Martial Law No Longer On The Horizon: It's Already Here
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:49
15
Dez
2005
Frist Still Under Investigators' Watch
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:42
Byrd taking Frist to school
Watch the video:
http://streaming.americanprogress.org/ThinkProgress/2005/frist.320.240.mov.htm
© Virginia Metze
http://streaming.americanprogress.org/ThinkProgress/2005/frist.320.240.mov.htm
© Virginia Metze
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:40
The Next Retirement Time Bomb
By MILT FREUDENHEIM and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
December 11, 2005
SINCE 1983, the city of Duluth, Minn., has been promising free lifetime health care to all of its retired workers, their spouses and their children up to age 26. No one really knew how much it would cost. Three years ago, the city decided to find out.
It took an actuary about three months to identify all the past and current city workers who qualified for the benefits. She tallied their data by age, sex, previous insurance claims and other factors. Then she estimated how much it would cost to provide free lifetime care to such a group.
The total came to about $178 million, or more than double the city's operating budget. And the bill was growing.
"Then we knew we were looking down the barrel of a pretty high-caliber weapon," said Gary Meier, Duluth's human resources manager, who attended the meeting where the actuary presented her findings.
[...] Read the rest at The New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/9jz3s
© Virginia Metze
December 11, 2005
SINCE 1983, the city of Duluth, Minn., has been promising free lifetime health care to all of its retired workers, their spouses and their children up to age 26. No one really knew how much it would cost. Three years ago, the city decided to find out.
It took an actuary about three months to identify all the past and current city workers who qualified for the benefits. She tallied their data by age, sex, previous insurance claims and other factors. Then she estimated how much it would cost to provide free lifetime care to such a group.
The total came to about $178 million, or more than double the city's operating budget. And the bill was growing.
"Then we knew we were looking down the barrel of a pretty high-caliber weapon," said Gary Meier, Duluth's human resources manager, who attended the meeting where the actuary presented her findings.
[...] Read the rest at The New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/9jz3s
© Virginia Metze
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:38
Where there's smoke, there's ire
From Capitol Hill Blue
The Rant
By DOUG THOMPSON
Dec 12, 2005, 08:33
The firestorm over Friday’s column quoting President George W. Bush’s obscene outburst over the Constitution continues to grow with our email box overflowing from outraged readers who think the President should be impeached along with pro-Bushites who want my head on a platter.
I’m surprised by the public’s anger over this. When a GOP operative first emailed me about the White House meeting where Bush called the Constitution “just a goddamned piece of paper,” I put it aside as one of many reports I get about the President’s temper tantrums.
Bush lashed out at an aide who dared question him on the USA Patriot Act. That’s typical Bush. We started reporting on the President’s outbursts last year and those tantrums are now widely reported now by the so-called “mainstream media.”
As Evan Thomas and Richard Wolfe write in the current edition of Newsweek:
“A White House aide, who like virtually all White House officials (in this story and in general) refused to be identified for fear of antagonizing the president… How many people dare to snap back at a president? Not many, and not unless they have known the president a long, long time. (Even Karl Rove, or "Turd Blossom," as he is sometimes addressed by the president, knows when to hold his tongue.) In the Bush White House, disagreement is often equated with disloyalty… his attitude toward Congress was "my way or the highway," according to a GOP staffer who did not want to be identified criticizing the president.” [...] Read the rest at: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7797.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/ahmk8
© Virginia Metze
The Rant
By DOUG THOMPSON
Dec 12, 2005, 08:33
The firestorm over Friday’s column quoting President George W. Bush’s obscene outburst over the Constitution continues to grow with our email box overflowing from outraged readers who think the President should be impeached along with pro-Bushites who want my head on a platter.
I’m surprised by the public’s anger over this. When a GOP operative first emailed me about the White House meeting where Bush called the Constitution “just a goddamned piece of paper,” I put it aside as one of many reports I get about the President’s temper tantrums.
Bush lashed out at an aide who dared question him on the USA Patriot Act. That’s typical Bush. We started reporting on the President’s outbursts last year and those tantrums are now widely reported now by the so-called “mainstream media.”
As Evan Thomas and Richard Wolfe write in the current edition of Newsweek:
“A White House aide, who like virtually all White House officials (in this story and in general) refused to be identified for fear of antagonizing the president… How many people dare to snap back at a president? Not many, and not unless they have known the president a long, long time. (Even Karl Rove, or "Turd Blossom," as he is sometimes addressed by the president, knows when to hold his tongue.) In the Bush White House, disagreement is often equated with disloyalty… his attitude toward Congress was "my way or the highway," according to a GOP staffer who did not want to be identified criticizing the president.” [...] Read the rest at: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7797.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/ahmk8
© Virginia Metze
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:37
Decisive step ahead against Kenya/Thai wildlife deal
see all the background info on:
http://www.ecoterra-international.org/sites/anti-chiangmai-night-zoo-1.htm
- please distribute widely -
Decisive step ahead against Kenya/Thai wildlife deal
- Kenyans, incl. two Kenyan organizations, went to court to stop the dreadful wildlife deal with a Thai fun-fair zoo -
WTN - correspondents - Nairobi / Bangkok - 14.12.2005
"Enough is enough!", said Kenyans, and have now applied to the courts in Nairobi, Kenya to end the dreadful saga about the ill-conceived wildlife deal with a Thai zoo, which is based on a simple and not legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between two ministers. Such a declaration of intent, however, can not be misinterpreted as an international treaty between the two states, as some might try to suggest in order to derail the process against the deal or to helplessly safe the face of government officials.
A treaty is a legally binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states. A treaty is for example the long-running treaty for British soldiers to train in Kenya, which is just now in a stage, where a majority of Kenyan parliamentarians question if Kenya should prolong it.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing an agreement between parties. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement, but less formal than a contract.
Examples of simple MoUs - like the Kenya/Thailand deal - include e.g.the Oil for Food program, for which Iraq signed a MoU in 1996, and which has seen a senior UN official being suspended for corruption as well as the son of UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan being implicated, and which has therefore undergone many changes to the original text. The recently signed Kenya/Thailand MoU therefore can likewise easily be amended or relieved of certain parts - like the now contested wildlife deal - contained therein. The Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA) and the Council of Community Based Organizations (CBO Council), both representing the majority of Kenyan citizens who are against the capture of free ranging wild animals from the Kenya wildlands and their deportation into the man-made confinement within a disputed Thai fun-fair facility, must be applauded for this step, because they actually also contribute in terms of control of damage to the reputation of both countries. But as further this issue is pushed by certain government officials in the service of either side of the deal, as more economic and face loss is created.
The constant and desperate pushing by the Thai Ambassador to Kenya, however, to get the Kenyan governance moving in terms of capturing now 175 wild animals for the Thai night zoo in Chiang Mai against the will of the Kenyan people is contradicting what Thai Senator Senator Pensak Chagsuchinda (Howitz) stated publicly during her visit to the country. The Senator, who was accompanied by Senator Niboon Shamshoum on a fact finding mission, had proclaimed profoundly that it was not in the interest of the Thai Government to insist on getting wildlife delivered from Kenya.
The senators admitted that their Prime Minister was looking for animals for that private facility in Chianmai, in which he has personal stakes, but they declared that, if the Kenyan people were not in agreement, they would not force the "donation" and would advise the Thai senate to restrict their PM in his dealings of such kind. Apparently the opposite of what was laid out by the senators is true and therefore the persistent pressure by the Thai official shows nothing less than the disrespect of the will of the Kenyan people. That certainly is not a good base for the proclaimed "friendship" between the two so different states and their people.
That the Kenyan people are ready to stand up for their wildlife has been not only clearly shown by the numerous protest rallies of various peoples in the country and the present legal challenge but even through a TV documentary delivering the numerous arguments of the wildlife conservation groups, which was aired by Reuters also into the far corners of Thailand and therefore made it known to the Thai people themselves. Even though the Thai senators did not succeed to have their PM reprimanded by the senate so far, the Thai organizations are urged to step up their side of the protest and to support the head of the Thai senate's environmental committee, Kaewsan Atipho, who want their house to become clean and to scrap the wildlife deal.
The wanted friendship between the people of both countries involved is also not changed with fake "letters to the editor", publicizing in local newspapers the opinion of staged pro-deal supporters allegedly writing from China or elsewhere. All the manipulation will only worsen the rift between the people of Kenya and Thailand and bring more supporters to the internationally called for boycott of Thailand's wares and services.
In order to show their real friendship with the people of Kenya, the Thai governance should have since long stopped to pressurize the Government of Kenya for these animals from the wild, not at least because the Kenyans actually have different and more severe problems at this time after a referendum rejected the proposed new constitution and a deep rift between governance and people's will.
The Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, who had received during the last 10 days twice delegations from the international and the national consortia of organizations, who stand and protest against that deal, had in addition to the numerous legal, ethic, economic, and moral arguments against the proposal outlined in the MoU, to hear eye-witness reports from people who actually had visited the Thai zoos and reported that animals are kept there under the most horrible conditions. One witness spoke of the worst zoo ever she visited anywhere in her entire life and that in Thailand she saw even a majestic tiger, who was not only just kept in a tiny cage, where he couldn't turn, but in addition was chained inside that cell.
The arguments against that shabby Kenya/Thai wildlife-deal are numerous and the background of the whole story are at least dubious, as one can study on the website of an international wildlife protection organization:
http://www.ecoterra-international.org/sites/anti-chiangmai-night-zoo-1.htm
If the Thais really wanted to show true friendship to the Kenyans, they would abstain from insisting on the wildlife-deal outlined in that memorandum, which hangs like the sword of Damocles over the wild animals of Kenya in their free wildlands. The Thai government representatives could concentrate on actually helping Kenya without such shady deals and without that they force poor local organizations to engage in costly and time consuming campaigns and legal battles to restrain those who believe they could get benefits out of Kenyan wildlife, captured from the wild and confined to a life behind bars or early death due to neglect and distress during the shipment as well as inside Thailand.
And if the Thai people really would care about the plight of Kenyans and their state they would by all means stop their government officials to engage in such shameful exercises and force them to offer true help without selfish and greedy agendas. Kenyans therefore hope that their true soul-mates in Thailand will now likewise turn up the heat and force the Thai officials to come clean.
Kenyans stand as one people against the capture of even one animal from the wildlands of Africa and its transfer into that night-zoo in Thailand, like they stand against the capture and transport of any African girl into a brothel in Bangkok. The abduction of wild animals from Kenya to Thailand also must be seen in the context of bio-piracy and openly violates the Biodiversity Convention, which actually is a treaty to which both countries are signatories.
Kenyans feel that it would be the biggest shame to allow such also because 19 men on official duty to defend Kenyan wildlife were felled by the merciless bullets of unscrupulous wildlife killers and murderers since 1990 alone and many more in the years before. The death of these honourable men would have been meaningless and useless, if what they defended on behalf of all Kenyans and the natural world heritage at large, could just be signed away today.
Kenyans do also not support the shady deals of some politicians on both sides either, who seem to have an additional, hidden agenda in their co-operation and they speak out against those Kenyan parliamentarians, who just want to buy for Kenya a seat at the UN Security Council and try for this task to gain the support of foreign civil servants by intransparent measures like "pleasing" Thai officials with the signing away of Kenyan wildlife into a private zoo in Chiangmai. And neither do they support the apparent private business-relationships of officials like Thai PM Thaksin, who in his business life is a mobile phone and communications tycoon, with former Kenyan Communications Minister Raphael Tuju, who was now even promoted as Minister of Foreign Affairs by the embattled NARC government of Kenya's President Kibaki.
But while in Thailand even His Royal Highness The King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej has granted leave to his citizens to criticize Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, already death-threats are issued in Kenya to people, who only defend their natural heritage and stand against the cruel export of wildlife from their homelands into an appalling zoo-facility in Thailand, which triggered an international call to boycott Thailand over this.
The boycott of Thailand - that is for sure - and maybe in future also Kenya has gained now another boost.
© WTN 2005
-----------------------
Groups contest Thai wildlife deal
Kenya Times
15. 12. 2005
By John Osoro
WILDLIFE conservationists yesterday moved to court seeking to stop the government from translocating 175 animals to the Kingdom of Thailand.
The lobby groups want a memorandum of understanding entered into between the government of Kenya and Thailand stayed until their application is heard and determined.
The applicants — Self-Help Community Based Organisation (CBO) and Kenya Society for the Protection of Care for Animals — say that the Minister for Tourism and Wildlife and Kenya Wildlife Service had no powers to enter into an agreement with the Minister for Natural Resources and Environment of the Kingdom of Thailand over the translocation of the animals.
The conservationists say in their suit papers that the defendants had breached the Wildlife Conservation Act by allowing to donate and translocate the wildlife to a foreign country.
The plaintiffs in their application filed under a certificate of urgency say the respondents undertook to offer the animals without following the laid down procedures as contained in the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 1999.
The Act provides that the government of Kenya ought to have assessed the impact caused by the translocation on the biological diversity on the parks and other areas where the animals might be removed to.
They say that the respondents ought to have submitted such report to National Environmental Management Authority as required under the Act.
The suit supported by an affidavit by the CBO Chairman Mr Tom Ondiba Aosa, further points out that the action by the defendants to donate and translocate the animals to zoos in the Kingdom of Thailand contravenes the International Trade in Endangered Species of wildlife.
He said the agreement was entered without following the procedures that regulate translocation of such animals from their natural habitat.
When the applicants appeared before Justice Joseph Nyamu, they sought the court’s intervention over the purported MoU entered into between Kenyan Minister for Tourism and his counterpart from Thailand.
The plaintiffs, through their lawyer Mbugua Mureithi, submitted that procedure was not followed when the said MoU was signed.
Justice Nyamu, however, ordered the applicants to serve the application to the respondents and directed that the matter be heard inter partes on December 20.
Mr Aosa says that the defendants ought to have obtained approval from Parliament before the deal could be entered.
The applicant further wants the decision entered on November 9, 2005 be stopped until the suit filed against the respondents is heard and determined.
----------
Lobbies ask court to stop wild animals deal
Daily Nation Story
by WAHOME THUKU
Publication Date: 12/15/2005
Two wildlife conservation lobby groups have moved to court to stop the export of wild animals to Thailand.
Nairobi CBO Consortium, and Kenya Society for the Protection and Care for Animals filed an application at the Nairobi High Court and were allowed to sue the Government over the deal.
But the court declined to grant their request to stop relocation of assorted animals to Thai zoos over an agreement between the two countries.
After hearing the submissions by their lawyer, Mr Mbugua Mureithi, judge Joseph Nyamu said the court would not be keen to interfere with a treaty between two countries.
The court could not review treaties between countries unless the provisions were incorporated in the Kenyan laws or passed as Acts of Parliament, he ruled.
The controversial agreement was sealed on November 9 by Tourism and Wildlife minister Morris Dzoro and the Thai minister for Natural Resources and Environment Yongyut Tiyapairat. It was signed despite protests by the local and international wildlife conservationists, who claimed the transfer would violate the animals' welfare.
It was signed at State House, Nairobi, in the presence of President Mwai Kibaki and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Mbugua told the court that the conservation and management of the wildlife was legally under the Kenya Wildlife Service and the minister was only required to give general or special directions to the KWS director.
"The national heritage of this country should not be left to the disposal of one person or one arm of the Government," he argued.
He said the deal was signed without consulting the KWS, Parliament, other interested organisations or the public.
The process of identifying and capturing the animals for export to Thailand had began, the court heard.
Judge Nyamu noted that the issues raised by the applicants were of national importance. He asked them to serve the documents to the minister and the KWS so that the other parties could go and argue on how the court would treat the memorandum. The case will be heard on December 20.
----------
Groups sue over Thai game deal
Standard
Wednesday December 14, 2005
By Judy Ogutu and Renson Mnyamwezi
Controversy surrounding the decision to export 175 animals to a zoo in Thailand has spilled over to the courts.
The Kenya Society for the Protection and Care for Animals and two other organisations have filed a suit seeking to stop the deal.
The three applicants want the court to issue an order temporarily stopping the deal reached in a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Governments on November 9, 2005.
The lobby group, Nairobi CBO Consortium and Thomas Ondiba Aosa wants the court to give them the go-ahead to seek for orders prohibiting the Minister of Tourism and Wildlife from shipping the animals to the Asian country. The Kenya Wildlife Service was named in the suit as an interested party.
The applicants also want the court’s permission to quash the decision to export the assorted animals from Kenya to Thailand.
In an urgent application, their lawyer Mbugua Mureithi says the minister has commenced steps to identify, capture and move the animals.
Justice Joseph Nyamu declined to issue any orders, but directed the parties to serve the suit papers and appear before him on December 20 for an inter parties hearing.
Meanwhile more than 1,000 residents of Mwatate Division in Taita Taveta District on Wednesday demonstrated against the intended export of the animals.
Led by Youths for Conservation Programme official, Joseph Righa, the residents asked President Kibaki to shelve the programme and consult widely.
‘’Tourism is an integral part of Kenya’s economy and we must keep our wildlife as protected heritage for our own benefits,’’ said Mr Wilson Mwangombe, the Kenya Wildlife and Conservation and Management Network co-ordinator.
http://www.eastandard.net/print/news.php?articleid=33662
From ECOTERRA Intl.
http://www.ecoterra-international.org/sites/anti-chiangmai-night-zoo-1.htm
- please distribute widely -
Decisive step ahead against Kenya/Thai wildlife deal
- Kenyans, incl. two Kenyan organizations, went to court to stop the dreadful wildlife deal with a Thai fun-fair zoo -
WTN - correspondents - Nairobi / Bangkok - 14.12.2005
"Enough is enough!", said Kenyans, and have now applied to the courts in Nairobi, Kenya to end the dreadful saga about the ill-conceived wildlife deal with a Thai zoo, which is based on a simple and not legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between two ministers. Such a declaration of intent, however, can not be misinterpreted as an international treaty between the two states, as some might try to suggest in order to derail the process against the deal or to helplessly safe the face of government officials.
A treaty is a legally binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states. A treaty is for example the long-running treaty for British soldiers to train in Kenya, which is just now in a stage, where a majority of Kenyan parliamentarians question if Kenya should prolong it.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing an agreement between parties. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement, but less formal than a contract.
