage nach den Fakten gestattet sein: Sind die Warnungen durch wissenschaftliche Daten gedeckt? Gibt es unabhängige Studien, die beweisen, dass das H5N1-Virus existiert, dass es bei Tieren (hochgradig) pathogen ist, dass es auf den Menschen überspringen und eine Pandemie auslösen kann? Gibt es einwandfreie Beweise dafür, dass andere Faktoren (Umweltgifte, Fremdeiweiße etc.) als Ursache für die Erkrankung der Vögel ausgeschlossen werden können?

Die Medien selber haben keine derartigen Beweise parat. Darauf deutet nicht nur die sehr hohe Zahl an Experten hin, die bei ihnen zu Wort kommen. Eine Nachfrage bei verschiedenen Printmedien bleibt ergebnislos, aus der "Zeit" heißt es lediglich: "Alle Primär-Quellen sind über DIMDI oder Pubmed leicht recherchierbar und dann über Subito zu bestellen. Experten zum Beispiel im Robert-Koch-Institut oder der Bundesforschungsanstalt für Virus-Krankheiten in Riems sind für Fragen von jedem Journalisten offen. Und auch die einschlägigen CDC und WHO-Publikationen sind frei zugänglich." Der "Zeit" selbst liegen also keine konkreten Studien vor; statt dessen vertraut sie - wie im Wissenschaftsjournalismus üblich - den Aussagen der Medizin-Autoritäten.

Zeitbombe. Die jedenfalls, wird angenommen, haben ihre Aussagen wissenschaftlich untermauert. So geht das Verbraucherschutzministerium zusammen mit entsprechenden Behörden in den USA, Kanada oder Frankreich und mit den Verantwortlichen bei der Weltgesundheitsbehörde WHO fest davon aus, dass H5N1 ein "hoch pathogenes und hoch ansteckendes" Virus ist - "eine Zeitbombe, die nur darauf wartet, gezündet zu werden", wie es Anthony Fauci, Leiter der US-Behörde National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases und graue Eminenz der amerikanischen Virus-Wissenschaft, formuliert.

Die Fragen an das Bundesverbraucherschutzministerium lösen zunächst folgende Antwort aus: "Sie fragen sehr spezielle Sachverhalte an, die das Ministerium - dafür bitte ich um Verständnis - gegenwärtig nicht so schnell beantworten kann, wie das für Ihre Recherche notwendig wäre." Auf unseren Hinweis, dass wir durchaus Zeit hätten und nur gerne wissen würden, bis wann wir mit einer Antwort rechnen könnten, reagiert das Ministerium dann aber mit Verweis auf die wissenschaftlichen Instanzen: "Ihre Fragen nach Belegen für die Pathogenität beziehungsweise Pandemiefähigkeit des H5N1-Virus und den Studien, die dies belegen, können Ihnen nur die Experten beim Robert-Koch-Institut und beim Friedrich-Löffler-Institut beantworten."

Das Friedrich-Löffler-Institut (FLI), das laut Verbraucherschutzministerium sogar "über Virus isolate von H5N1 verfügt", schickt als Antwort vier Studien, veröffentlicht in amerikanischen Fachmagazinen. Die behandeln zwar Pathogenität und Pandemiefähigkeit, gehen jedoch nicht darauf ein, ob nicht andere Faktoren wie Toxine als Ursache für die Erkrankung der Tiere in Frage kommen. Und bezüglich der Pandemiegefahr konzediert das FLI, "… dass es derzeit keine wissenschaftliche Methode mit Vorhersagewirkung gibt, die die Möglichkeit, dass ein Influenzavirus eine neue Pandemie induziert, bewerten könnte".

Das Interessanteste: Nicht einmal zur Existenz und Pathogenität von H5N1 liefern die vom FLI präsentierten Untersuchungen wirklich Substanzielles. Wenn ein Virus existiert, das eine derartige Krankheit auslösen kann, muss es auffindbar sein - im Fachjargon: Es muss "reines" Virusmaterial vorliegen. Doch genau das ist bisher anscheinend nicht der Fall.