Examples of simple MoUs - like the Kenya/Thailand deal - include e.g.the Oil for Food program, for which Iraq signed a MoU in 1996, and which has seen a senior UN official being suspended for corruption as well as the son of UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan being implicated, and which has therefore undergone many changes to the original text. The recently signed Kenya/Thailand MoU therefore can likewise easily be amended or relieved of certain parts - like the now contested wildlife deal - contained therein. The Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA) and the Council of Community Based Organizations (CBO Council), both representing the majority of Kenyan citizens who are against the capture of free ranging wild animals from the Kenya wildlands and their deportation into the man-made confinement within a disputed Thai fun-fair facility, must be applauded for this step, because they actually also contribute in terms of control of damage to the reputation of both countries. But as further this issue is pushed by certain government officials in the service of either side of the deal, as more economic and face loss is created.
The constant and desperate pushing by the Thai Ambassador to Kenya, however, to get the Kenyan governance moving in terms of capturing now 175 wild animals for the Thai night zoo in Chiang Mai against the will of the Kenyan people is contradicting what Thai Senator Senator Pensak Chagsuchinda (Howitz) stated publicly during her visit to the country. The Senator, who was accompanied by Senator Niboon Shamshoum on a fact finding mission, had proclaimed profoundly that it was not in the interest of the Thai Government to insist on getting wildlife delivered from Kenya.
The senators admitted that their Prime Minister was looking for animals for that private facility in Chianmai, in which he has personal stakes, but they declared that, if the Kenyan people were not in agreement, they would not force the "donation" and would advise the Thai senate to restrict their PM in his dealings of such kind. Apparently the opposite of what was laid out by the senators is true and therefore the persistent pressure by the Thai official shows nothing less than the disrespect of the will of the Kenyan people. That certainly is not a good base for the proclaimed "friendship" between the two so different states and their people.
That the Kenyan people are ready to stand up for their wildlife has been not only clearly shown by the numerous protest rallies of various peoples in the country and the present legal challenge but even through a TV documentary delivering the numerous arguments of the wildlife conservation groups, which was aired by Reuters also into the far corners of Thailand and therefore made it known to the Thai people themselves. Even though the Thai senators did not succeed to have their PM reprimanded by the senate so far, the Thai organizations are urged to step up their side of the protest and to support the head of the Thai senate's environmental committee, Kaewsan Atipho, who want their house to become clean and to scrap the wildlife deal.
The wanted friendship between the people of both countries involved is also not changed with fake "letters to the editor", publicizing in local newspapers the opinion of staged pro-deal supporters allegedly writing from China or elsewhere. All the manipulation will only worsen the rift between the people of Kenya and Thailand and bring more supporters to the internationally called for boycott of Thailand's wares and services.
In order to show their real friendship with the people of Kenya, the Thai governance should have since long stopped to pressurize the Government of Kenya for these animals from the wild, not at least because the Kenyans actually have different and more severe problems at this time after a referendum rejected the proposed new constitution and a deep rift between governance and people's will.
The Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, who had received during the last 10 days twice delegations from the international and the national consortia of organizations, who stand and protest against that deal, had in addition to the numerous legal, ethic, economic, and moral arguments against the proposal outlined in the MoU, to hear eye-witness reports from people who actually had visited the Thai zoos and reported that animals are kept there under the most horrible conditions. One witness spoke of the worst zoo ever she visited anywhere in her entire life and that in Thailand she saw even a majestic tiger, who was not only just kept in a tiny cage, where he couldn't turn, but in addition was chained inside that cell.
The arguments against that shabby Kenya/Thai wildlife-deal are numerous and the background of the whole story are at least dubious, as one can study on the website of an international wildlife protection organization:
http://www.ecoterra-international.org/sites/anti-chiangmai-night-zoo-1.htm
If the Thais really wanted to show true friendship to the Kenyans, they would abstain from insisting on the wildlife-deal outlined in that memorandum, which hangs like the sword of Damocles over the wild animals of Kenya in their free wildlands. The Thai government representatives could concentrate on actually helping Kenya without such shady deals and without that they force poor local organizations to engage in costly and time consuming campaigns and legal battles to restrain those who believe they could get benefits out of Kenyan wildlife, captured from the wild and confined to a life behind bars or early death due to neglect and distress during the shipment as well as inside Thailand.
And if the Thai people really would care about the plight of Kenyans and their state they would by all means stop their government officials to engage in such shameful exercises and force them to offer true help without selfish and greedy agendas. Kenyans therefore hope that their true soul-mates in Thailand will now likewise turn up the heat and force the Thai officials to come clean.
Kenyans stand as one people against the capture of even one animal from the wildlands of Africa and its transfer into that night-zoo in Thailand, like they stand against the capture and transport of any African girl into a brothel in Bangkok. The abduction of wild animals from Kenya to Thailand also must be seen in the context of bio-piracy and openly violates the Biodiversity Convention, which actually is a treaty to which both countries are signatories.
Kenyans feel that it would be the biggest shame to allow such also because 19 men on official duty to defend Kenyan wildlife were felled by the merciless bullets of unscrupulous wildlife killers and murderers since 1990 alone and many more in the years before. The death of these honourable men would have been meaningless and useless, if what they defended on behalf of all Kenyans and the natural world heritage at large, could just be signed away today.
Kenyans do also not support the shady deals of some politicians on both sides either, who seem to have an additional, hidden agenda in their co-operation and they speak out against those Kenyan parliamentarians, who just want to buy for Kenya a seat at the UN Security Council and try for this task to gain the support of foreign civil servants by intransparent measures like "pleasing" Thai officials with the signing away of Kenyan wildlife into a private zoo in Chiangmai. And neither do they support the apparent private business-relationships of officials like Thai PM Thaksin, who in his business life is a mobile phone and communications tycoon, with former Kenyan Communications Minister Raphael Tuju, who was now even promoted as Minister of Foreign Affairs by the embattled NARC government of Kenya's President Kibaki.
But while in Thailand even His Royal Highness The King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej has granted leave to his citizens to criticize Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, already death-threats are issued in Kenya to people, who only defend their natural heritage and stand against the cruel export of wildlife from their homelands into an appalling zoo-facility in Thailand, which triggered an international call to boycott Thailand over this.
The boycott of Thailand - that is for sure - and maybe in future also Kenya has gained now another boost.
© WTN 2005
-----------------------
Groups contest Thai wildlife deal
Kenya Times
15. 12. 2005
By John Osoro
WILDLIFE conservationists yesterday moved to court seeking to stop the government from translocating 175 animals to the Kingdom of Thailand.
The lobby groups want a memorandum of understanding entered into between the government of Kenya and Thailand stayed until their application is heard and determined.
The applicants — Self-Help Community Based Organisation (CBO) and Kenya Society for the Protection of Care for Animals — say that the Minister for Tourism and Wildlife and Kenya Wildlife Service had no powers to enter into an agreement with the Minister for Natural Resources and Environment of the Kingdom of Thailand over the translocation of the animals.
The conservationists say in their suit papers that the defendants had breached the Wildlife Conservation Act by allowing to donate and translocate the wildlife to a foreign country.
The plaintiffs in their application filed under a certificate of urgency say the respondents undertook to offer the animals without following the laid down procedures as contained in the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 1999.
The Act provides that the government of Kenya ought to have assessed the impact caused by the translocation on the biological diversity on the parks and other areas where the animals might be removed to.
They say that the respondents ought to have submitted such report to National Environmental Management Authority as required under the Act.
The suit supported by an affidavit by the CBO Chairman Mr Tom Ondiba Aosa, further points out that the action by the defendants to donate and translocate the animals to zoos in the Kingdom of Thailand contravenes the International Trade in Endangered Species of wildlife.
He said the agreement was entered without following the procedures that regulate translocation of such animals from their natural habitat.
When the applicants appeared before Justice Joseph Nyamu, they sought the court’s intervention over the purported MoU entered into between Kenyan Minister for Tourism and his counterpart from Thailand.
The plaintiffs, through their lawyer Mbugua Mureithi, submitted that procedure was not followed when the said MoU was signed.
Justice Nyamu, however, ordered the applicants to serve the application to the respondents and directed that the matter be heard inter partes on December 20.
Mr Aosa says that the defendants ought to have obtained approval from Parliament before the deal could be entered.
The applicant further wants the decision entered on November 9, 2005 be stopped until the suit filed against the respondents is heard and determined.
----------
Lobbies ask court to stop wild animals deal
Daily Nation Story
by WAHOME THUKU
Publication Date: 12/15/2005
Two wildlife conservation lobby groups have moved to court to stop the export of wild animals to Thailand.
Nairobi CBO Consortium, and Kenya Society for the Protection and Care for Animals filed an application at the Nairobi High Court and were allowed to sue the Government over the deal.
But the court declined to grant their request to stop relocation of assorted animals to Thai zoos over an agreement between the two countries.
After hearing the submissions by their lawyer, Mr Mbugua Mureithi, judge Joseph Nyamu said the court would not be keen to interfere with a treaty between two countries.
The court could not review treaties between countries unless the provisions were incorporated in the Kenyan laws or passed as Acts of Parliament, he ruled.
The controversial agreement was sealed on November 9 by Tourism and Wildlife minister Morris Dzoro and the Thai minister for Natural Resources and Environment Yongyut Tiyapairat. It was signed despite protests by the local and international wildlife conservationists, who claimed the transfer would violate the animals' welfare.
It was signed at State House, Nairobi, in the presence of President Mwai Kibaki and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Mbugua told the court that the conservation and management of the wildlife was legally under the Kenya Wildlife Service and the minister was only required to give general or special directions to the KWS director.
"The national heritage of this country should not be left to the disposal of one person or one arm of the Government," he argued.
He said the deal was signed without consulting the KWS, Parliament, other interested organisations or the public.
The process of identifying and capturing the animals for export to Thailand had began, the court heard.
Judge Nyamu noted that the issues raised by the applicants were of national importance. He asked them to serve the documents to the minister and the KWS so that the other parties could go and argue on how the court would treat the memorandum. The case will be heard on December 20.
----------
Groups sue over Thai game deal
Standard
Wednesday December 14, 2005
By Judy Ogutu and Renson Mnyamwezi
Controversy surrounding the decision to export 175 animals to a zoo in Thailand has spilled over to the courts.
The Kenya Society for the Protection and Care for Animals and two other organisations have filed a suit seeking to stop the deal.
The three applicants want the court to issue an order temporarily stopping the deal reached in a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Governments on November 9, 2005.
The lobby group, Nairobi CBO Consortium and Thomas Ondiba Aosa wants the court to give them the go-ahead to seek for orders prohibiting the Minister of Tourism and Wildlife from shipping the animals to the Asian country. The Kenya Wildlife Service was named in the suit as an interested party.
The applicants also want the court’s permission to quash the decision to export the assorted animals from Kenya to Thailand.
In an urgent application, their lawyer Mbugua Mureithi says the minister has commenced steps to identify, capture and move the animals.
Justice Joseph Nyamu declined to issue any orders, but directed the parties to serve the suit papers and appear before him on December 20 for an inter parties hearing.
Meanwhile more than 1,000 residents of Mwatate Division in Taita Taveta District on Wednesday demonstrated against the intended export of the animals.
Led by Youths for Conservation Programme official, Joseph Righa, the residents asked President Kibaki to shelve the programme and consult widely.
‘’Tourism is an integral part of Kenya’s economy and we must keep our wildlife as protected heritage for our own benefits,’’ said Mr Wilson Mwangombe, the Kenya Wildlife and Conservation and Management Network co-ordinator.
http://www.eastandard.net/print/news.php?articleid=33662
From ECOTERRA Intl.
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:34
Überwachung der Telekommunikation: jeder ist verdächtig und im Fadenkreuz der Sicherheitsbehörden
Kommunikationsfreiheit und Datenschutz > Vorratsdatenspeicherung
EU-Parlament beschließt massive Überwachung der Telekommunikation
„Wer in einem EU-Land Anrufe tätigt, E-Mails verschickt, im Web surft oder andere Dienste im Internet nutzt, muss in Zukunft davon ausgehen, dass seine elektronischen Spuren zwischen sechs und 24 Monate lang gespeichert werden. Die bei den 450 Millionen EU-Bürgern anfallenden gigantischen Informationshalden dürfen Polizeien und Geheimdienste mit Data-Mining-Techniken auf Verknüpfungen zwischen Kommunikationspartnern hin untersuchen. Damit wird potenziell vollständig rekonstruierbar, wer wann mit wem und wie lange kommuniziert und zum Beispiel auch, wer sich wann im Internet aufgehalten hat. Jeder ist damit künftig verdächtig und potenziell im Fadenkreuz der Sicherheitsbehörden…“ Meldung bei heise news vom 14.12.2005
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/67358
Vorratsspeicherung: Alle unter Verdacht
Europas Netzanbieter sollen künftig Internet- und Telefondaten systematisch speichern. Nach EU-Kommission und Ministerrat hat nun auch das Europäische Parlament eine entsprechende Richtlinie verabschiedet. Kritiker fürchten den Überwachungsstaat. Artikel von Stefan Krempl in die ZEIT online vom 13.12.2005
http://www.zeit.de/online/2005/50/vorratsdatenspeicherung
EU-Parlament beschließt massive Überwachung der Telekommunikation
„Wer in einem EU-Land Anrufe tätigt, E-Mails verschickt, im Web surft oder andere Dienste im Internet nutzt, muss in Zukunft davon ausgehen, dass seine elektronischen Spuren zwischen sechs und 24 Monate lang gespeichert werden. Die bei den 450 Millionen EU-Bürgern anfallenden gigantischen Informationshalden dürfen Polizeien und Geheimdienste mit Data-Mining-Techniken auf Verknüpfungen zwischen Kommunikationspartnern hin untersuchen. Damit wird potenziell vollständig rekonstruierbar, wer wann mit wem und wie lange kommuniziert und zum Beispiel auch, wer sich wann im Internet aufgehalten hat. Jeder ist damit künftig verdächtig und potenziell im Fadenkreuz der Sicherheitsbehörden…“ Meldung bei heise news vom 14.12.2005
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/67358
Vorratsspeicherung: Alle unter Verdacht
Europas Netzanbieter sollen künftig Internet- und Telefondaten systematisch speichern. Nach EU-Kommission und Ministerrat hat nun auch das Europäische Parlament eine entsprechende Richtlinie verabschiedet. Kritiker fürchten den Überwachungsstaat. Artikel von Stefan Krempl in die ZEIT online vom 13.12.2005
http://www.zeit.de/online/2005/50/vorratsdatenspeicherung
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:30
Proteste gegen Ein-Euro-Jobs
Spaziergänge gegen Ein-Euro-Jobs
"Agenturschluss"-Aktion in Köln
„Zum wiederholten Mal sind Kölner Erwerbslose im Rahmen der "Agenturschluss"-Kampagne bei einem Träger so genannter 1-Euro-Jobs eingefallen. Es war wiedermal so weit, ... über 10 AktivistInnen der Kampagne "Agenturschluss", die in Köln speziell die Träger so genannter 1-Euro-Jobs ins Visier genommen haben, trafen sich am 08.12.2005 wieder zu einem ihrer "Spaziergänge"…“ Bericht von „Rio“ vom 09.12.2005 bei indymedia
http://de.indymedia.org/2005/12/134716.shtml
Perspektiven der Proteste 2005ff.
Breites Bündnis für Sozialprotest und außerparlamentarischen Widerstand geschmiedet. BAG-SHI und Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland treten in Kooperation mit dem bundesweiten Aktionsbündnis „Sozialproteste“
„Anlässlich des bundesweiten Treffens des Aktionsbündnisses „Sozialproteste“ am 10.12.2005 in Göttingen, an dem auch die Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Erwerbslosen- und Sozialhilfeinitiativen e.V.(BAG-SHI) und das Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland teilnahmen, wurden der Beginn des gemeinsamen Widerstands gegen zunehmenden Sozialkahlschlag und den Abbau von Rechtsstaatlichkeit angekündigt. Nach den zahlreichen Veranstaltungen des „heißen Winters“, die weiterhin fortgesetzt und intensiviert werden, soll als Auftakt die Mobilisierung der europaweiten Protestveranstaltung gegen die Verabschiedung der „Bolkestein-Richtlinie“ und einer bundesweiten Massendemonstration gegen Sozialkahlschlag im Frühjahr´06 sein. Ziel für 2006 und 2007 ist es, den außerparlamentarischen sozialen Widerstand zunehmend zu vergrößern. Dies auch im Hinblick auf den geplanten Weltwirtschaftsgipfel in Heiligendamm/Rostock 2007…“ Presseerklärung von Martin Behrsing („Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland“, Bonn) gemeinsam mit dem Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste (pdf)
http://www.erwerbslosenforum.de/presse/11_12_05.pdf
Aktionen bei der AWO, Caritas… Gegen 1-Euro-Job-Anbieter
Bremer Erwerbslosen- und JobberInnentag am 30.11.05
Kurzbericht http://www.sozialplenum.org/start_00.html
Flugblatt: „1 €-Job, Ich-AG, Call-Center oder was?“ (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/eurobremen2.pdf
Übersicht über regionale Anti-Hartz-&-Co-Bündnisse aktualisiert
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/regionen.html
Aus: LabourNet, 15. Dezember 2005
"Agenturschluss"-Aktion in Köln
„Zum wiederholten Mal sind Kölner Erwerbslose im Rahmen der "Agenturschluss"-Kampagne bei einem Träger so genannter 1-Euro-Jobs eingefallen. Es war wiedermal so weit, ... über 10 AktivistInnen der Kampagne "Agenturschluss", die in Köln speziell die Träger so genannter 1-Euro-Jobs ins Visier genommen haben, trafen sich am 08.12.2005 wieder zu einem ihrer "Spaziergänge"…“ Bericht von „Rio“ vom 09.12.2005 bei indymedia
http://de.indymedia.org/2005/12/134716.shtml
Perspektiven der Proteste 2005ff.