Wenn aber die Existenz, die Pathogenität und das Pandemie-Potenzial von H5N1 unbewiesen ist und nicht ausgeschlossen werden kann, dass andere Faktoren die Vögel krank gemacht haben, dann fehlt die Voraussetzung für mögliche Folgerungen. Die "Zeit" fordert zwar: "Es ist höchste Zeit, dass Deutschland genügend Medikamente kauft", schränkt aber zugleich ein: "Die antiviralen Mittel verhindern die Erkrankung zwar nicht, sie mildern aber den Verlauf." Das stimmt nach Auffassung der etablierten Medizin; generell aber ist nicht einmal sicher, dass die Medikamente - im Mittelpunkt steht hier das Präparat Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) - den Krankheitsverlauf "mildern". Zwar gibt es Studien, die diese Auffassung stützen. Doch welche Aussagekraft haben sie, wenn nicht gewährleistet werden kann, dass sie frei von Interessenskonflikten sind?

Referenz-Krankheit. Oft wird die so genannte "spanische Grippe" von 1918/19 quasi als Referenz für die H5N1-Panik ins Spiel gebracht. Auch hier beruft man sich auf Expertenäußerungen und auf Studien, veröffentlicht etwa in "Science". Doch wer bei der "Spanischen Grippe" vorschnell annimmt, dass sie durch ein einziges Virus hervorgerufen wurde und dass sie allein für den Tod von 25 bis 50 Millionen Menschen verantwortlich gemacht werden kann, macht es sich zu leicht. Fakten für eine solche These gibt es jedenfalls nicht.

Zudem ereignete sich das Massensterben am Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges - zu einer Zeit also, als unzählige Menschen nach vier Kriegsjahren ausgelaugt, unterernährt und gestresst waren. Zudem enthielten Medikamente damals hochgiftige Substanzen wie Schwermetalle, Arsen, Formaldehyde oder Chloroform, die schwere Grippesymptome auslösen können. Und zahlreiche für die militärische Anwendung gedachte Chemikalien wanderten damals unkontrolliert in den zivilen Sektor (Landwirtschaft, Medizin).

Fest in Sachen Vogelgrippe steht lediglich, dass, wie Reuters am 20. Juli 2005 meldet, die im Zuge der H5N1-Panik eingeleitete "weltweite Grippe-Vorsorge" dem Tamiflu-Hersteller "Roche einen Gewinnsprung beschert" hat. Genauer: Die globalen "Tamiflu-Verkäufe stiegen im ersten Halbjahr um 363 Prozent auf 580 Mio. Franken" - auch dank deutscher Steuergelder. Allein NRW hat, wie der "Zeit" zu entnehmen ist, "im Juli angekündigt, für 30 Millionen Euro Medikamente einzulagern".


Treffer. Doch welche Redaktion hat nachgeprüft, ob die Studien zu Tamiflu frei von Interessenkonflikten und de facto aussagekräftig sind? Dem Internet lässt sich leicht entnehmen, ob Roche Tamiflu- bzw. Oseltamivir-Studien finanziert: Suchbegriffe wie "Roche funded pubmed Oseltamivir" ergeben stolze 128 Treffer.

Nichts Außergewöhnliches: Erst kürzlich stellte das britische Parlament in einer umfassenden Untersuchung fest, dass drei Viertel jener klinischen Studien, die in führenden Wissenschaftsmagazinen veröffentlicht werden, von Pharmafirmen finanziert werden. Die Fachzeitschrift "New England Journal of Medicine" (NEJM) hat 2002 die Richtlinien für Autoren so abgeändert, dass Übersichtsartikel und Editorials auch von Experten geschrieben werden dürfen, die Dritthonorare von bis zu 10.000 Dollar pro Jahr kassieren - wobei diese Honorare durchaus auch von Firmen stammen dürfen, deren Produkte in dem betreffenden Artikel genannt sind.