Breites Bündnis für Sozialprotest und außerparlamentarischen Widerstand geschmiedet. BAG-SHI und Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland treten in Kooperation mit dem bundesweiten Aktionsbündnis „Sozialproteste“
„Anlässlich des bundesweiten Treffens des Aktionsbündnisses „Sozialproteste“ am 10.12.2005 in Göttingen, an dem auch die Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Erwerbslosen- und Sozialhilfeinitiativen e.V.(BAG-SHI) und das Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland teilnahmen, wurden der Beginn des gemeinsamen Widerstands gegen zunehmenden Sozialkahlschlag und den Abbau von Rechtsstaatlichkeit angekündigt. Nach den zahlreichen Veranstaltungen des „heißen Winters“, die weiterhin fortgesetzt und intensiviert werden, soll als Auftakt die Mobilisierung der europaweiten Protestveranstaltung gegen die Verabschiedung der „Bolkestein-Richtlinie“ und einer bundesweiten Massendemonstration gegen Sozialkahlschlag im Frühjahr´06 sein. Ziel für 2006 und 2007 ist es, den außerparlamentarischen sozialen Widerstand zunehmend zu vergrößern. Dies auch im Hinblick auf den geplanten Weltwirtschaftsgipfel in Heiligendamm/Rostock 2007…“ Presseerklärung von Martin Behrsing („Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland“, Bonn) gemeinsam mit dem Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste (pdf)
http://www.erwerbslosenforum.de/presse/11_12_05.pdf
Aktionen bei der AWO, Caritas… Gegen 1-Euro-Job-Anbieter
Bremer Erwerbslosen- und JobberInnentag am 30.11.05
Kurzbericht http://www.sozialplenum.org/start_00.html
Flugblatt: „1 €-Job, Ich-AG, Call-Center oder was?“ (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/eurobremen2.pdf
Übersicht über regionale Anti-Hartz-&-Co-Bündnisse aktualisiert
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/regionen.html
Aus: LabourNet, 15. Dezember 2005
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:27
Protokoll Bundesversammlung Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste am 10. Dezember 2005
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:21
Mobilfunkgegner machen mobil
Interessengemeinschaft gegen Elektrosmog im Saastal gegründet
Saas Grund / Die Saaser machen mobil und wehren sich gegen Mobilfunkantennen auf ihrem Gebiet. Darum wurde vor rund einem Monat die Interessengemeinschaft gegen Elektrosmog im Saastal ins Leben gerufen. Dadurch erhofft man sich eine stärkere Lobby im Kampf gegen die Mobilfunkanbieter.
Von Walter Bellwald
Nachdem sich die Gemeinde Zermatt erfolgreich gegen den Ausbau von Mobilfunkantennen auf ihrem Gemeindegebiet zur Wehr gesetzt hat (die RZ berichtete), regt sich nun auch im Saastal Widerstand gegen die Mobilfunktelefonie. So gingen gegen den Ausbau des Antennenstandorts „Plattjen“ rund zweihundert private Einsprachen ein.
Umfrage lanciert
„Wir wollen die Bevölkerung auf die stete Gefahr des Elektrosmogs aufmerksam machen und für die Problematik sensibilisieren“, erklärt IG-Präsident Edgar Ruppen die Beweggründe des Vereins. Was dem Primarlehrer vor allem sauer aufstößt ist die Tatsache, dass immer mehr Antennen in der Nähe von Schulanlagen zu stehen kommen. „Die Betreiber dieser Anlagen wissen gar nicht, was für einer Gefahr sie die Kinder damit aussetzen“, ereifert sich Ruppen. Schützenhilfe erhält er von der heimischen Krankenkasse. „Die gesundheitlichen Beschwerden der Bevölkerung haben in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Mit ein Grund für diese Tendenz sind sicherlich die Umwelteinflüsse und dazu gehört zweifelsohne auch der Elektrosmog“, ist Kurt Anthamatten von der Krankenkasse Saastal überzeugt. Darum lancierte die Krankenkasse kurzerhand eine Umfrage über das Wohlbefinden der Saaser Bevölkerung im Zusammenhang mit Elektrosmog.
Alarmierende Zahlen
Das Ergebnis der Umfrage lässt aufhorchen. Von den 250 eingegangenen Fragebögen gaben fast sechzig Prozent der Befragten an, dass sie mit permanenten Schlafstörungen zu kämpfen hätten. Über vierzig Prozent klagen über regelmäßige Kopfschmerzen und rund dreißig Prozent leiden unter Konzentrationsstörungen. Für Kurt Anthamatten alarmierende Zahlen: „Obwohl bisher keine hundertprozentigen Rückschlüsse auf eine Strahlenbelastung möglich sind, ist davon auszugehen, dass sich Elektrosmog negativ auf die Gesundheit des Menschen auswirken kann. Demnach sind die Resultate der Umfrage sehr aussagekräftig, weil sie sich mit anderen Umfragen und wissenschaftlichen Resultaten durchaus decken.“ Als direkte Folge der Umfrage wurde die IG gegen Elektrosmog im Saastal ins Leben gerufen.
Informationsveranstaltung
Die neun Gründungsmitglieder geben sich zuversichtlich. „Der Rückhalt in der Bevölkerung ist deutlich spürbar und die Skepsis gegenüber Mobilfunkantennen wächst stetig“, erklärt Edgar Ruppen. Um die Bevölkerung auf die Schattenseiten des Mobilfunks aufmerksam zu machen, hat die IG beschlossen, einen Informationsabend durchzuführen. „Mit Hans-Ueli Jakob, Präsident des Vereins Gigaherz, konnten wir einen sehr kompetenten und erfahrenen Referenten verpflichten, der sich vehement gegen Mobilfunkanlagen zur Wehr setzt“, so der IG-Präsident. Der Informationsabend findet morgen Abend um 20 Uhr im Mehrzweckgebäude in Saas Grund statt.
http://www.rz-online.ch/news2005/Nr49-15dez/02.htm
Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim
Saas Grund / Die Saaser machen mobil und wehren sich gegen Mobilfunkantennen auf ihrem Gebiet. Darum wurde vor rund einem Monat die Interessengemeinschaft gegen Elektrosmog im Saastal ins Leben gerufen. Dadurch erhofft man sich eine stärkere Lobby im Kampf gegen die Mobilfunkanbieter.
Von Walter Bellwald
Nachdem sich die Gemeinde Zermatt erfolgreich gegen den Ausbau von Mobilfunkantennen auf ihrem Gemeindegebiet zur Wehr gesetzt hat (die RZ berichtete), regt sich nun auch im Saastal Widerstand gegen die Mobilfunktelefonie. So gingen gegen den Ausbau des Antennenstandorts „Plattjen“ rund zweihundert private Einsprachen ein.
Umfrage lanciert
„Wir wollen die Bevölkerung auf die stete Gefahr des Elektrosmogs aufmerksam machen und für die Problematik sensibilisieren“, erklärt IG-Präsident Edgar Ruppen die Beweggründe des Vereins. Was dem Primarlehrer vor allem sauer aufstößt ist die Tatsache, dass immer mehr Antennen in der Nähe von Schulanlagen zu stehen kommen. „Die Betreiber dieser Anlagen wissen gar nicht, was für einer Gefahr sie die Kinder damit aussetzen“, ereifert sich Ruppen. Schützenhilfe erhält er von der heimischen Krankenkasse. „Die gesundheitlichen Beschwerden der Bevölkerung haben in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Mit ein Grund für diese Tendenz sind sicherlich die Umwelteinflüsse und dazu gehört zweifelsohne auch der Elektrosmog“, ist Kurt Anthamatten von der Krankenkasse Saastal überzeugt. Darum lancierte die Krankenkasse kurzerhand eine Umfrage über das Wohlbefinden der Saaser Bevölkerung im Zusammenhang mit Elektrosmog.
Alarmierende Zahlen
Das Ergebnis der Umfrage lässt aufhorchen. Von den 250 eingegangenen Fragebögen gaben fast sechzig Prozent der Befragten an, dass sie mit permanenten Schlafstörungen zu kämpfen hätten. Über vierzig Prozent klagen über regelmäßige Kopfschmerzen und rund dreißig Prozent leiden unter Konzentrationsstörungen. Für Kurt Anthamatten alarmierende Zahlen: „Obwohl bisher keine hundertprozentigen Rückschlüsse auf eine Strahlenbelastung möglich sind, ist davon auszugehen, dass sich Elektrosmog negativ auf die Gesundheit des Menschen auswirken kann. Demnach sind die Resultate der Umfrage sehr aussagekräftig, weil sie sich mit anderen Umfragen und wissenschaftlichen Resultaten durchaus decken.“ Als direkte Folge der Umfrage wurde die IG gegen Elektrosmog im Saastal ins Leben gerufen.
Informationsveranstaltung
Die neun Gründungsmitglieder geben sich zuversichtlich. „Der Rückhalt in der Bevölkerung ist deutlich spürbar und die Skepsis gegenüber Mobilfunkantennen wächst stetig“, erklärt Edgar Ruppen. Um die Bevölkerung auf die Schattenseiten des Mobilfunks aufmerksam zu machen, hat die IG beschlossen, einen Informationsabend durchzuführen. „Mit Hans-Ueli Jakob, Präsident des Vereins Gigaherz, konnten wir einen sehr kompetenten und erfahrenen Referenten verpflichten, der sich vehement gegen Mobilfunkanlagen zur Wehr setzt“, so der IG-Präsident. Der Informationsabend findet morgen Abend um 20 Uhr im Mehrzweckgebäude in Saas Grund statt.
http://www.rz-online.ch/news2005/Nr49-15dez/02.htm
Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim
Starmail - 15. Dez, 23:03
G.O.P. May Harness Arctic Drilling to Pentagon Budget
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:51
House Defies Bush and Backs McCain on Detainee Torture
In an unusual bipartisan rebuke to the Bush administration, the House on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed Senator John McCain's measure to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners in American custody anywhere in the world. Although the vote was nonbinding, it put the Republican-controlled House on record in support of Mr. McCain's provision for the first time, at the very moment when the senator, a Republican, is at a crucial stage of tense negotiations with the White House, which strongly opposes his measure.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505Z.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505Z.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:49
Mobile phone company loses appeal against 12m mast
Dec 15 2005
A MOBILE phone company which is trying to erect a 40ft high telecommunications mast in the Mole Valley countryside has had its appeal refused.
A planning inspector told T-Mobile UK that the proposed mast would be "a prominent and unsym-pathetic feature" and that she would not uphold the appeal against the original decision to refuse planning permission.
The phone company wanted to erect the mast on the grass verge to the north of the Clarks Green roundabout on the A24, to give coverage to customers in that area.
Permission had been refused by Mole Valley District Council on May 31, prompting T-Mobile to appeal against the decision.
But planning inspector Sue Turner was concerned by the "harmful effect" the mast would have on the character and appearance of the surrounding countryside.
She observed that the 12 metre-high mast "would be clearly visible projecting above the tree line", where most of the trees in the area are "in the range eight to 10 metres".
The inspector thought that not enough careful consideration had been given to alternative sites, and refused the appeal.
Gordon Simmons of T-Mobile said: "There are something like 60 million mobile phones in use (in the country) today and we are using them more and more.
"As such, we need to continue with development of the network to ensure that customers get the coverage they expect.
"We work pretty hard to come up with solutions and designs that blend in with the landscape.
"There is an urgent need for coverage in the area and this refusal will be under review."
http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0500dorkingleatherhead/tm_objectid=16485187&method=full&siteid=50101&headline=mobile-phone-company-loses-appeal-against-12m-mast-name_page.html
A MOBILE phone company which is trying to erect a 40ft high telecommunications mast in the Mole Valley countryside has had its appeal refused.
A planning inspector told T-Mobile UK that the proposed mast would be "a prominent and unsym-pathetic feature" and that she would not uphold the appeal against the original decision to refuse planning permission.
The phone company wanted to erect the mast on the grass verge to the north of the Clarks Green roundabout on the A24, to give coverage to customers in that area.
Permission had been refused by Mole Valley District Council on May 31, prompting T-Mobile to appeal against the decision.
But planning inspector Sue Turner was concerned by the "harmful effect" the mast would have on the character and appearance of the surrounding countryside.
She observed that the 12 metre-high mast "would be clearly visible projecting above the tree line", where most of the trees in the area are "in the range eight to 10 metres".
The inspector thought that not enough careful consideration had been given to alternative sites, and refused the appeal.
Gordon Simmons of T-Mobile said: "There are something like 60 million mobile phones in use (in the country) today and we are using them more and more.
"As such, we need to continue with development of the network to ensure that customers get the coverage they expect.
"We work pretty hard to come up with solutions and designs that blend in with the landscape.
"There is an urgent need for coverage in the area and this refusal will be under review."
http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0500dorkingleatherhead/tm_objectid=16485187&method=full&siteid=50101&headline=mobile-phone-company-loses-appeal-against-12m-mast-name_page.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:47
"Arbeitsteilung" mit Folterstaaten
"Arbeitsteilung" mit Folterstaaten: Deutsche Sicherheitsbehörden sollen in Guantánamo Gefolterte verhört haben (15.12.05)
Deutsche Sicherheitsbehörden sollen einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge im US-Gefangenenlager Guantánamo auf Kuba zwei Internierte befragt haben. Die "Süddeutschen Zeitung" berichtete, vom 21. bis 27. September 2002 seien zwei Beamte des Bundesnachrichtendienstes und ein Mitarbeiter des Bundesamts für Verfassungsschutz nach Guantánamo gereist. Sie hätten dort den in Bremen aufgewachsenen Türken Murat Kurnaz verhört sowie den aus Mauretanien stammenden Ould Slahi, der in Duisburg gelebt hatte. Nach Angaben von Amnesty international wurde Kurnaz vermutlich in Guantánamo gefoltert. Darüber hinaus sollen das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), der Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) und der Verfassungsschutz (VS) in einem syrischen Foltergefängnis den deutschen Staatsbürger Haydar Zammar verhört haben.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12523
Deutsche Sicherheitsbehörden sollen einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge im US-Gefangenenlager Guantánamo auf Kuba zwei Internierte befragt haben. Die "Süddeutschen Zeitung" berichtete, vom 21. bis 27. September 2002 seien zwei Beamte des Bundesnachrichtendienstes und ein Mitarbeiter des Bundesamts für Verfassungsschutz nach Guantánamo gereist. Sie hätten dort den in Bremen aufgewachsenen Türken Murat Kurnaz verhört sowie den aus Mauretanien stammenden Ould Slahi, der in Duisburg gelebt hatte. Nach Angaben von Amnesty international wurde Kurnaz vermutlich in Guantánamo gefoltert. Darüber hinaus sollen das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), der Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) und der Verfassungsschutz (VS) in einem syrischen Foltergefängnis den deutschen Staatsbürger Haydar Zammar verhört haben.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12523
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:42
Enemies of the State?
Suspected of plotting terror, a group of men have been held for four years but never charged. Now, in their first testimonies, they reveal the authorities have not even questioned them since their arrests.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505N.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505N.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:41
Senate Is Set to Require White House to Account for Secret Prisons
The Senate is poised to approve a measure that would require the Bush administration to provide Congress with its most specific and extensive accounting of the secret prison system established by the CIA to house terrorism suspects.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505J.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505J.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:39
Forest Salvation
Kelpie Wilson writes: The Washington Post reported that US chief climate negotiator Harlan Watson was essentially nominated for the position by Exxon Mobil. This is just one more indication of the extent to which the United States government has been body-snatched by corporate interests.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505I.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121505I.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:38
Das britische Guantanamo
Auch in Großbritannien wurden einige Ausländer Jahre lang ohne Anklage eingesperrt, jetzt stellte sich heraus, dass diese angeblich so gefährlichen Terrorverdächtigen nie verhört wurden.
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21580/1.html
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21580/1.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:37
Früchte der Folter
Deutsche Sicherheitsbeamte haben in Guantanamo und im syrischen Far-Filastin-Gefängnis mit verhört.
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21583/1.html
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21583/1.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 22:34
PHONE mast fight boost
By Victoria Hoe
Dec 15, 2005
Controversial plans by a mobile phone giant to install a 50ft mast in Lichfield are set to be rejected after objections from residents.
Vodafone wants to put a mast on land at Shires Industrial Estate, off Essington Close. A 362-signature petition and 38 letters of objection were sent to Lichfield District Council.
Residents said the mast would be visually intrusive and have a detrimental effect on the character of the area.
They are worried about health risks and say the mast would be within 10 yards of some homes
Objectors added that there were already 19 masts within one mile of the city centre and said they did not believe other possible sites had been fully explored.
The parish authority, Lichfield City Council, has also objected amid concerns the planned mast was too close to residential properties and was too high.
Lichfield District Council's planning committee is set to refuse the scheme when it meets on Monday evening.
Planning officers said the mast would form a highly intrusive feature of excessive height.
Planning officer Stephen Hill said: "I am not satisfied the applicant has given full consideration to the siting of this mast and consider its location will have a harmful impact on the character of the immediate surrounding area and on the amenity of nearby residents."
He said the mast could not be refused on health grounds.
County councillor Terry Finn backed residents in their fight against the mast.
He said the plans were unacceptable because the mast would be too close to Chesterfield Road and Redlock Field.
Vodafone spokeswoman Jane Frapwell said the firm needed masts near homes because that was where mobile reception was required.
She said there was no limit on how close the masts could be to houses and that exposure was lower when people were close to masts.
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
http://www.expressandstar.com/articles/news/es/article_84425.php
Dec 15, 2005
Controversial plans by a mobile phone giant to install a 50ft mast in Lichfield are set to be rejected after objections from residents.
Vodafone wants to put a mast on land at Shires Industrial Estate, off Essington Close. A 362-signature petition and 38 letters of objection were sent to Lichfield District Council.
Residents said the mast would be visually intrusive and have a detrimental effect on the character of the area.
They are worried about health risks and say the mast would be within 10 yards of some homes
Objectors added that there were already 19 masts within one mile of the city centre and said they did not believe other possible sites had been fully explored.
The parish authority, Lichfield City Council, has also objected amid concerns the planned mast was too close to residential properties and was too high.
Lichfield District Council's planning committee is set to refuse the scheme when it meets on Monday evening.
Planning officers said the mast would form a highly intrusive feature of excessive height.
Planning officer Stephen Hill said: "I am not satisfied the applicant has given full consideration to the siting of this mast and consider its location will have a harmful impact on the character of the immediate surrounding area and on the amenity of nearby residents."
He said the mast could not be refused on health grounds.
County councillor Terry Finn backed residents in their fight against the mast.
He said the plans were unacceptable because the mast would be too close to Chesterfield Road and Redlock Field.
Vodafone spokeswoman Jane Frapwell said the firm needed masts near homes because that was where mobile reception was required.
She said there was no limit on how close the masts could be to houses and that exposure was lower when people were close to masts.
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
http://www.expressandstar.com/articles/news/es/article_84425.php
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:53
Residents to meet phone mast bosses
by Gazette reporter,
Ryedale, Yorkshire
CONCERNED residents are to meet with phone company bosses to discuss a controversial new mast in the centre of their village.
Orange at first refused to talk to villagers in Sheriff Hutton about the phone mast on Dasket Hill, but the company has now agreed to a meeting on January 6.
More than 130 residents turned out to protest after the mast appeared one quiet Sunday morning, despite both the parish council and Ryedale District Council opposing the plans.
It became clear that two administrative errors by Ryedale District Council led to the objections being sent to the phone company a day late.
Council bosses have apologised for the errors, and development control manager Gary Housden said he would take legal advice as to whether the council has any enforcement power over Orange to take it down.
He said the fact that the company did not place notification of plans on the site could render its application void, and he would know for certain by December 21.
Until then, residents say they are "in limbo".
Andrew Murphy, who lives with his family 85 metres away from the mast in Cornborough Road, spotted engineers there on December 3, and stopped them connecting the mast to an electricity supplier.
"I told them the site was still the subject of a legal review and that no work should be done until that was resolved," he said.
"They rang their boss and he said they had to get on with it, but then I said I would get the press involved and they left."
Mr Murphy wrote to Orange and negotiated the meeting on January 6, and was assured no more work would go on at the site until that meeting.
Mr Murphy's wife, Linda, said: "I'm very much heartened that they are at last prepared to meet us and listen.
``However, I'm not getting too optimistic.
``Our aim is to get it removed and, once it is, we will celebrate.
``But it's great that we can relax over Christmas and not be on a constant lookout to see if they are doing something."
At the meeting, villagers will show the Orange bosses alternative sites for the mast, including one industrial park and three spots where landowners are willing to have the mast.
"They are all away from homes, and that's what we want," said Mrs Murphy. "We don't want to make it someone else's problem."
Orange spokesman Duncan McGraw said: "Orange has agreed to meet with up to four residents and we are waiting to hear confirmation of that. We want to meet with them and listen to their concerns because lots of information has been published about the issue and we need to get to the bottom of these concerns.
"From our point of view as a company, we have legitimate planning consent for this site and we're keen to build this mast to improve mobile phone coverage in the area."
Updated: 14:11 Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Ryedale, Yorkshire
CONCERNED residents are to meet with phone company bosses to discuss a controversial new mast in the centre of their village.
Orange at first refused to talk to villagers in Sheriff Hutton about the phone mast on Dasket Hill, but the company has now agreed to a meeting on January 6.
More than 130 residents turned out to protest after the mast appeared one quiet Sunday morning, despite both the parish council and Ryedale District Council opposing the plans.
It became clear that two administrative errors by Ryedale District Council led to the objections being sent to the phone company a day late.
Council bosses have apologised for the errors, and development control manager Gary Housden said he would take legal advice as to whether the council has any enforcement power over Orange to take it down.
He said the fact that the company did not place notification of plans on the site could render its application void, and he would know for certain by December 21.
Until then, residents say they are "in limbo".
Andrew Murphy, who lives with his family 85 metres away from the mast in Cornborough Road, spotted engineers there on December 3, and stopped them connecting the mast to an electricity supplier.
"I told them the site was still the subject of a legal review and that no work should be done until that was resolved," he said.
"They rang their boss and he said they had to get on with it, but then I said I would get the press involved and they left."
Mr Murphy wrote to Orange and negotiated the meeting on January 6, and was assured no more work would go on at the site until that meeting.
Mr Murphy's wife, Linda, said: "I'm very much heartened that they are at last prepared to meet us and listen.
``However, I'm not getting too optimistic.
``Our aim is to get it removed and, once it is, we will celebrate.
``But it's great that we can relax over Christmas and not be on a constant lookout to see if they are doing something."
At the meeting, villagers will show the Orange bosses alternative sites for the mast, including one industrial park and three spots where landowners are willing to have the mast.
"They are all away from homes, and that's what we want," said Mrs Murphy. "We don't want to make it someone else's problem."
Orange spokesman Duncan McGraw said: "Orange has agreed to meet with up to four residents and we are waiting to hear confirmation of that. We want to meet with them and listen to their concerns because lots of information has been published about the issue and we need to get to the bottom of these concerns.
"From our point of view as a company, we have legitimate planning consent for this site and we're keen to build this mast to improve mobile phone coverage in the area."
Updated: 14:11 Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:49
Pentagon Will Review Database on U.S. Citizens
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR2005121402528.html
Informant: William K. Dobbs
From ufpj-news
Informant: William K. Dobbs
From ufpj-news
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:46
America's Gulag Problem
by Aziz Huq, TomPaine.com
Congress is about to pass a bill that cuts off the only real route out of the Guantanamo mess.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051215/americas_gulag_problem.php
Congress is about to pass a bill that cuts off the only real route out of the Guantanamo mess.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051215/americas_gulag_problem.php
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:43
House vote backs McCain language on torture
A clear message to the administration that Congress supports the legislation Josh White, Charles Babington, Washington Post Thursday, December 15, 2005
Washington -- The House gave strong support Wednesday to a measure that would ban torture and limit interrogation tactics in U.S. detention facilities, agreeing with senators that Congress needs to set uniform guidelines for the treatment of prisoners in the war on terror.
On a 308-122 vote, members of the House supported specific language proposed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that prohibits "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government.
Although lopsided, the vote does not put the language into law. Instead, the vote specifically instructed House negotiators to include McCain's language, word for word, in the fiscal 2006 Defense Appropriations bill, a decision that is not binding but carries with it significant political weight.
The House also supported a McCain provision that would require officials in any Defense Department detention facility to follow interrogation standards in the Army's Field Manual. That manual is currently under revision.
The vote sends a clear signal to the Bush administration that both chambers of Congress support the anti-torture legislation and want the government to adopt guidelines that would aim to prevent damage to the U.S. image abroad. The White House has been aggressively pushing to create exceptions for CIA operatives and to water down McCain's language to keep from limiting interrogators' options.
Earlier in the day, McCain and President Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, met in hopes of reaching a compromise on McCain's proposals, but no agreements were reached.
Congressional aides and U.S. officials said Wednesday that McCain had flatly refused Bush administration requests to modify the language he has proposed or to water down the impact of the torture ban.
The House vote indicates the administration may have lost some leverage.
With the Senate's 90-9 vote in support of McCain's language earlier this year, both houses have presented veto-proof tallies to a White House that has vowed to strike down any bill that limits the president's authority to wage the war on terror.
"We cannot torture and still retain the moral high ground," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who called for the vote Wednesday. "No torture and no exceptions."
In all, 200 Democrats, 107 Republicans and one independent voted for Murtha's motion to instruct House negotiators. Voting against it were 121 Republicans and one Democrat, Jim Marshall of Georgia.
Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C., was among the many conservative Republicans who voted for Murtha's motion. He said in an interview that experts have told lawmakers that harsh interrogation methods often produce misleading or false misinformation because the detainee "will tell you what he thinks you want to hear" to end the pain.
Jones said he believed extreme interrogation tactics resulted in some of the bad intelligence that led the administration to believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the invasion.
McCain's language is stalling the Defense Authorization bill, a policy-setting measure, as the White House continues to negotiate for exceptions and legal protection for interrogators who might unwittingly cross the proposed new lines
Despite McCain's unwavering stance, the White House continues to push for some level of exemption for officials working in the U.S. intelligence services and most specifically the CIA. Sources familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday that McCain and Hadley's one-on-one meetings over the past month had centered on the White House's request for some level of legal protection from liability for CIA operatives should they be found in violation of the standards.
Such an exception would allow interrogators to use a defense that a "reasonable person" would not have thought their actions were illegal, similar to military laws about following orders.
Defense Department officials have been debating the impact of McCain's language on intelligence operations, and officials largely agree that the measures are consistent with existing policy. They would put into law Army doctrine, eliminating a commander's flexibility to change the rules -- something members of Congress have been seeking in the wake of numerous reported abuses.
McCain's language grew out of the Abu Ghraib abuses and the confusion that became apparent about the government's policies on the treatment of detainees. McCain -- a former POW who was tortured during the Vietnam War -- has been seeking to provide congressional clarity to armed forces and other U.S. officials who
interrogate prisoners.
©2005 San Francisco Chronicle
Page A - 5 URL:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/12/15/MNGADG892M1.DTL
Informant: John Calvert
Washington -- The House gave strong support Wednesday to a measure that would ban torture and limit interrogation tactics in U.S. detention facilities, agreeing with senators that Congress needs to set uniform guidelines for the treatment of prisoners in the war on terror.
On a 308-122 vote, members of the House supported specific language proposed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that prohibits "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government.
Although lopsided, the vote does not put the language into law. Instead, the vote specifically instructed House negotiators to include McCain's language, word for word, in the fiscal 2006 Defense Appropriations bill, a decision that is not binding but carries with it significant political weight.
The House also supported a McCain provision that would require officials in any Defense Department detention facility to follow interrogation standards in the Army's Field Manual. That manual is currently under revision.
The vote sends a clear signal to the Bush administration that both chambers of Congress support the anti-torture legislation and want the government to adopt guidelines that would aim to prevent damage to the U.S. image abroad. The White House has been aggressively pushing to create exceptions for CIA operatives and to water down McCain's language to keep from limiting interrogators' options.
Earlier in the day, McCain and President Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, met in hopes of reaching a compromise on McCain's proposals, but no agreements were reached.
Congressional aides and U.S. officials said Wednesday that McCain had flatly refused Bush administration requests to modify the language he has proposed or to water down the impact of the torture ban.
The House vote indicates the administration may have lost some leverage.
With the Senate's 90-9 vote in support of McCain's language earlier this year, both houses have presented veto-proof tallies to a White House that has vowed to strike down any bill that limits the president's authority to wage the war on terror.
"We cannot torture and still retain the moral high ground," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who called for the vote Wednesday. "No torture and no exceptions."
In all, 200 Democrats, 107 Republicans and one independent voted for Murtha's motion to instruct House negotiators. Voting against it were 121 Republicans and one Democrat, Jim Marshall of Georgia.
Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C., was among the many conservative Republicans who voted for Murtha's motion. He said in an interview that experts have told lawmakers that harsh interrogation methods often produce misleading or false misinformation because the detainee "will tell you what he thinks you want to hear" to end the pain.
Jones said he believed extreme interrogation tactics resulted in some of the bad intelligence that led the administration to believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the invasion.
McCain's language is stalling the Defense Authorization bill, a policy-setting measure, as the White House continues to negotiate for exceptions and legal protection for interrogators who might unwittingly cross the proposed new lines
Despite McCain's unwavering stance, the White House continues to push for some level of exemption for officials working in the U.S. intelligence services and most specifically the CIA. Sources familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday that McCain and Hadley's one-on-one meetings over the past month had centered on the White House's request for some level of legal protection from liability for CIA operatives should they be found in violation of the standards.
Such an exception would allow interrogators to use a defense that a "reasonable person" would not have thought their actions were illegal, similar to military laws about following orders.
Defense Department officials have been debating the impact of McCain's language on intelligence operations, and officials largely agree that the measures are consistent with existing policy. They would put into law Army doctrine, eliminating a commander's flexibility to change the rules -- something members of Congress have been seeking in the wake of numerous reported abuses.
McCain's language grew out of the Abu Ghraib abuses and the confusion that became apparent about the government's policies on the treatment of detainees. McCain -- a former POW who was tortured during the Vietnam War -- has been seeking to provide congressional clarity to armed forces and other U.S. officials who
interrogate prisoners.
©2005 San Francisco Chronicle
Page A - 5 URL:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/12/15/MNGADG892M1.DTL
Informant: John Calvert
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:42
Toward freedom in the Arab world
Acton Institute
by Anthony B. Bradley
12/14/05
Regardless of one’s view of the war in Iraq, we all can agree on the desirability of a dignity-oriented freedom for individuals and families in the Arab world. Economic, political, and religious liberty, however, do not come in a valueless vacuum. Freedom rings when society is ordered so that all people, rich and poor alike, are free to pursue economic and moral goods. The same ordering that led to freedom in the Western world are the same ancient, time-tested truths that will bring liberty to all people everywhere in the world...
http://tinyurl.com/8ns4e
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Anthony B. Bradley
12/14/05
Regardless of one’s view of the war in Iraq, we all can agree on the desirability of a dignity-oriented freedom for individuals and families in the Arab world. Economic, political, and religious liberty, however, do not come in a valueless vacuum. Freedom rings when society is ordered so that all people, rich and poor alike, are free to pursue economic and moral goods. The same ordering that led to freedom in the Western world are the same ancient, time-tested truths that will bring liberty to all people everywhere in the world...
http://tinyurl.com/8ns4e
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:35
Cindy Sheehan's war
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sam Bostaph
12/14/05
On August 3, 2005, a former youth minister in Vacaville, California, was at home watching a television report of the deaths of 14 more U.S. Marines in Iraq. Her eldest son, whom she deeply loved, had been killed 16 months earlier in Sadr City, Baghdad, by members of a Shi’ite militia group. Army Specialist Casey Austin Sheehan was ambushed and murdered while he was on a mission to rescue wounded soldiers. As part of the television report, there was shown a clip of President George W. Bush describing his preemptive war against Iraq and the subsequent occupation of that country as 'a noble cause,' one that justified the casualties among U.S. forces...
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0512e.asp
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Cindy Sheehan
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Sheehan
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:31
The US Constitution: a gift that keeps on giving
Hawaii Reporter
by Earl Arakaki
12/13/05
A few weeks ago some friends gave me a pocket-sized pamphlet of the 'Declaration of Independence,' the 'Constitution of the United States of America,' and 'Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America.' Upon reading it, I discovered, 'The first 10 amendments to the Constitution -- the Bill of Rights -- were ratified effective December 15, 1791.' This week, Thursday, December 15, 2005, is the anniversary of the 'Bill of Rights.' The Constitution was ratified in 1787, and the Bill of Rights four years later. Always believed individual rights were in place from day one, or thereabouts...
http://tinyurl.com/cp9kb
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Earl Arakaki
12/13/05
A few weeks ago some friends gave me a pocket-sized pamphlet of the 'Declaration of Independence,' the 'Constitution of the United States of America,' and 'Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America.' Upon reading it, I discovered, 'The first 10 amendments to the Constitution -- the Bill of Rights -- were ratified effective December 15, 1791.' This week, Thursday, December 15, 2005, is the anniversary of the 'Bill of Rights.' The Constitution was ratified in 1787, and the Bill of Rights four years later. Always believed individual rights were in place from day one, or thereabouts...
http://tinyurl.com/cp9kb
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:29
The murder of freedom
The Libertarian Enterprise
by Kevin S. Van Horn
12/11/05
Why has it been so hard for the American freedom movement to achieve any lasting, meaningful victories? Is it because our enemies are so powerful? Is it because so few really desire freedom? Or is it just possible that the seeds of failure lie within the activists themselves? The battlefield on which we are fighting is the human mind. The State's power rests primarily on the voluntary submission of its victims. If any sizable minority of the American populace had a clear understanding of the principles of liberty and a firm resolve not to submit to unjust 'laws,' their freedom could not be taken away. So the first order of business for the freedom movement must be to reclaim the territory of our own minds from the enemy...
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2005/tle347-20051211-04.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Kevin S. Van Horn
12/11/05
Why has it been so hard for the American freedom movement to achieve any lasting, meaningful victories? Is it because our enemies are so powerful? Is it because so few really desire freedom? Or is it just possible that the seeds of failure lie within the activists themselves? The battlefield on which we are fighting is the human mind. The State's power rests primarily on the voluntary submission of its victims. If any sizable minority of the American populace had a clear understanding of the principles of liberty and a firm resolve not to submit to unjust 'laws,' their freedom could not be taken away. So the first order of business for the freedom movement must be to reclaim the territory of our own minds from the enemy...
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2005/tle347-20051211-04.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:24
Activists fight against military recruitment
Black Enterprise
12/14/05
Allied with the New York Civil Liberties Union, Congressman Charles Rangel has launched a counter-offense to the Department of Defense's aggressive $1 billion drive to target people of color and people from low-income families- mainly black and Latino youth-for military service. In particular, Rangel and NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman cite a little-known provision made to the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, which requires school districts to provide lists of their students with addresses and telephone numbers on demand to military recruiters, or risk losing federal funds. The NYCLU's 'No Student Left Unrecruited?' campaign charges that the DOD's tactics violate the privacy rights of young people and their families and established an unprecedented, intrusive, and abusive military presence in schools...
http://www.blackenterprise.com/ExclusivesEKOpen.asp?id=1459
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
Allied with the New York Civil Liberties Union, Congressman Charles Rangel has launched a counter-offense to the Department of Defense's aggressive $1 billion drive to target people of color and people from low-income families- mainly black and Latino youth-for military service. In particular, Rangel and NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman cite a little-known provision made to the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, which requires school districts to provide lists of their students with addresses and telephone numbers on demand to military recruiters, or risk losing federal funds. The NYCLU's 'No Student Left Unrecruited?' campaign charges that the DOD's tactics violate the privacy rights of young people and their families and established an unprecedented, intrusive, and abusive military presence in schools...
http://www.blackenterprise.com/ExclusivesEKOpen.asp?id=1459
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:22
Rumsfeld's memos from Katrina subpoenaed
MSNBC
12/14/05
A House committee investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina issued a subpoena Wednesday to force Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to turn over documents but stopped short of sending a similar legal demand to the White House. The subpoena commands Rumsfeld to produce internal records and communications about the Pentagon's response to the Aug. 29 storm, including efforts to send supplies to victims, stabilize public safety and mobilize active duty forces along the Gulf Coast...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10470852/
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
A House committee investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina issued a subpoena Wednesday to force Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to turn over documents but stopped short of sending a similar legal demand to the White House. The subpoena commands Rumsfeld to produce internal records and communications about the Pentagon's response to the Aug. 29 storm, including efforts to send supplies to victims, stabilize public safety and mobilize active duty forces along the Gulf Coast...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10470852/
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:20
Some may face choice: Whether to heat or eat
USA Today
12/14/05
The Bush administration has denied requests from five states to increase food stamps for low-income families facing higher heating bills this winter. Maine, New York, Kansas, Virginia and South Carolina sought to raise monthly food stamp allotments by projecting what families will pay to heat their homes. The increases would have ranged from $8 to about $30 a month for families who pay their own utility bills...
http://tinyurl.com/bfrz6
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
The Bush administration has denied requests from five states to increase food stamps for low-income families facing higher heating bills this winter. Maine, New York, Kansas, Virginia and South Carolina sought to raise monthly food stamp allotments by projecting what families will pay to heat their homes. The increases would have ranged from $8 to about $30 a month for families who pay their own utility bills...
http://tinyurl.com/bfrz6
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:18
Bush: Iraq invasion my responsibility
Las Vegas Review-Journal
12/14/05
President Bush said Wednesday the responsibility for invading Iraq based in part on faulty weapons intelligence rested solely with him, taking on the issue in his most direct and personal terms in the 1,000-plus days since the war's first shots. 'It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong,' Bush said. 'As president, I'm responsible for the decision to go into Iraq.' The president's mea culpa was accompanied by a robust defense of the divisive war...