Als wesentlichen Grund für die Änderung der Autoren-Richtlinien nannte das NEJM, dass man sich schlicht nicht mehr in der Lage sehe, genügend Top-Experten zu finden, die keine finanziellen Verbindungen zur Pharmaindustrie haben.


Torsten Engelbrecht, David Crowe und Jim West arbeiten als Wissenschaftsjournalisten in Hamburg, New York und Calgary/Kanada

http://www.djv.de/magazin/vorschau.shtml


http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=betrayal

Anmerkungen zu einer dummen, nationalistischen und zynischen Sozialwerbekampagne auf der Homepage von contradictio.de - Gedanken (nicht nur) zur Zeit

http://www.contradictio.de/du-bist-deutschland.html

Siehe dazu auch:

Kampagne "Du bist Deutschland" – gut gelaunt und sinnlos Text und Bilder vom Bericht von Tom Theunissen in MONITOR Nr. 539 am 13. Oktober 2005 beim WDR – mit köstlichen Persiflagen!

http://www.wdr.de/tv/monitor/beitrag.phtml?bid=744&sid=136


Aus: LabourNet, 8. November 2005

Ein Lehrstück

Bericht von Hans-Gerd Öfinger (stellvertretender Vorsitzender ver.di Bezirk Wiesbaden, Vorsitzender ver.di Fachbereich Medien Wiesbaden, Delegierter zur DGB-Regionskonferenz) vom 6. November 2005 mit einem Nachtrag vom 8.11.05

http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/eu/sopo/bolke_hgoef.html

Der Bericht dokumentiert den Initiativantrag „Jetzt erst recht gegen eine Neuauflage der Bolkestein-Richtlinie“, der als Anregung dienen möge!


Aus: LabourNet, 8. November 2005

Your calls needed!!

This coming Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on whether or not to turn the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into a vast industrial oil field. The vote will be very, very close. We need to step up the pressure on the House, by keeping the phones ringing off the hook on Capitol Hill.

We can win this! But only if you call your Representative now. It's quick, easy, and it could protect one of the world's premier wilderness areas for future generations. Call now. The message is simple: Vote AGAINST oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge in the Budget Reconciliation bill.

You can look up your Representative's name and number at: http://ga1.org/wilderness/leg-lookup/search.tcl

Time Is Short

There's not much time. Drilling language has already passed the Senate as part of the Budget Reconciliation bill. Moderate Republicans have been pressing leadership to remove Arctic Refuge drilling from the House version of the Budget bill, and that could still happen. But these courageous Members need bolstering. And those who are sitting on the fence need to be moved to act on behalf of the Refuge.

Your phone call can make the difference. Please call now.

The Arctic Refuge, an unsurpassed wilderness and wildlife sanctuary, has been off-limits to oil drilling for the past half century. Surely America is not so desperate that we would despoil this cherished place in order to save a penny a gallon on gasoline, 20 years from now.

When you call, please state your name, your address, and your message: Protect the Arctic Refuge. Vote AGAINST oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge in the Budget Reconciliation bill.

Again, you can look up your Representative's name and number at: http://ga1.org/wilderness/leg-lookup/search.tcl

Thanks for all you have done and are doing to protect the Arctic Refuge.

Sincerely,

Kathy Kilmer Director,
Electronic Communications
The Wilderness Society

The symbol is Wal-Mart. Though Wal-Mart is the worst offender, US employers are able to suppress workers' rights to organize unions because there is little or no enforcement of workers' rights in this country. Even when they are caught, the small fines companies pay are just a cost of doing business.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/110805LA.shtml

Scientists have compared specimens of the 1918 flu pandemic virus with specimens of the known bird flu viruses of the time and concluded that the 1918 virus could not have mutated from the bird flu viruses, leaving open the possibility that a link between them simply does not exist.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/110805HA.shtml

The peace of an Indian village was disturbed on Monday morning by the sudden eruption of a dogfight between US and Indian fighter planes. The mock battle over paddy fields was greeted by tens of thousands of militant demonstrators below with slogans asking the Bush air force to go back.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110805S.shtml

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert are circulating a draft letter calling for a congressional leak investigation into the disclosure of secret US interrogation centers abroad.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110805Q.shtml

[ Very interesting... Democrats and some Republicans want the prisons themselves investigated... because they are probably used for illegal dentention and torture? ]

John Calvert


"...More generally, Republicans suggested it was unwise to pick a fight with the media over an issue that exposes so many political vulnerabilities for their party...."


GOP Congressional Leaders Seek Leak Probe

By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, November 8, 2005; 7:50 PM

Congress's top Republican leaders today demanded an immediate joint House and Senate investigation into the disclosure of classified information to The Washington Post that detailed a web of secret prisons being used to house and interrogate terrorism suspects.

The Post's story, published on Nov. 2, has led to a rash of new questions about the treatment of detainees and the use of so-called "black sites" in Eastern Europe and elsewhere by the Central Intelligence Agency. The issue dogged President Bush in his recent trip to Latin America and has created consternation in Eastern Europe. "If accurate, such an egregious disclosure could have long-term and far-reaching damaging and dangerous consequences, and will imperil our efforts to protect the American people and our homeland from terrorist attacks," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) wrote in a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence committees.

The letter requests that the committees "immediately initiate" a bicameral investigation. It also instructs the committee to refer to the Justice Department any information it uncovers that might constitute a violation of the law.

The CIA General Counsel's Office has also notified the Justice Department that a release of classified information took place in connection with The Post report, a senior administration official said today. Such referrals are made at the rate of three to four per week, according to intelligence officials. But the notice is also the first step in a process that could lead to a criminal investigation, as happened in the Valerie Plame case.

The CIA will be required to fill out an 11-point questionnaire outlining the damage done by the release, how it's been protected and the individuals or groups with knowledge of the information. Justice prosecutors will then determine whether they believe a criminal investigation is warranted.

A spokesman for The Post declined to comment on the the letter from the congressional leaders. The Post article, by staff writer Dana Priest, said the CIA has operated a covert prison system that at various times included sites in eight countries, including democracies in Eastern Europe, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.

The Post did not publish the names of the Eastern European countries involved in the program, at the request of senior U.S. officials. They argued that the disclosure might disrupt counterterrorism efforts in those countries and elsewhere and could make them targets of possible terrorist retaliation.

Congress has conducted fewer than a half dozen bicameral investigations, reserving the process for the most pressing issues, such as the illegal arms sales to Iran in the 1980s that were used to finance rebels in Nicaragua and the conduct of the Civil War. The most recent House-Senate investigation came in 2002, when the intelligence committees looked into the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Lawmakers from both parties immediately expressed misgivings about the request. Democrats pounced on it, suggesting that if the GOP leaders believe the disclosure of information on secret prisons deserved to be investigated, so did the leak of inaccurate intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and the release of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name by White House officials.

"There is plenty to investigate about the Bush administration's use and misuse of intelligence," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "The American people deserve the truth."

Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) said investigating the source of the prison story would be acceptable, as long as Congress also investigates the secret prisons themselves.

"If you want to investigate everything and not be selective, that would make sense," he said.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said: "Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. The real story is those jails."

More generally, Republicans suggested it was unwise to pick a fight with the media over an issue that exposes so many political vulnerabilities for their party.

The emergence of the congressional leaders' letter came as a surprise to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), both of whom said they learned of the request from the media. Roberts said his committee "stands ready to be of service" but that he had "not received any marching orders from the leadership."

The marching orders laid out by Frist and Hastert are detailed and requested in urgent language. Those orders include verifying that the information supplied to The Post was accurate and classified, indentifying who leaked the information and under what authority, and detailing "the actual and potential damage done to the national security of the United States and our partners in the Global War on Terrorism."