http://tinyurl.com/2346c
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
President Bush said Wednesday the responsibility for invading Iraq based in part on faulty weapons intelligence rested solely with him, taking on the issue in his most direct and personal terms in the 1,000-plus days since the war's first shots. 'It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong,' Bush said. 'As president, I'm responsible for the decision to go into Iraq.' The president's mea culpa was accompanied by a robust defense of the divisive war...
http://tinyurl.com/2346c
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:17
Marine census shows diversity, declines
Tampa Tribune
12/14/05
A massive census of all the fish and other marine life in the world's oceans has reached the halfway point with new evidence of the rich diversity under the sea along with warnings about the alarming decline of many species. The 10-year international project that began in 2000 has already tracked the migration of tuna from Japan to California and back, along with the movement of endangered British Columbia salmon with implanted computer chips...
http://tinyurl.com/bfcgn
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
A massive census of all the fish and other marine life in the world's oceans has reached the halfway point with new evidence of the rich diversity under the sea along with warnings about the alarming decline of many species. The 10-year international project that began in 2000 has already tracked the migration of tuna from Japan to California and back, along with the movement of endangered British Columbia salmon with implanted computer chips...
http://tinyurl.com/bfcgn
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:15
PlameGate: Novak says president knows leak source
Indianapolis Star
12/14/05
Columnist Bob Novak, who first published the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, says he is confident that President Bush knows who leaked Plame's name. Novak said that 'I'd be amazed' if the president didn't know the source's identity and that the public should 'bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is.' Novak's remarks, reported in the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer, came during a question and answer session Tuesday after a speech sponsored by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank...
http://tinyurl.com/cklep
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
Columnist Bob Novak, who first published the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, says he is confident that President Bush knows who leaked Plame's name. Novak said that 'I'd be amazed' if the president didn't know the source's identity and that the public should 'bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is.' Novak's remarks, reported in the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer, came during a question and answer session Tuesday after a speech sponsored by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank...
http://tinyurl.com/cklep
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 19:14
Martin rebuffs US election meddling
CNN
12/14/05
Prime Minister Paul Martin escalated a war of words with the United States on Wednesday, telling Washington not to dictate to him what topics he can raise in the run-up to Canada's January 23 election. But U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins, who warned Canadian politicians on Tuesday not to bash the United States as part of their campaigning, denied on Wednesday he was trying to control the election debate...
http://tinyurl.com/8yqaw
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
Prime Minister Paul Martin escalated a war of words with the United States on Wednesday, telling Washington not to dictate to him what topics he can raise in the run-up to Canada's January 23 election. But U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins, who warned Canadian politicians on Tuesday not to bash the United States as part of their campaigning, denied on Wednesday he was trying to control the election debate...
http://tinyurl.com/8yqaw
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 18:35
Senate GOP fights to sustain Patriot Act
Detroit Free Press
12/14/05
Senate Republican leaders fought Wednesday to save the USA Patriot Act renewal from sinking under the weight of opposition from a bipartisan group that says the measure would give the FBI a dangerous amount of power. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., predicted that the legislation would survive a filibuster threat and pass before more than a dozen of the 2001 law's provisions expire Dec. 31. He got a boost from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who lobbied for the renewal briefly at a closed meeting of Republicans...
http://tinyurl.com/88chw
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/14/05
Senate Republican leaders fought Wednesday to save the USA Patriot Act renewal from sinking under the weight of opposition from a bipartisan group that says the measure would give the FBI a dangerous amount of power. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., predicted that the legislation would survive a filibuster threat and pass before more than a dozen of the 2001 law's provisions expire Dec. 31. He got a boost from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who lobbied for the renewal briefly at a closed meeting of Republicans...
http://tinyurl.com/88chw
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 15. Dez, 18:33
The Silence of the Doctors
Jonathan H. Marks: An "assessment" report of detainee medical activities made public by the Army Surgeon General in July raised more questions than it answered. What did the seventy-four medical personnel - in Iraq alone - who admitted witnessing interrogations actually see?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405C.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405C.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 11:03
Meet the New Boss
William Rivers Pitt: This election will be no panacea, despite what the hopefuls think. The worst possible outcome will involve horrific bloodshed and unrest. The best possible outcome will place two notoriously deadly terrorist organizations in charge of Iraq. Was this trip really necessary?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405A.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405A.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 11:02
Villagers' victory in phone mast row
Victorious villagers have won the support of West Norfolk planning chiefs in their fight against a mobile phone mast extension at Castle Acre.
Last Monday, development control board members went against officers' advice and refused planning permission for a new police communications system to be added to Orange's present 30m mast north of Orchard Lane in the village.
Board members decided the phone operator had failed to demonstrate that the perceived health risks of the proposed "Tetra" radio system were unfounded.
Residents were relieved and delighted by the decision, their victory clouded only by the possibility of an appeal with an uncertain outcome.
A 150-signature petition and 65 letters of protest were considered by the board. Written objections were received from the village school and parish council and three residents spoke in person at the meeting.
They included parish council clerk Mr Bill Corcoran, who said afterwards: "Our feeling is one of relief and we would like to express our appreciation to the board. There were some quite specific individual comments from members expressing their worries and concerns about a system such as this which could impair health, particularly in children."
Castle Acre anti-Tetra campaign spokesman Ms Charlie Williams, also spoke at the meeting and said later: "I'm glad that in this instance common sense has prevailed and the borough council recognised it has a duty to protect the health and promote the safety of our children. Tetra emissions remain largely untested so 100 per cent safety is not guaranteed."
She urged anyone seeking more information about the radio system to use the websites http://www.sitefinder.radio. gov.uk , http://www.mastsanity.org and http://www.tetrawatch.net
Ward councillor Gwyneth Thorneywork said the meeting went "better than we could have imagined."
Although very pleased, she suspected that villagers had not heard the last of the application. Some similar rejected schemes had been won on appeal and she said: "We can't just sit back now."
If an appeal was lodged, Mrs Thorneywork predicted a fierce fight from the village. "We have got some brilliant residents who have worked tirelessly. We will be geared up if it happens," she said.
Parish council chairman Mrs Jean Joice echoed that view saying: "I am very grateful to everyone in the village. We have had remarkable support and I'm sure people will be prepared to support us again if necessary."
Castle Acre Primary School protested about the closeness of the mast to the site for its new school in Back Lane and raised fears about the long-term health consequences for pupils.
The parish council pointed out: "No evidence of safety exists for the system. On the contrary, it is a development of a transmission system originally intended for use as an anti-personnel weapon."
The application proposed adding three new antennae on metre-high pole mounts and a 600mm transmission dish to the lattice structure of the existing mast.
In favour of the application, the development board heard the additions would supply essential radio coverage for Norfolk Police, providing a vital facility beneficial to the entire community.
The visual impact would not be significant and the site was enclosed by mature vegetation.
The proposal also met International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection guidelines, board members heard.
14 December 2005
http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=991&ArticleID=1284738
Last Monday, development control board members went against officers' advice and refused planning permission for a new police communications system to be added to Orange's present 30m mast north of Orchard Lane in the village.
Board members decided the phone operator had failed to demonstrate that the perceived health risks of the proposed "Tetra" radio system were unfounded.
Residents were relieved and delighted by the decision, their victory clouded only by the possibility of an appeal with an uncertain outcome.
A 150-signature petition and 65 letters of protest were considered by the board. Written objections were received from the village school and parish council and three residents spoke in person at the meeting.
They included parish council clerk Mr Bill Corcoran, who said afterwards: "Our feeling is one of relief and we would like to express our appreciation to the board. There were some quite specific individual comments from members expressing their worries and concerns about a system such as this which could impair health, particularly in children."
Castle Acre anti-Tetra campaign spokesman Ms Charlie Williams, also spoke at the meeting and said later: "I'm glad that in this instance common sense has prevailed and the borough council recognised it has a duty to protect the health and promote the safety of our children. Tetra emissions remain largely untested so 100 per cent safety is not guaranteed."
She urged anyone seeking more information about the radio system to use the websites http://www.sitefinder.radio. gov.uk , http://www.mastsanity.org and http://www.tetrawatch.net
Ward councillor Gwyneth Thorneywork said the meeting went "better than we could have imagined."
Although very pleased, she suspected that villagers had not heard the last of the application. Some similar rejected schemes had been won on appeal and she said: "We can't just sit back now."
If an appeal was lodged, Mrs Thorneywork predicted a fierce fight from the village. "We have got some brilliant residents who have worked tirelessly. We will be geared up if it happens," she said.
Parish council chairman Mrs Jean Joice echoed that view saying: "I am very grateful to everyone in the village. We have had remarkable support and I'm sure people will be prepared to support us again if necessary."
Castle Acre Primary School protested about the closeness of the mast to the site for its new school in Back Lane and raised fears about the long-term health consequences for pupils.
The parish council pointed out: "No evidence of safety exists for the system. On the contrary, it is a development of a transmission system originally intended for use as an anti-personnel weapon."
The application proposed adding three new antennae on metre-high pole mounts and a 600mm transmission dish to the lattice structure of the existing mast.
In favour of the application, the development board heard the additions would supply essential radio coverage for Norfolk Police, providing a vital facility beneficial to the entire community.
The visual impact would not be significant and the site was enclosed by mature vegetation.
The proposal also met International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection guidelines, board members heard.
14 December 2005
http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=991&ArticleID=1284738
Starmail - 15. Dez, 11:00
The 9/11 Commission's Incredible Tales
Flights 11, 175, 77, and 93
http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=1478
From Information Clearing House
http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=1478
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:51
The Slave Next Door
There are 27 million people serving as literal slaves around the world, and every year 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders, half of whom are children.
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=31114
From Information Clearing House
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=31114
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:50
Hundreds of millions of children suffering, UN says
The United Nations sounded the alarm Wednesday about the plight of hundreds of millions of children around the globe who suffer from discrimination and exploitation.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/12/14/Children-UNICEF-051214.html
From Information Clearing House
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/12/14/Children-UNICEF-051214.html
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:49
Secrets of the CIA
Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8085945499556832271&q=CIA
From Information Clearing House
Video: Secrets of the CIA :
An insight into the decisions and strategies that the Central Intelligence Agency has come to regret, including the Bay of Pigs operation and involvement with the Khmer Rouge. - Real Media
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11532.htm
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8085945499556832271&q=CIA
From Information Clearing House
Video: Secrets of the CIA :
An insight into the decisions and strategies that the Central Intelligence Agency has come to regret, including the Bay of Pigs operation and involvement with the Khmer Rouge. - Real Media
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11532.htm
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:46
Secret CIA Camp in Training Center?
Is the CIA still using a Polish Intelligence Service training center for the interrogation of Al-Quida prisoners? This is suggested by a "Stern" magazine report.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11307.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11307.htm
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:43
New army rules could snag talks on detainee rights
On a high-level meeting at the Pentagon on Tuesday, some Army and other Pentagon officials raised concerns that Mr. McCain would be furious at what could appear to be a back-door effort to circumvent his intentions.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/14/news/torture.php
From Information Clearing House
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/14/news/torture.php
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:42
Could your tax dollars be better spent?
Taxpayers in the US will pay $251.0 billion for the cost of war in Iraq. For the same amount of money, 147,677,463 Children Could Have Received Free Health Care.
http://tinyurl.com/bsypc
From Information Clearing House
http://tinyurl.com/bsypc
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:39
Most Americans Want Bush to Set Iraq Withdrawal Date
58 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/10214
From Information Clearing House
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/10214
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:37
Iraq elections: a democratic façade for a US puppet state
Predictably, the Bush administration has told the American people that the elections in Iraq tomorrow will be a democratic milestone for both the country and the broader Middle East. The truth is that they will only produce greater conflict between the country’s main religious and ethnic groups.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/iraq-d14.shtml
From Information Clearing House
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/iraq-d14.shtml
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:36
Bush Says Iraq War Was Justified Even Though Intelligence Wrong
President George W. Bush accepted responsibility for taking the U.S. to war in Iraq based on faulty intelligence while saying the invasion still was justified by the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and international terrorism.
http://tinyurl.com/apucx
From Information Clearing House
http://tinyurl.com/apucx
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:35
United States: trade in torture
By Stephen Grey
This is a story of private jets flying out of Germany, of kidnappings on European streets, and of torture. It has a cast of lawyers, spies, suspected terrorists, innocent bystanders and an ex-CIA boss who believes that ‘human rights is a very flexible concept’.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11305.htm
This is a story of private jets flying out of Germany, of kidnappings on European streets, and of torture. It has a cast of lawyers, spies, suspected terrorists, innocent bystanders and an ex-CIA boss who believes that ‘human rights is a very flexible concept’.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11305.htm
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:33
We vote, then we throw you out
By Pepe Escobar
None of this points to national cohesion. "Iraq" as we know it - the unified, heavily centralized state with arbitrary borders drawn on a paper napkin by Britain after World War I - may be on its way to extinction after these elections.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11304.htm
None of this points to national cohesion. "Iraq" as we know it - the unified, heavily centralized state with arbitrary borders drawn on a paper napkin by Britain after World War I - may be on its way to extinction after these elections.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11304.htm
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:32
Time to Say No
Bacon: Every new Republican proposal for immigration reform in Congress makes the prospect for winning legal status for the nation's 12 million undocumented residents more remote. At the same time, Congress appears ready to pass measures that will increase border deaths, lead to wholesale violations of workers' rights, and give the country's largest corporations a huge new bracero program.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/121405LA.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/121405LA.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:08
McCain, White House Deadlock on Torture Ban
Sen. John McCain and President Bush's national security adviser remained at an impasse Wednesday over the senator's proposed ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects. "At this point, discussions are ongoing," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told The Associated Press as he left McCain's Capitol Hill office following a meeting that lasted just over an hour.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405R.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405R.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:06
House Approves Extension of Patriot Act
The House easily approved renewing a modified USA Patriot Act on Wednesday. But with the bill facing a subsequent filibuster in the Senate, its Republican leader began talks with the White House aimed at extending the current law, unchanged, for another year.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405Q.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405Q.shtml
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:05
Extinction alert for 800 species
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:04
How Spy Chips Are Quietly Reshaping Privacy
Starmail - 15. Dez, 10:00
Pentagon erred in domestic security database-official
By Charles Aldinger [Reuters]
Updated: 5:50 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10457369/from/RL.1/
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has built a massive security database to help protect U.S. military bases and troops that includes unwarranted information on Iraq war opponents and peace activists in the United States, a defense official said on Wednesday.
The official said the database included police reports and law enforcement tips in a legitimate domestic security effort, but that it had mistakenly swept up and kept information on people who were not threats to launch terror attacks.
"We held onto things that should have been expunged because they weren't a threat," the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Stephen Cambone planned to send a letter to Congress explaining the error and promising to clean up the database and protect the privacy of innocent persons, the official added.
NBC television reported on Tuesday that it had obtained a database that indicated the military might be collecting information on Americans who oppose the war and may be also monitoring peace demonstrations.
The database, obtained by the network, lists 1,500 "suspicious incidents" across the United States over a 10-month period and includes four dozen anti-war meetings or protests, some aimed at military recruiting, NBC's Nightly News said.
Such a document would be the first inside look at how the Pentagon has stepped up intelligence collection in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
AMERICANS WARY SINCE VIETNAM
Americans have been wary of any monitoring of anti-war activities since the Vietnam era when it was learned that the Pentagon spied on anti-war and civil rights groups and individuals.
Congress held hearings in the 1970s and recommended strict limits on military spying inside the United States.
The Defense Department has already acknowledged the existence of a counterintelligence program known as the "Threat and Local Observation Notice" (TALON) reporting system.
The system, the department said earlier, is designed to gather "non- validated threat information and security anomalies indicative of possible terrorist pre-attack activity."
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters on Wednesday that the department had a right to get information from the police to help protect troops and bases. But he did not confirm the building of a major database.
"The Defense Department does have legitimate interests in protecting its installations, in protecting its people," Whitman said.
"And to the extent that they use information collected by law enforcement agencies to do that, that's an appropriate activity of the United States military," he added in response to questions on the NBC report.
Whitman stressed that any collection of civilian law enforcement information was "within very narrow parameters of force protection" under the law.
Whitman declined to comment on specifics of the broadcast report, which quoted what NBC said was a secret briefing document as concluding: "We have noted increased communication between protest groups using the Internet," but not a "significant connection" between incidents. (Additional reporting by JoAnne Allen)
UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545
Informant: David Meieran
From ufpj-news
Updated: 5:50 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10457369/from/RL.1/
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has built a massive security database to help protect U.S. military bases and troops that includes unwarranted information on Iraq war opponents and peace activists in the United States, a defense official said on Wednesday.
The official said the database included police reports and law enforcement tips in a legitimate domestic security effort, but that it had mistakenly swept up and kept information on people who were not threats to launch terror attacks.
"We held onto things that should have been expunged because they weren't a threat," the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Stephen Cambone planned to send a letter to Congress explaining the error and promising to clean up the database and protect the privacy of innocent persons, the official added.
NBC television reported on Tuesday that it had obtained a database that indicated the military might be collecting information on Americans who oppose the war and may be also monitoring peace demonstrations.
The database, obtained by the network, lists 1,500 "suspicious incidents" across the United States over a 10-month period and includes four dozen anti-war meetings or protests, some aimed at military recruiting, NBC's Nightly News said.
Such a document would be the first inside look at how the Pentagon has stepped up intelligence collection in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
AMERICANS WARY SINCE VIETNAM
Americans have been wary of any monitoring of anti-war activities since the Vietnam era when it was learned that the Pentagon spied on anti-war and civil rights groups and individuals.
Congress held hearings in the 1970s and recommended strict limits on military spying inside the United States.
The Defense Department has already acknowledged the existence of a counterintelligence program known as the "Threat and Local Observation Notice" (TALON) reporting system.
The system, the department said earlier, is designed to gather "non- validated threat information and security anomalies indicative of possible terrorist pre-attack activity."
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters on Wednesday that the department had a right to get information from the police to help protect troops and bases. But he did not confirm the building of a major database.
"The Defense Department does have legitimate interests in protecting its installations, in protecting its people," Whitman said.
"And to the extent that they use information collected by law enforcement agencies to do that, that's an appropriate activity of the United States military," he added in response to questions on the NBC report.
Whitman stressed that any collection of civilian law enforcement information was "within very narrow parameters of force protection" under the law.