"The leaking of classified information by employees of the United States government appears to have increased in recent years, establishing a dangerous trend that, if not addressed swiftly and firmly, likely will worsen," the letter states.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to say whether the president endorsed the probe, saying the decision belonged to the congressional leaders. But he did not offer any discouragement.

"The leaking of classified information is a serious matter and ought to be taken seriously," he told reporters.

For their part, Democratic leaders expressed their own concern about national security leaks, but in their case, the emphasis was on the release of Plame's name. Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been indicted on charges of lying to the FBI and a grand jury in that case. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Pelosi and other Democrats sent two letters to President Bush, urging him to declare publicly that he will not pardon Libby. Without such a declaration, Reid said, Libby will have no incentive to cooperate with Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald. Staff writers Dan Eggen and Walter Pincus contributed to this report.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/archives/dispatches/000315.php#more


Informant: John Calvert

http://www.newstatesman.com/Bookshop/300000105041


Informant: Lew Rockwell

Stadtrat bleibt bei seinem Beschluss Kronach stellt keine städtischen Liegenschaften für Mobilfunkanlagen zur Verfügung

von Alexander Löffler

Kronach. Der Stadtrat hält auch weiterhin an seinem Beschluss vom 16. August des vergangenen Jahres fest, Mobilfunkbetreibern keine weiteren städtischen Liegenschaften für die Errichtung zusätzlicher Mobilfunkanlagen bereitzustellen.

Die beschloss das Gremium in seiner gestrigen Sitzung einstimmig, nachdem zuvor Dr. Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam von der Ärzte-Initiative Bamberger Appell und Claus Strecker vom Mobilfunkbetreiber O2 referiert hatten. Die Ärztin informierte das Gremium und zahlreiche Bürger über „beunruhigende Beobachtungen“, die in den vergangenen zwei Jahren gemacht wurden. Zuvor habe sie mit ihren Kollegen keinen Zusammenhang zwischen Erkrankungen und hochfrequenten Elektrofeldern feststellen können. „Wir haben Fehldiagnosen gestellt und uns mitschuldig gemacht“, gab sie offen zu. Kritisch ging sie mit der Tatsache um, dass die Grenzwerte in Bezug auf den Mobilfunk nicht wissenschaftlich fundiert seien. „Mittlerweile wissen wir, dass an keinem Standort in ganz Deutschland zu den Menschen gegangen wurde. Keiner hat gefragt, ob sich bei den Menschen etwas verändert hat. „Wir mussten umdenken.“ Dazu beigetragen hätten Erfahrungen mit Patienten, die nach einem Umzug plötzlich keine Beschwerden mehr hatten. Zuvor hatten sie in der Nähe eines Mobilfunkmastes gewohnt, betonte Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam. Kollegen hätten zudem am eigenen Leib erfahren, dass Basisstationen von DECT-Telefonen negative Auswirkungen auf ihren Körper hatten. Deshalb habe man den Bamberger Appell erstellt.

Omega siehe hierzu „Bamberger Appell“ unter: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/265206/

Direkt in den Kopf

Über 600 in der Nähe von Mobilfunkanlagen wohnende Menschen seien besucht und befragt worden. Auch habe man bei ihnen Messungen durchgeführt. „Wir stellten fest, dass diese hochfrequenten Felder massiv und direkt auf den Kopf und in der Folge auf den gesamten Körper wirken“, betonte die Referentin. Schlaflosigkeit und Konzentrationsstörungen, aber auch Depressionen waren nur einige festgestellte Symptome, die die Ärztin aufführte. Abschließend stellte sie eine offene Frage: „Warum weigern sich die zuständigen Behörden, an den Standorten Erhebungen zu machen?“ In diesem Zusammenhang sprach sie sogar von „unterlassener Hilfeleistung.“

Ingrid Steinhäußer (Frauenliste) folgerte aus den Ausführungen, dass die Behörden befürchten, die Ergebnisse könnten sich bestätigen. Waldmann-Selsam stimmte ihr zu und betonte: „Wir werden aber nicht locker lassen.“

Ingrid Steinhäußer äußerte die Bitte, in den bisherigen Beschluss den Appell an die Bürger aufzunehmen, ihre Grundstücke aus finanziellen Gründen nicht zu verkaufen, so lange die Auswirkungen nicht von offizieller Seite genau untersucht wurden. Darüber soll jedoch erst in einer der nächsten Sitzungen entschieden werden.

Wesentlich kürzer als das Referat der Ärztin fiel der Beitrag von Claus Strecker von O2 aus. „Wir richten uns nach den gesetzlichen Grenzwerten“, betonte er. Und diese würden im Strahlungsbereich der Anlagen bei weitem nicht erreicht. Messkampagnen bewiesen immer wieder, dass rund 90 Prozent der Mobilfunkanlagen sogar die niedrigeren Schweizer Grenzwerte einhalten. Wie Strecker erklärte, würden sensible Einrichtungen (zum Beispiel Schulen und Kindergärten) bei der Suche nach Standorten gewöhnlich ausgeschlossen. Sollten die vier von O2 ausgewählten, idealen Standorte (Knellendorf, Kronach-Nord, Rosenberg und Gehülz-Brand) nicht möglich sein, werde nach Alternativen gesucht. Dies könnte wiederum zur Folge haben, dass nicht nur vier, sondern mehr Anlagen nötig wären, um eine optimale Abdeckung zu erreichen.

Omega siehe hierzu „Grenzwerte und Mobilfunk“ unter:
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/242821/

Karl-H. Fick (SPD) fragte nach der Intensität der Strahlung, wenn mehrere Anlagen auf einem Gebäude konzentriert seien. Diese sei natürlich stärker, als wenn nur eine Anlage installiert sei. Grundsätzlich sei jedoch die Feldstärke unter dem Sender stets am geringsten, betonte Strecker und verwies auf das Leuchtturmprinzip.

Omega siehe hierzu „Mobilfunk-Anlagen: Starke Strahlung auch direkt unter der Antenne“ unter: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/428255/

Bereits zuvor hatten sich einige Bürger zu diesem Thema zu Wort gemeldet. Zum einen wurde darum gebeten, die Bürger generell über dieses Thema besser zu informieren. Zum anderen verwiesen zwei Bürgerinnen aus Gehülz auf steigende Zahlen bei den Krebserkrankungen bei Menschen, die in unmittelbarer Umgebung von Sendeanlagen. Prinzipiell wurde die Meinung vertreten: „Es kann nicht sein, dass wir ständig bestrahlt werden, nur damit ein Handy im letzten Eck besser funktioniert.“

http://www.fraenkischer-tag.de/nachrichten/index.php?MappeCID=mm~d_bb~hfzgs4n4i*nrk&Hierarchie=cu4i9na3x59~gpjt5nu89&Seite=Lokales&SeiteSub=Kronach (Auszug)


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim


http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Waldmann-Selsam

House Democrats and their allies are planning a week-long assault on the GOP's proposed budget plan, hoping to kill an impending vote on budget cuts and highlight internal division within the Republican Conference.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110805G.shtml

Last year, U.S. intelligence agencies and military planners received instructions to prepare up-to-date target lists for Syria and to increase their preparations for potential military operations against Damascus.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10912.htm

Three Massachusetts congressmen who voted to give President Bush authorization to go to war in Iraq say they would change their mind if they had to do it all over again.

http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/global/story.asp?s=4085424&ClientType=Printable


From Information Clearing House

WARNING: This report contains graphic images depicting the reality and horror of war.

http://www.brusselstribunal.org/ArticlesIraq2.htm#AlQaim


From Information Clearing House