Whitman declined to comment on specifics of the broadcast report, which quoted what NBC said was a secret briefing document as concluding: "We have noted increased communication between protest groups using the Internet," but not a "significant connection" between incidents. (Additional reporting by JoAnne Allen)
UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545
Informant: David Meieran
From ufpj-news
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:58
Congressman Dennis Kucinich: The President Is Responsible For The Dead And Injured US Troops, Dead Iraqi Civilians, Waste Of $250 Billion Taxpayer Money, and Failed Occupation
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:56
A Defendants' Guide to the GOP "Revolution"
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:54
US Oil From Nigeria Tainted With Blood
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:53
Does 30,000 Mean Anything to Bush?
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:52
Bush Friend Linked to Top Job in Russian Oil Industry
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:51
Vandana Shiva Takes Fight Against Monsanto to Hong Kong
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:50
Pentagon Rolls Out Stealth Psych War Campaign
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:49
Tom Ridge Says Get Ready For National ID
Branding the slaves........ America's founders spinning in their graves..... The Republi-Christians vote themselves the Mark of the Beast..... Your papers please, this is AmeriKa, with a great big fat "K". The great end time Babylon marches on......
Dan 7:19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet.
Milo
----------------------------
Tom Ridge, security guru disagree on national ID card
Counterpane CTO Bruce Schneier says ID card is a bad idea
By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Attendees of the Infosecurity computer security conference in New York heard both sides of the debate on U.S. national identification cards this week. On Wednesday, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge told conference attendees that a national ID card was an inevitability; the next day the show's other keynote speaker, Counterpane Internet Security Inc. Chief Technical Officer Bruce Schneier, claimed that it was a bad idea.
"I think it's expensive, and it won't make us safer," Schneier said. "Yes, you've got a valid ID. All the 9/11 terrorists had a valid ID."
Schneier said that the complexity of maintaining a national database would be overwhelming, and could ultimately make the U.S. less secure. "Once you start looking at the entire system, you realize it's a nightmare."
Ridge, in contrast, said that national security requirements would ultimately make such cards a reality. He said that he hoped the controversial topic would be the subject of a civil debate between lawmakers. "We're going to need to deal with questions like the national ID," he said. Ultimately, such a card would "evolve" into existence, he predicted.
One conference attendee said that a new federal identification requirement, outlined in an August 2004 executive order from President George Bush,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040827-8.html
could be the first step in this evolution.
Though they are just starting to emerge now, once products that meet this new federal requirement are commercially available, they will "most likely" be adopted in corporate environments, said George Fitel, vice president of feasibility and assessment for Wavera, a security research firm based in Chicago.
Though there is strong political opposition to the idea of a national ID card in the U.S. right now, Fitel, like Ridge, said he believes that the idea will ultimately be adopted. "Politics are always going to be changing. There are certain things that are going to rise above politics," he said.
Schneier, for his part, said that simplicity was the key to security. Simplicity is something that should be embraced by the entire security industry, not just the proponents of a national ID card, he added.
When a conference attendee asked him what role user education should play in computer security, Schneier called the education issue "over-rated," and said that computer products should be simple enough that education becomes a non-issue. "When we say we must educate a user, we're covering up for a failure in our systems," he said.
"We have convinced the world that everybody needs a computer," Schneier added. "And at the same time, we've made computers so hard to maintain that if you don't have a sysadmin, you're doomed. You can't have it both ways. It's either a end-user, consumer item or it's not."
Copyright © 2005 InfoWorld
Dan 7:19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet.
Milo
----------------------------
Tom Ridge, security guru disagree on national ID card
Counterpane CTO Bruce Schneier says ID card is a bad idea
By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Attendees of the Infosecurity computer security conference in New York heard both sides of the debate on U.S. national identification cards this week. On Wednesday, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge told conference attendees that a national ID card was an inevitability; the next day the show's other keynote speaker, Counterpane Internet Security Inc. Chief Technical Officer Bruce Schneier, claimed that it was a bad idea.
"I think it's expensive, and it won't make us safer," Schneier said. "Yes, you've got a valid ID. All the 9/11 terrorists had a valid ID."
Schneier said that the complexity of maintaining a national database would be overwhelming, and could ultimately make the U.S. less secure. "Once you start looking at the entire system, you realize it's a nightmare."
Ridge, in contrast, said that national security requirements would ultimately make such cards a reality. He said that he hoped the controversial topic would be the subject of a civil debate between lawmakers. "We're going to need to deal with questions like the national ID," he said. Ultimately, such a card would "evolve" into existence, he predicted.
One conference attendee said that a new federal identification requirement, outlined in an August 2004 executive order from President George Bush,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040827-8.html
could be the first step in this evolution.
Though they are just starting to emerge now, once products that meet this new federal requirement are commercially available, they will "most likely" be adopted in corporate environments, said George Fitel, vice president of feasibility and assessment for Wavera, a security research firm based in Chicago.
Though there is strong political opposition to the idea of a national ID card in the U.S. right now, Fitel, like Ridge, said he believes that the idea will ultimately be adopted. "Politics are always going to be changing. There are certain things that are going to rise above politics," he said.
Schneier, for his part, said that simplicity was the key to security. Simplicity is something that should be embraced by the entire security industry, not just the proponents of a national ID card, he added.
When a conference attendee asked him what role user education should play in computer security, Schneier called the education issue "over-rated," and said that computer products should be simple enough that education becomes a non-issue. "When we say we must educate a user, we're covering up for a failure in our systems," he said.
"We have convinced the world that everybody needs a computer," Schneier added. "And at the same time, we've made computers so hard to maintain that if you don't have a sysadmin, you're doomed. You can't have it both ways. It's either a end-user, consumer item or it's not."
Copyright © 2005 InfoWorld
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:47
The war, American public opinion, and moral sensibility
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:44
NY Times Accepts the Unacceptable
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:40
GOP Controlled House OKs PATRIOT Act
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:38
What is a Republic? Declaration of Independence
http://wealth4freedom.com/Republic.html
What is a Republic?
Declaration of Independence
by John Trumbull
"Today the path to total dictatorship in the United States can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheard by the Congress, the President, or the people....outwardly we have a Constitutional government. We have operating within our government and political system, another body representing another form of government, a bureaucratic elite which believes our Constitution is outmoded and is sure that it is the winning side.... All the strange developments in the foreign policy agreements may be traced to this group who are going to make us over to suit their pleasure.... This political action group has its own local political support organizations, its own pressure groups, its own vested interests, its foothold within our government, and its own propaganda apparatus."
Senator William Jenner (1954)
DEFINITION and explanation: What is a Republic?
Look up the word REPUBLIC in most any dictionary. Most likely, you"ll find that a "republic" is a "government of elected representatives".
This is a deliberate deception.
I have an Enclycopaedia Britannica, 11th edition. This work provides the proper explanation. First it says that the idea that a republic is a government of elected representatives is a "notoriously modern interpretation". The article continues, explaining that historically, a Republic refered to a government in which the soverign held authority granted by the people and ruled according to law.
Note that this concept checks exactly with our own Declaration of Independence which states that the purpose of government is to protect the rights of the people, and that government derives its just powers from the consent of the people.
You now have the key ideas in hand: First, power is derived from the people, and second the government itself operates within and under the control of the law. In other words: In a REPUBLIC the People are the Masters and the government is subordinate.
When the Founding Fathers set our Constitution for us they based their work on this concept. The Constitution is a grant of authority from We the People to form a government. The government thus authorized is a LIMITED government, operating on authority granted from We the People. In every sense it meets the earlier, historical definition of a Republic.
The Constitution is the grant of authority for the government. The Constitution, then, is the Law of the People for the control of the Government.
You will hear many people say that we are a "democracy". Such was NOT the original intention. In a democracy, the will of the majority is law. Anything is allowed, provided that the majority approves. There are no checks and balances, and the rights of the individual are not protected.
Allow me two quotations on the subject:
James Madison, Federalist Paper 10:
"Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."
U.S. Army Training Manual TM2000-05, 1928
Democracy, n. "A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meeting or any form of "direct" expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic - negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Results in demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy."
Our Constitutional fathers, familiar with the strength and weakness of both autocracy and democracy, with fixed principles definitely in mind, defined a representative republican form of government. They made a very marked distinction between a republic and democracy ... and said repeatedly and emphatically that they had created a republic.
Seek the Truth, and the Truth will make you free!
©Pastor Mike Acker
Wisdom And Freedom produced by WORLD NEWSSTAND
Copyright © 1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Informant: Milo
What is a Republic?
Declaration of Independence
by John Trumbull
"Today the path to total dictatorship in the United States can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheard by the Congress, the President, or the people....outwardly we have a Constitutional government. We have operating within our government and political system, another body representing another form of government, a bureaucratic elite which believes our Constitution is outmoded and is sure that it is the winning side.... All the strange developments in the foreign policy agreements may be traced to this group who are going to make us over to suit their pleasure.... This political action group has its own local political support organizations, its own pressure groups, its own vested interests, its foothold within our government, and its own propaganda apparatus."
Senator William Jenner (1954)
DEFINITION and explanation: What is a Republic?
Look up the word REPUBLIC in most any dictionary. Most likely, you"ll find that a "republic" is a "government of elected representatives".
This is a deliberate deception.
I have an Enclycopaedia Britannica, 11th edition. This work provides the proper explanation. First it says that the idea that a republic is a government of elected representatives is a "notoriously modern interpretation". The article continues, explaining that historically, a Republic refered to a government in which the soverign held authority granted by the people and ruled according to law.
Note that this concept checks exactly with our own Declaration of Independence which states that the purpose of government is to protect the rights of the people, and that government derives its just powers from the consent of the people.
You now have the key ideas in hand: First, power is derived from the people, and second the government itself operates within and under the control of the law. In other words: In a REPUBLIC the People are the Masters and the government is subordinate.
When the Founding Fathers set our Constitution for us they based their work on this concept. The Constitution is a grant of authority from We the People to form a government. The government thus authorized is a LIMITED government, operating on authority granted from We the People. In every sense it meets the earlier, historical definition of a Republic.
The Constitution is the grant of authority for the government. The Constitution, then, is the Law of the People for the control of the Government.
You will hear many people say that we are a "democracy". Such was NOT the original intention. In a democracy, the will of the majority is law. Anything is allowed, provided that the majority approves. There are no checks and balances, and the rights of the individual are not protected.
Allow me two quotations on the subject:
James Madison, Federalist Paper 10:
"Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."
U.S. Army Training Manual TM2000-05, 1928
Democracy, n. "A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meeting or any form of "direct" expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic - negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Results in demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy."
Our Constitutional fathers, familiar with the strength and weakness of both autocracy and democracy, with fixed principles definitely in mind, defined a representative republican form of government. They made a very marked distinction between a republic and democracy ... and said repeatedly and emphatically that they had created a republic.
Seek the Truth, and the Truth will make you free!
©Pastor Mike Acker
Wisdom And Freedom produced by WORLD NEWSSTAND
Copyright © 1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Informant: Milo
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:36
History of the Debate Over the 2004 Election
(excerpt)
After email conversation with Mitofsky, and studying the slides which Mitofsky presented at the October American Statistical Association Fall Conference, and re-reading and noticing how difficult our "History.." was to understand, I've rewritten it slightly.
A very critically important task that each and every one of you can do to help restore democratic elections, is to educate all our politicians and candidates not to concede elections ever -- until after obtaining and analyzing their own detailed vote count data to detect possible vote miscounts.
This "History..." is perfect to pass on to politicians, press, and others by sending them links to it, and printing copies and mailing or taking them a copy.
http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Presidential-Election-2004.pdf
(This history makes clear that presidential elections are not the only races being miscounted.)
I also highly recommend Mark Crispin Miller's latest book, "Fooled Again" which is available in book stores.
Here are links to contact your officials:
US Senate
http://senate.gov/
US House
http://house.gov/
State Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm
State Election Officials http://electionarchive.net/public/ucv_select_info.php
Even City Officials may be interested and definately hit up all candidates.
Thank you for your patriotism.
Time table:
In December NEDA will finish and release its Ohio exit poll analysis. If the national election data archive were fully funded, these types of analyses could be automated with statistical programming.
In January, I will focus on completing phase I of the public national election data document archive and asking foundations for funds to hire fulltime programming staff. Any help with that fundraising task beginning in January will be appreciated. Please remind me again if you've previously told me that you could help with fundraising or PR because I'm forgetful.
Thank you very much everyone. I hope that we can convince more people to join us in fighting to restore American democracy because every other issue depends on it.
Warm Regards,
Kathy Dopp
http://electionarchive.org
After email conversation with Mitofsky, and studying the slides which Mitofsky presented at the October American Statistical Association Fall Conference, and re-reading and noticing how difficult our "History.." was to understand, I've rewritten it slightly.
A very critically important task that each and every one of you can do to help restore democratic elections, is to educate all our politicians and candidates not to concede elections ever -- until after obtaining and analyzing their own detailed vote count data to detect possible vote miscounts.
This "History..." is perfect to pass on to politicians, press, and others by sending them links to it, and printing copies and mailing or taking them a copy.
http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Presidential-Election-2004.pdf
(This history makes clear that presidential elections are not the only races being miscounted.)
I also highly recommend Mark Crispin Miller's latest book, "Fooled Again" which is available in book stores.
Here are links to contact your officials:
US Senate
http://senate.gov/
US House
http://house.gov/
State Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm
State Election Officials http://electionarchive.net/public/ucv_select_info.php
Even City Officials may be interested and definately hit up all candidates.
Thank you for your patriotism.
Time table:
In December NEDA will finish and release its Ohio exit poll analysis. If the national election data archive were fully funded, these types of analyses could be automated with statistical programming.
In January, I will focus on completing phase I of the public national election data document archive and asking foundations for funds to hire fulltime programming staff. Any help with that fundraising task beginning in January will be appreciated. Please remind me again if you've previously told me that you could help with fundraising or PR because I'm forgetful.
Thank you very much everyone. I hope that we can convince more people to join us in fighting to restore American democracy because every other issue depends on it.
Warm Regards,
Kathy Dopp
http://electionarchive.org
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:32
Law for men or men for the laws?
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:27
Those Democratic Freedom Bombs
Tom Engelhardt and Dahr Jamail on the secret air war on Iraq.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt143.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt143.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:25
Proving Libertarian Morality: Reclaiming the High Ground
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:24
On bribed reporters and political kabuki in Iraq
Shocked, Shocked
Eric Margolis on bribed reporters and political kabuki in Iraq.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis7.html
Eric Margolis on bribed reporters and political kabuki in Iraq.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis7.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:21
Protect Your Children From the Pentagon
"Opting-out" is not enough, says Debbie Clark.
http://lewrockwell.com/orig6/dclark1.html
http://lewrockwell.com/orig6/dclark1.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:20
Nation-wide call-in day to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer: the last wild buffalo are a national treasure, not Montana's toy
* Thursday, 12/15/05 - Today is National Call-in Day! (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. MST)
Please join us TODAY in a nation-wide call-in day to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Let him know that Montana's bison hunt is wrong and should be canceled immediately. Governor Schweitzer needs to be reminded that the last wild buffalo are a national treasure, not Montana's toy, and should be respected and protected, not persecuted. Even if you've called before please join us today!
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
December 15th marks one month into Montana's illegitimate "hunt" of the country's last wild buffalo, the Yellowstone herd. Wild bison that must migrate to lower elevations for critical winter and spring habitat cross an imaginary line from Yellowstone National Park into Montana, where the killing fields await. There is never a time that wild buffalo are allowed to exist in Montana without being hazed, captured, quarantined, slaughtered or shot. The state's zero-tolerance against the last wild buffalo is a direct result of political pressure from Montana's powerful livestock industry, who fear wild buffalo re-inhabiting their former range. Livestock interests claim that wild buffalo "threaten" their livestock with brucellosis, a European cattle disease that livestock infected many native wildlife species with. Wild buffalo have never transmitted brucellosis to cattle - ever. Rather than persecute the wild buffalo, the state should take measures to ensure that their cattle do not infect our wildlife with diseases! Montana's bison hunt is the latest insult in a cruel string of tactics used by the state and federal agents to eradicate wild bison from Montana. Wild bison are native to Montana, yet because of the state's actions they are ecologically extinct here. Yet Montana insists on conducting an illegitimate hunt and masks it as a "normal, fair-chase big game hunt." As BFC's footage from the field demonstrates, there is nothing "fair" or "normal" about this hunt, and the element of "chase" is absent. See for yourself at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/bisonhunt/bisonhuntvideo.html.
The governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, has the power and authority to cancel the hunt and create a "new Montana" that welcomes wild buffalo, values them as a native wildlife species, and respects them as the national treasure they are.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
The Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute, and others will be helping in this effort. Our joined organizations represent over 7 million voices nation-wide and beyond. With everyone's participation this will be a powerful action and we'll make Gov. Schweitzer's phone ring off the hook! Please urge your friends, family and co-workers to participate.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer has said that wild buffalo will enjoy more tolerance in Montana. In his statements, Schweitzer said that the DOL is "ill-equipped" to manage wild buffalo for the State of Montana. To date, Montana's only response to this has been the reinstatement of a bison hunt, authorized by the state's livestock agency. Governor Schweitzer is listening, but it will take endless pressure, endlessly applied to stop the current harm to our last wild buffalo.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
Keep the pressure on Governor Schweritzer to CANCEL the bison hunt and bring lasting protection and respect to the Yellowstone buffalo, the country's last wild herd. Everyone who cares about wild buffalo should participate! Please pass this alert on to others.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
On this same day from 2:00-3:00 pm, BFC will be in Helena, Montana, with other bison advocates including the Humane Society of the United States and the Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo in holding a press conference inside the state capitol building. We will state our opposition to the hunt, offer common-sense solutions, show video footage from the field, and deliver to Governor Schweitzer the thousands of post cards that supporters like you have signed, urging Montana to protect and respect the last wild buffalo.
With everyone who receives this message making a call to Governor Schweitzer, we will not be ignored. Please encourage others to participate! Dial now for the last wild buffalo!
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
TALKING POINTS: If you're a bit nervous and not quite sure what to say, here are a few suggested talking points - speaking from your heart is the most powerful!
* Tell him that the country's last wild buffalo deserve to be honored as a wildlife species in Montana. The Yellowstone buffalo are a national treasure, not Montana's toy.
* Tell him that livestock agents have no place in authorizing a hunt or managing wild buffalo. The Department of Livestock should inspect livestock and leave wildlife alone.
* Tell him that this hunt will be shown to the world, and Montana will suffer another huge public relations nightmare should it continue.
* Remind him that Montana's tourism industry depends heavily on dollars from the so-called "outsiders" who want these buffalo protected, and that those much-needed dollars will not come from you while this buffalo harassment and slaughter continues.
* Tell him the whole world is watching.
THANK YOU for taking action to help the last wild buffalo! For more information contact bfc-media@wildrockies.org or visit http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org to see video clips of what a bison "hunt" looks like. Find out more about why BFC opposes this canned hunt at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/legislative/bisonhuntingbill.html.
Many thanks to the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute, Colin and D.J. for your help and inspiration!
With the Buffalo, ~ Buffalo Field Campaign
Media & Outreach Buffalo Field Campaign P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070 bfc-media@wildrockies.org http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
BFC is the only group working in the field every day to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in America.
STOP THE HUNT! Call Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer: Phone #: 406-444-3111
Speak Out! Contact politicians and involved agencies today! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html
Write a Letter to the Editor of key newspapers! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html
Please join us TODAY in a nation-wide call-in day to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Let him know that Montana's bison hunt is wrong and should be canceled immediately. Governor Schweitzer needs to be reminded that the last wild buffalo are a national treasure, not Montana's toy, and should be respected and protected, not persecuted. Even if you've called before please join us today!
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
December 15th marks one month into Montana's illegitimate "hunt" of the country's last wild buffalo, the Yellowstone herd. Wild bison that must migrate to lower elevations for critical winter and spring habitat cross an imaginary line from Yellowstone National Park into Montana, where the killing fields await. There is never a time that wild buffalo are allowed to exist in Montana without being hazed, captured, quarantined, slaughtered or shot. The state's zero-tolerance against the last wild buffalo is a direct result of political pressure from Montana's powerful livestock industry, who fear wild buffalo re-inhabiting their former range. Livestock interests claim that wild buffalo "threaten" their livestock with brucellosis, a European cattle disease that livestock infected many native wildlife species with. Wild buffalo have never transmitted brucellosis to cattle - ever. Rather than persecute the wild buffalo, the state should take measures to ensure that their cattle do not infect our wildlife with diseases! Montana's bison hunt is the latest insult in a cruel string of tactics used by the state and federal agents to eradicate wild bison from Montana. Wild bison are native to Montana, yet because of the state's actions they are ecologically extinct here. Yet Montana insists on conducting an illegitimate hunt and masks it as a "normal, fair-chase big game hunt." As BFC's footage from the field demonstrates, there is nothing "fair" or "normal" about this hunt, and the element of "chase" is absent. See for yourself at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/bisonhunt/bisonhuntvideo.html.
The governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, has the power and authority to cancel the hunt and create a "new Montana" that welcomes wild buffalo, values them as a native wildlife species, and respects them as the national treasure they are.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
The Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute, and others will be helping in this effort. Our joined organizations represent over 7 million voices nation-wide and beyond. With everyone's participation this will be a powerful action and we'll make Gov. Schweitzer's phone ring off the hook! Please urge your friends, family and co-workers to participate.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer has said that wild buffalo will enjoy more tolerance in Montana. In his statements, Schweitzer said that the DOL is "ill-equipped" to manage wild buffalo for the State of Montana. To date, Montana's only response to this has been the reinstatement of a bison hunt, authorized by the state's livestock agency. Governor Schweitzer is listening, but it will take endless pressure, endlessly applied to stop the current harm to our last wild buffalo.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
Keep the pressure on Governor Schweritzer to CANCEL the bison hunt and bring lasting protection and respect to the Yellowstone buffalo, the country's last wild herd. Everyone who cares about wild buffalo should participate! Please pass this alert on to others.
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
On this same day from 2:00-3:00 pm, BFC will be in Helena, Montana, with other bison advocates including the Humane Society of the United States and the Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo in holding a press conference inside the state capitol building. We will state our opposition to the hunt, offer common-sense solutions, show video footage from the field, and deliver to Governor Schweitzer the thousands of post cards that supporters like you have signed, urging Montana to protect and respect the last wild buffalo.
With everyone who receives this message making a call to Governor Schweitzer, we will not be ignored. Please encourage others to participate! Dial now for the last wild buffalo!
* * CALL GOVERNOR SCHWEITZER TODAY! 406-444-3111
TALKING POINTS: If you're a bit nervous and not quite sure what to say, here are a few suggested talking points - speaking from your heart is the most powerful!
* Tell him that the country's last wild buffalo deserve to be honored as a wildlife species in Montana. The Yellowstone buffalo are a national treasure, not Montana's toy.
* Tell him that livestock agents have no place in authorizing a hunt or managing wild buffalo. The Department of Livestock should inspect livestock and leave wildlife alone.
* Tell him that this hunt will be shown to the world, and Montana will suffer another huge public relations nightmare should it continue.
* Remind him that Montana's tourism industry depends heavily on dollars from the so-called "outsiders" who want these buffalo protected, and that those much-needed dollars will not come from you while this buffalo harassment and slaughter continues.
* Tell him the whole world is watching.
THANK YOU for taking action to help the last wild buffalo! For more information contact bfc-media@wildrockies.org or visit http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org to see video clips of what a bison "hunt" looks like. Find out more about why BFC opposes this canned hunt at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/legislative/bisonhuntingbill.html.
Many thanks to the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute, Colin and D.J. for your help and inspiration!
With the Buffalo, ~ Buffalo Field Campaign
Media & Outreach Buffalo Field Campaign P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070 bfc-media@wildrockies.org http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
BFC is the only group working in the field every day to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in America.
STOP THE HUNT! Call Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer: Phone #: 406-444-3111
Speak Out! Contact politicians and involved agencies today! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html
Write a Letter to the Editor of key newspapers! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html
Starmail - 15. Dez, 09:13
Diffamierung von Wissenschaftler
Wissenschaftler, die Wahrheiten verbreiten, werden diffamiert und der Ruf geschädigt indem Falschdarstellungen zu Vortrag und Person verbreitet werden.
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/diffamierung_von_wissenschaftler.gif
Leserbrief zu Warnke-Diffamierung: http://tinyurl.com/clqe4
Nachricht von Dr. U. Warnke
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/diffamierung_von_wissenschaftler.gif
Leserbrief zu Warnke-Diffamierung: http://tinyurl.com/clqe4
Nachricht von Dr. U. Warnke
Starmail - 15. Dez, 08:49
14
Dez
2005
Hirnschäden bereits bei Ganzkörper-SAR von 0,002
Starmail - 14. Dez, 23:02
Next up News 15 Dec 2005
http://www.omega-news.info/next_up_news_15_dec_2005.htm
- Dossier spécial du 14 décembre 2005 Suspendu.
- La réponse de Next-up au message de Michaël Repacholi (OMS).
http://www.next-up.org/main.php?param=international#14
- Suspended special file (december 14, 2005)
http://www.next-up.org/main.php?param=international#14
- Dossier spécial du 14 décembre 2005 Suspendu.
- La réponse de Next-up au message de Michaël Repacholi (OMS).
http://www.next-up.org/main.php?param=international#14
- Suspended special file (december 14, 2005)
http://www.next-up.org/main.php?param=international#14
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:55
Democrat on Panel Probing Abramoff to Return Tribal Donations
The senior Democrat on the Senate committee investigating former lobbyist Jack Abramoff announced this week that he will return $67,000 in donations from Indian tribes represented by the indicted Republican.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405O.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405O.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:39
Row over CIA "Torture" Flights Engulfs Blair
Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw were under pressure last night to refute claims that Britain has been complicit in the alleged use of CIA planes taking suspected terrorists to secret camps for torture.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405N.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405N.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:37
Congress Expects up to $100B Wartime Request
The Pentagon is in the early stages of drafting a wartime request for up to $100 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers say, a figure that would push spending related to the wars toward a staggering half-trillion dollars.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405M.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405M.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:36
Prosecutor Issues Subpoenas in DeLay Case
A Texas prosecutor has issued subpoenas for bank records and other information of a defense contractor involved in the bribery case of a California congressman, as part of the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405L.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405L.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:35
US Ranks Sixth among Countries Jailing Journalists
The United States has tied with Myanmar, the former Burma, for sixth place among countries that are holding the largest number of journalists behind bars, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405K.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405K.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:34
As Torture Amendment Nears, Pentagon Rewrites Army Rules
With Congress on the verge of passing the sweeping McCain amendment, the Bush administration has taken its drive to permit torture to new depths.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405J.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405J.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:33
On Torture: A Defining Moment
Ray McGovern: McCain, himself a victim of torture in Vietnam, is trying to bring the US into compliance with international norms, while the Bush administration is trying desperately to leave the door open for CIA and contract interrogators to act beyond those norms without threat of prosecution. Who will blink, Cheney or McCain?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405I.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405I.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:32
The 'Hague Invasion Act'
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:31
THE ETHICS TRUCE LIVES ON
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_12_04.php#007213
Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham recently resigned after pleading guilty to graft and tearfully admitting that he took $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors, prompting an interesting question from Joshua Micah Marshall:
"How did Duke Cunningham manage to get so far entangled in an ethics mess that he had to plead guilty to federal charges of accepting bribes without anyone referring his case to the House ethics committee?
Think about that for a second.
With all that came out about Cunningham over the last six months and not one Democrat even filed a complaint against him, let alone any Republicans?" Melanie Sloan provides the answer:
"Since 1998, there has been an ethics 'truce' in the House of Representatives, under the terms of which no member will file an ethics complaint against another member.
Because outsiders are prohibited from filing complaints with the House ethics committee, this has effectively shut down the ethics process."
SOURCE: Talking Points Memo, December 8, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/4281
Informant: Friends
Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham recently resigned after pleading guilty to graft and tearfully admitting that he took $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors, prompting an interesting question from Joshua Micah Marshall:
"How did Duke Cunningham manage to get so far entangled in an ethics mess that he had to plead guilty to federal charges of accepting bribes without anyone referring his case to the House ethics committee?
Think about that for a second.
With all that came out about Cunningham over the last six months and not one Democrat even filed a complaint against him, let alone any Republicans?" Melanie Sloan provides the answer:
"Since 1998, there has been an ethics 'truce' in the House of Representatives, under the terms of which no member will file an ethics complaint against another member.
Because outsiders are prohibited from filing complaints with the House ethics committee, this has effectively shut down the ethics process."
SOURCE: Talking Points Memo, December 8, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/4281
Informant: Friends
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:23
President Bush’s disrespectful comments on the Constitution
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:21
Pentagon to Plant News Stories throughout the World
A $300 million Pentagon psychological warfare operation includes plans for placing pro-American messages in foreign media outlets without disclosing the US government as the source, one of the military officials in charge of the program says.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405Y.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405Y.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:17
Will the Iranian Oil Bourse Threaten the Dollar?
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:16
Mäuse mit menschlichen Gehirnzellen
Die EU hat ein großes Forschungsprojekt über die Aussichten und Probleme bei der Herstellung von Mensch-Tier-Chimären gestartet, US-Wissenschaftler demonstrierten, dass menschliche Stammzellen sich in die Gehirne von Mäusen integrieren.
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21569/1.html
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21569/1.html
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:14
Wie Telekom und AEG: Unternehmen plündern laut Sozialverband VdK Sozialkassen
14.12.05
Der Sozialverband VdK hat ein Ende des Stellenabbaus der Unternehmen zu Lasten der Sozialversicherungskassen verlangt. Immer mehr Konzerne würden wie Telekom und AEG skrupellos auf Kosten der Beitragszahler und Rentner Tausende Beschäftigte auf die Straße setzen und so ihre Dividenden erhöhen, sagte VdK-Präsident Walter Hirrlinger der Chemnitzer "Freien Presse". Es sei ein Trugschluss zu glauben, dass für Altersteilzeit und Frühverrentung die Unternehmen aufzukommen hätten. Für die Sanierung der Konzerne müsse vor allem die Rentenkasse herhalten, kritisierte Hirrlinger. Die Folge seien höhere Beitragssätze und Kürzungen der Altersbezüge für die Senioren. Hirrlinger forderte die Bundesregierung auf, gesetzlich dafür sorgen, dass die Unternehmen künftig die Entlassungen finanziell alleine zu tragen hätten.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12511
Der Sozialverband VdK hat ein Ende des Stellenabbaus der Unternehmen zu Lasten der Sozialversicherungskassen verlangt. Immer mehr Konzerne würden wie Telekom und AEG skrupellos auf Kosten der Beitragszahler und Rentner Tausende Beschäftigte auf die Straße setzen und so ihre Dividenden erhöhen, sagte VdK-Präsident Walter Hirrlinger der Chemnitzer "Freien Presse". Es sei ein Trugschluss zu glauben, dass für Altersteilzeit und Frühverrentung die Unternehmen aufzukommen hätten. Für die Sanierung der Konzerne müsse vor allem die Rentenkasse herhalten, kritisierte Hirrlinger. Die Folge seien höhere Beitragssätze und Kürzungen der Altersbezüge für die Senioren. Hirrlinger forderte die Bundesregierung auf, gesetzlich dafür sorgen, dass die Unternehmen künftig die Entlassungen finanziell alleine zu tragen hätten.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12511
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:10
Öffentlichkeit erfährt nichts über mögliche Verkäufe von Goldreserven
69 Milliarden Euro: Öffentlichkeit erfährt nichts über mögliche Verkäufe von Goldreserven (14.12.05)
Die Goldreserven der Bundesbank sollen nach den Vorstellungen der Union möglicherweise für das Stopfen von Haushaltslöchern verwendet werden. Er denke persönlich um, weil es sonst schwierig werde, die Schulden des Bundes nachhaltig zu senken, sagte der finanzpolitische Sprecher der Unions-Fraktion, Otto Bernhardt, dem "Handelsblatt". Bislang hatte die Union die gegenteilige Position vertreten. Führende Haushaltspolitiker von CDU und CSU hatten 2004 noch davor gewarnt, den Goldschatz der Bundesbank "für den Bundeshaushalt zu verramschen". Die Goldbestände haben derzeit einen Wert von rund 69 Milliarden Euro. Die Ankündigung könnte allerdings auch nur ein Versuchsballon sein. Was am vergangenen Freitag in der Bundesbank besprochen wurde, darf die Öffentlichkeit nicht erfahren.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12514
Die Goldreserven der Bundesbank sollen nach den Vorstellungen der Union möglicherweise für das Stopfen von Haushaltslöchern verwendet werden. Er denke persönlich um, weil es sonst schwierig werde, die Schulden des Bundes nachhaltig zu senken, sagte der finanzpolitische Sprecher der Unions-Fraktion, Otto Bernhardt, dem "Handelsblatt". Bislang hatte die Union die gegenteilige Position vertreten. Führende Haushaltspolitiker von CDU und CSU hatten 2004 noch davor gewarnt, den Goldschatz der Bundesbank "für den Bundeshaushalt zu verramschen". Die Goldbestände haben derzeit einen Wert von rund 69 Milliarden Euro. Die Ankündigung könnte allerdings auch nur ein Versuchsballon sein. Was am vergangenen Freitag in der Bundesbank besprochen wurde, darf die Öffentlichkeit nicht erfahren.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12514
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:09
Greenpeace verklagt Bundesländer auf Herausgabe von Pestiziddaten
Lebensmittel-Kontrollen: Greenpeace verklagt Bundesländer auf Herausgabe von Pestiziddaten (14.12.05)
Greenpeace hat heute beim Verwaltungsgericht Mainz Klage gegen das Land Rheinland-Pfalz erhoben. Die Klage richtet sich gleichzeitig an alle anderen 15 Bundesländer, die vom Land Rheinland-Pfalz mit vertreten werden. Die Länder verweigern gegenüber Greenpeace seit Juni Angaben über die staatliche Lebensmittelüberwachung. Greenpeace wollte von den Ländern wissen, bei welchen Lebensmitteln die zulässigen Höchstmengen an Pestiziden überschritten wurden. Zweitens sollten die Behörden offen legen, in welchen Fällen sie rechtlich gegen die Verkäufer vorgegangen sind. Und drittens verlangte Greenpeace Informationen zur Leistungsfähigkeit der staatlichen Untersuchungslabors.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12519
Greenpeace hat heute beim Verwaltungsgericht Mainz Klage gegen das Land Rheinland-Pfalz erhoben. Die Klage richtet sich gleichzeitig an alle anderen 15 Bundesländer, die vom Land Rheinland-Pfalz mit vertreten werden. Die Länder verweigern gegenüber Greenpeace seit Juni Angaben über die staatliche Lebensmittelüberwachung. Greenpeace wollte von den Ländern wissen, bei welchen Lebensmitteln die zulässigen Höchstmengen an Pestiziden überschritten wurden. Zweitens sollten die Behörden offen legen, in welchen Fällen sie rechtlich gegen die Verkäufer vorgegangen sind. Und drittens verlangte Greenpeace Informationen zur Leistungsfähigkeit der staatlichen Untersuchungslabors.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12519
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:07
Schröders Mitspieler: Dresdner-Bank-Manager Warnig war offenbar Stasi-Agent in der Bundesrepublik
14.12.05
Neben Ex-Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder gerät jetzt auch die Dresdner-Bank in die Kritik wegen des deutsch-russischen Konsortiums Nordeuropäische Gas-Pipeline (NEGP). Matthias Warnig, ein Manager der deutschen zum Versicherungsriesen Allianz gehörenden Großbank, ist designierter Vorstandschef des Unternehmens. Nach einem Bericht der "Berliner Zeitung" hat Warnig über mehrere Jahre hinweg in der Bundesrepublik spioniert. Unter Berufung auf Stasi-Unterlagen meldet die Zeitung, dass Warnig von 1987 bis mindestens April 1989 unter dem Decknamen "Arthur" als so genannter Offizier im besonderen Einsatz (OibE) in Westdeutschland, vermutlich an der Ständigen Vertretung der DDR in Bonn, eingesetzt war.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12510
Neben Ex-Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder gerät jetzt auch die Dresdner-Bank in die Kritik wegen des deutsch-russischen Konsortiums Nordeuropäische Gas-Pipeline (NEGP). Matthias Warnig, ein Manager der deutschen zum Versicherungsriesen Allianz gehörenden Großbank, ist designierter Vorstandschef des Unternehmens. Nach einem Bericht der "Berliner Zeitung" hat Warnig über mehrere Jahre hinweg in der Bundesrepublik spioniert. Unter Berufung auf Stasi-Unterlagen meldet die Zeitung, dass Warnig von 1987 bis mindestens April 1989 unter dem Decknamen "Arthur" als so genannter Offizier im besonderen Einsatz (OibE) in Westdeutschland, vermutlich an der Ständigen Vertretung der DDR in Bonn, eingesetzt war.
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12510
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:06
Bürger "überwacht wie gewöhnliche Kriminelle": EU-Parlament beschließt Überwachung aller Kommunikationsdaten
14.12.05
Das Europaparlament hat am Mittwoch die langfristige vollständige Speicherung sämtlicher Telekommunikations-Verbindungsdaten in der gesamten EU beschlossen. Nach dem Kompromiss zwischen den beiden großen Fraktionen der Sozialdemokraten und der Konservativen müssen diese Informationen künftig mindestens sechs Monate bis zwei Jahre aufbewahrt werden. Zudem ist es den Mitgliedsstaaten gestattet, diese Fristen noch weiter auszudehnen. Damit wird für die Sicherheitsbehörden nachvollziehbar, wer wann von wo aus mit wem telefoniert oder an wen eine e-Mail oder SMS verschickt hat. Ebenso kann der Staat erfahren, wer wann welche Internet-Seite aufgerufen hat und mit welcher IP-Adresse der Nutzer im Netz war. Die Mehrheit der Abgeordneten setzte sich damit über die massive Kritik von Datenschützern, Bürgerrechtlern, Verlegern und Wirtschaft hinweg. Sie hatten die jetzt beschlossene Richtlinie als massiven Eingriff in die Grundrechte, Gefahr für die Pressefreiheit und als verfassun gswidrig kritisiert. Zudem sei die Vorratsdatenspeicherung für das vorgebliche Ziel, den Terrorismus zu bekämpfen, wirkungslos. Der Leiter des Unabhängigen Landeszentrums für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein, Thilo Weichert, kommentierte, mit dem Beschluss des EU-Parlaments werde aus "unserer freiheitlichen eine überwachte Informationsgesellschaft". Es sei zu hoffen, dass der Europäische Gerichtshof und das Bundesverfassungsgericht die Richtlinie stoppen. Die Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) kommentierte, ab heute würden alle EU-Bürger "verfolgt und überwacht wie gewöhnliche Kriminelle".
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12517
Das Europaparlament hat am Mittwoch die langfristige vollständige Speicherung sämtlicher Telekommunikations-Verbindungsdaten in der gesamten EU beschlossen. Nach dem Kompromiss zwischen den beiden großen Fraktionen der Sozialdemokraten und der Konservativen müssen diese Informationen künftig mindestens sechs Monate bis zwei Jahre aufbewahrt werden. Zudem ist es den Mitgliedsstaaten gestattet, diese Fristen noch weiter auszudehnen. Damit wird für die Sicherheitsbehörden nachvollziehbar, wer wann von wo aus mit wem telefoniert oder an wen eine e-Mail oder SMS verschickt hat. Ebenso kann der Staat erfahren, wer wann welche Internet-Seite aufgerufen hat und mit welcher IP-Adresse der Nutzer im Netz war. Die Mehrheit der Abgeordneten setzte sich damit über die massive Kritik von Datenschützern, Bürgerrechtlern, Verlegern und Wirtschaft hinweg. Sie hatten die jetzt beschlossene Richtlinie als massiven Eingriff in die Grundrechte, Gefahr für die Pressefreiheit und als verfassun gswidrig kritisiert. Zudem sei die Vorratsdatenspeicherung für das vorgebliche Ziel, den Terrorismus zu bekämpfen, wirkungslos. Der Leiter des Unabhängigen Landeszentrums für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein, Thilo Weichert, kommentierte, mit dem Beschluss des EU-Parlaments werde aus "unserer freiheitlichen eine überwachte Informationsgesellschaft". Es sei zu hoffen, dass der Europäische Gerichtshof und das Bundesverfassungsgericht die Richtlinie stoppen. Die Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) kommentierte, ab heute würden alle EU-Bürger "verfolgt und überwacht wie gewöhnliche Kriminelle".
Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12517
Starmail - 14. Dez, 22:03
The UN-PATRIOT ACT
CIVIL LIBERTIES An Un-PATRIOT-ic Compromise
"Benjamin Franklin once said that a country that would give up their liberties for security deserves neither," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) remarked yesterday. "Well, we can have our security. We can have our liberties." Unfortunately, the Patriot Act deal reached by House and Senate negotiators yesterday does not accomplish that. Specifically, it doesn't do enough to protect the privacy rights of ordinary Americans. Government investigators can still obtain personal data too easily and operate without proper supervision from the courts. The bill is already causing a stir on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of six Senators -- Sens. Larry Craig (R-ID), John Sununu (R-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Russ Feingold (D-WI) -- have come out against it, saying they are "gravely disappointed," and Feingold has threatened to block the legislation with a filibuster. To learn more about why Congress should reject the Patriot Act conference report, read this statement from American Progress.
WEAK PROTECTIONS AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS: The government began issuing National Security Letters (NSLs) in the 1970s as "narrow exceptions in consumer privacy law, enabling the FBI to review in secret the customer records of suspected foreign agents." The Patriot Act "transformed those letters by permitting clandestine scrutiny of U.S. residents and visitors who are not alleged to be terrorists or spies." NSL recipients are not allowed to tell anyone they have received them. The Washington Post reported last month that the FBI now hands out over 30,000 national security letters per year, "a hundredfold increase over historic norms," which are allowing the government to view "as never before into the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans." Yesterday's compromise does not do enough to protect the civil liberties of the citizens these letters target. The extended NSL authority will not sunset like other controversial sections of the Patriot Act and investigators can still force courts to accept the government's argument that NSL gag orders should not be lifted.
OBTAINING PERSONAL RECORDS STILL TOO EASY: The controversial issue of library record searches intensified earlier this year, after an American Library Association (ALA) report found that "U.S. law enforcement authorities made more than 200 requests for information from libraries since October 2001." The ALA said at the time, "What this says to us is that agents are coming to libraries and they are asking for information at a level that is significant, and the findings are completely contrary to what the Justice Department has been trying to convince the public." The compromise sunsets the Patriot Act's infamous "library provisions" in four years, but will not tighten the standards the government needs to subpoena personal information. The government can still obtain personal data merely by showing "relevance" to a terrorism investigation.
Informant: Scott Munson
"Benjamin Franklin once said that a country that would give up their liberties for security deserves neither," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) remarked yesterday. "Well, we can have our security. We can have our liberties." Unfortunately, the Patriot Act deal reached by House and Senate negotiators yesterday does not accomplish that. Specifically, it doesn't do enough to protect the privacy rights of ordinary Americans. Government investigators can still obtain personal data too easily and operate without proper supervision from the courts. The bill is already causing a stir on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of six Senators -- Sens. Larry Craig (R-ID), John Sununu (R-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Russ Feingold (D-WI) -- have come out against it, saying they are "gravely disappointed," and Feingold has threatened to block the legislation with a filibuster. To learn more about why Congress should reject the Patriot Act conference report, read this statement from American Progress.
WEAK PROTECTIONS AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS: The government began issuing National Security Letters (NSLs) in the 1970s as "narrow exceptions in consumer privacy law, enabling the FBI to review in secret the customer records of suspected foreign agents." The Patriot Act "transformed those letters by permitting clandestine scrutiny of U.S. residents and visitors who are not alleged to be terrorists or spies." NSL recipients are not allowed to tell anyone they have received them. The Washington Post reported last month that the FBI now hands out over 30,000 national security letters per year, "a hundredfold increase over historic norms," which are allowing the government to view "as never before into the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans." Yesterday's compromise does not do enough to protect the civil liberties of the citizens these letters target. The extended NSL authority will not sunset like other controversial sections of the Patriot Act and investigators can still force courts to accept the government's argument that NSL gag orders should not be lifted.
OBTAINING PERSONAL RECORDS STILL TOO EASY: The controversial issue of library record searches intensified earlier this year, after an American Library Association (ALA) report found that "U.S. law enforcement authorities made more than 200 requests for information from libraries since October 2001." The ALA said at the time, "What this says to us is that agents are coming to libraries and they are asking for information at a level that is significant, and the findings are completely contrary to what the Justice Department has been trying to convince the public." The compromise sunsets the Patriot Act's infamous "library provisions" in four years, but will not tighten the standards the government needs to subpoena personal information. The government can still obtain personal data merely by showing "relevance" to a terrorism investigation.
Informant: Scott Munson
Starmail - 14. Dez, 19:18
The US Isolated At Talks On Global Warming
Starmail - 14. Dez, 19:16
Pentagon Spying on Anti-War Activists
A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the US military. A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a "threat," and one of more than 1,500 "suspicious incidents" across the country over a recent 10-month period.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405Z.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121405Z.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 19:13
Council concerns over school mast
14 December 2005 12:17
Council bosses have suspended an application for a telecommunications mast in the grounds of a school after they admitted parents had not been consulted about the scheme.
Broadland District Council received an application from BT, on behalf of Norfolk County Council, to put the 15 metre mast, with 0.3metre microwave dish, at Cantley First School, School Lane, Cantley.
The proposal, which is part of a Government drive to get Broadband installed at every school in the country by 2006, would ensure that pupils are not falling behind in what has become an increasingly technology-dependent educational system.
But the proposal has now been suspended because it emerged that the people living in the area had not been properly consulted about the mast.
Today, despite reassurances that the mast would not pose a health risk to children, campaign group Mast Sanity urged a degree of caution.
Its technical advisor Andy Davidson said: “They use a similar frequency to mobile phone masts and similar digital technology. While we don't know what causes health problems it's unwise to say one kind of mast is better than the other.”
Paul Fisher, the county council's assistant director, resources and efficiency, children's services, said: “It seems that consultation has not happened with local residents as it should, and so we have suspended the installation at Cantley.
“We do want to make sure residents are involved and want to hear their views. The school will now be making sure that this happens. Of course, people can also make their views known in response to any planning application as well.”
The county council is ensuring that 451 of the 453 schools in Norfolk are set up with Broadband by 2006. The other two schools are getting it done independently.
A council spokesman said the most cost effective solution to installing Broadband is by using copper, but in some cases, where the distance to the exchange is too great, fibre has to be used.
“However, in the more remote parts of the county, the cost of fibre becomes prohibitively expensive,” he said.
“In these instances point to point wireless is used. BT responded to Norfolk County Council with the option of using point-to-point wireless technology for schools in more remote parts of the county, which they had successfully implemented to schools in several counties within the eastern region; Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, being just two.
The technology requires a dish, typically 30cm in diameter, to be mounted either on a mast within the school grounds, or on the school building itself.”
As with mobile phone masts, there is some debate over whether they pose a risk to health. A spokesman for BT said: “The equipment used for these kinds of installations are low-power, point-to-point masts and they confirm to all EU directives for emissions.”
A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said the main risk to children was not from masts but from mobile phone handsets.
Omega 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
Hayley Smith, head teacher, admitted a mast is the last thing she wants towering over her school.
“The school hasn't asked for this, it's being done by BT,” she said. “We have asked for the planners and everyone else to see if they can find an alternative to putting up a mast. The school doesn't want to upset neighbours and the school doesn't want a mast and if there's any other way of doing it that's what we would like to do.
Mrs Smith said the children at the school would be “disadvantaged” if they did not have access to Broadband from schools in the rest of the area.
“I don't want a mast any more than anyone else, but we want the Broadband,” she said.
Through the Put Masts on Hold campaign the Evening News has campaigned against the installation of mobile phone masts until it is proved they are safe.
Dr Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, who has been a long-time supporter of our campaign, said: “If you can do it on a phone line you should do it on a phone line.
“What neighbours think is rather important and if they are worried about it I don't think any reassurance will stop them and it would be better to do it on a phone line - other schools have done it on phone lines.”
Are you fighting plans for a mast in your neighbourhood? Call Alasdair McGregor at the Evening News on (01603) 772443 or email al.mcgregor@archant.co.uk
http://tinyurl.com/9aa6a
Council bosses have suspended an application for a telecommunications mast in the grounds of a school after they admitted parents had not been consulted about the scheme.
Broadland District Council received an application from BT, on behalf of Norfolk County Council, to put the 15 metre mast, with 0.3metre microwave dish, at Cantley First School, School Lane, Cantley.
The proposal, which is part of a Government drive to get Broadband installed at every school in the country by 2006, would ensure that pupils are not falling behind in what has become an increasingly technology-dependent educational system.
But the proposal has now been suspended because it emerged that the people living in the area had not been properly consulted about the mast.
Today, despite reassurances that the mast would not pose a health risk to children, campaign group Mast Sanity urged a degree of caution.
Its technical advisor Andy Davidson said: “They use a similar frequency to mobile phone masts and similar digital technology. While we don't know what causes health problems it's unwise to say one kind of mast is better than the other.”
Paul Fisher, the county council's assistant director, resources and efficiency, children's services, said: “It seems that consultation has not happened with local residents as it should, and so we have suspended the installation at Cantley.
“We do want to make sure residents are involved and want to hear their views. The school will now be making sure that this happens. Of course, people can also make their views known in response to any planning application as well.”
The county council is ensuring that 451 of the 453 schools in Norfolk are set up with Broadband by 2006. The other two schools are getting it done independently.
A council spokesman said the most cost effective solution to installing Broadband is by using copper, but in some cases, where the distance to the exchange is too great, fibre has to be used.
“However, in the more remote parts of the county, the cost of fibre becomes prohibitively expensive,” he said.
“In these instances point to point wireless is used. BT responded to Norfolk County Council with the option of using point-to-point wireless technology for schools in more remote parts of the county, which they had successfully implemented to schools in several counties within the eastern region; Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, being just two.
The technology requires a dish, typically 30cm in diameter, to be mounted either on a mast within the school grounds, or on the school building itself.”
As with mobile phone masts, there is some debate over whether they pose a risk to health. A spokesman for BT said: “The equipment used for these kinds of installations are low-power, point-to-point masts and they confirm to all EU directives for emissions.”
A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said the main risk to children was not from masts but from mobile phone handsets.
Omega 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
Hayley Smith, head teacher, admitted a mast is the last thing she wants towering over her school.
“The school hasn't asked for this, it's being done by BT,” she said. “We have asked for the planners and everyone else to see if they can find an alternative to putting up a mast. The school doesn't want to upset neighbours and the school doesn't want a mast and if there's any other way of doing it that's what we would like to do.
Mrs Smith said the children at the school would be “disadvantaged” if they did not have access to Broadband from schools in the rest of the area.
“I don't want a mast any more than anyone else, but we want the Broadband,” she said.
Through the Put Masts on Hold campaign the Evening News has campaigned against the installation of mobile phone masts until it is proved they are safe.
Dr Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, who has been a long-time supporter of our campaign, said: “If you can do it on a phone line you should do it on a phone line.
“What neighbours think is rather important and if they are worried about it I don't think any reassurance will stop them and it would be better to do it on a phone line - other schools have done it on phone lines.”
Are you fighting plans for a mast in your neighbourhood? Call Alasdair McGregor at the Evening News on (01603) 772443 or email al.mcgregor@archant.co.uk
http://tinyurl.com/9aa6a
Starmail - 14. Dez, 19:11
It's driving us crazy
Dec 14 2005
By Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo
RADIO waves from a Liverpool phone mast are causing posh cars to break down.
The 70ft pole in Childwall is pumping out waves with a similar frequency to those used in the alarm and immobiliser systems of some expensive vehicles.
A resident in nearby Walgrave Street had to sell his Mercedes because it broke down repeatedly, despite him paying for £1,000 of modifications.
Gareth and Lyn Davies were left stranded in the road after taking their new Lexus to visit a relative.
They had to barricade the vehicle inside a cordon of vans to block the waves before they could restart the engine.
The car breakdowns have heightened fears about safety among residents, despite assurances from mobile phone company Orange that the mast is safe.
Mrs Davis said: "Either way, the beams are too strong coming from the phone mast, or there's a serious fault with my car.
"Do we have to avoid driving down any roads with phone masts on to stop this from happening again?
"I'm worried that the engine could cut out when driving down the motorway, which would be a lot more dangerous."
A mechanic explained that cars with keyless entry and ignition worked on radio waves that sometimes suffered interference from phone masts.
They abandoned the car in Walgrave Street, as the automatic steering lock prevented it being moved, and needed two lorries to block out the beams. Neighbours spoke of their shock about the waves beaming from the mast by the Rocket pub on Queens Drive, at the end of the M62.
Madeline Gregory, 70, said: "Everybody is very worried about the masts in the area.
"Cars only seem to break down in our street and drivers don't have problems anywhere else.
"I try not to open my window if I can help it as I try to keep out the way of these rays."
A spokesman for Lexus said the incidents were rare and the problem would occur only when the vehicle was stationary.
He said: "It can happen if there are transmitters on masts similar to the radio waves that the car works on."
A spokesman for Orange said: "In our experience, it is not our masts causing problems but failings in the car electrics itself.
"Our technology works at a specific frequency band so no other piece of electrical equipment should cross over into our frequency band, and vice versa.
"Our emission levels are hundreds of times within the strict international health and safety guidelines."
Omega read "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk?" under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16483902&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=it-s-driving-us-crazy--name_page.html
By Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo
RADIO waves from a Liverpool phone mast are causing posh cars to break down.
The 70ft pole in Childwall is pumping out waves with a similar frequency to those used in the alarm and immobiliser systems of some expensive vehicles.
A resident in nearby Walgrave Street had to sell his Mercedes because it broke down repeatedly, despite him paying for £1,000 of modifications.
Gareth and Lyn Davies were left stranded in the road after taking their new Lexus to visit a relative.
They had to barricade the vehicle inside a cordon of vans to block the waves before they could restart the engine.
The car breakdowns have heightened fears about safety among residents, despite assurances from mobile phone company Orange that the mast is safe.
Mrs Davis said: "Either way, the beams are too strong coming from the phone mast, or there's a serious fault with my car.
"Do we have to avoid driving down any roads with phone masts on to stop this from happening again?
"I'm worried that the engine could cut out when driving down the motorway, which would be a lot more dangerous."
A mechanic explained that cars with keyless entry and ignition worked on radio waves that sometimes suffered interference from phone masts.
They abandoned the car in Walgrave Street, as the automatic steering lock prevented it being moved, and needed two lorries to block out the beams. Neighbours spoke of their shock about the waves beaming from the mast by the Rocket pub on Queens Drive, at the end of the M62.
Madeline Gregory, 70, said: "Everybody is very worried about the masts in the area.
"Cars only seem to break down in our street and drivers don't have problems anywhere else.
"I try not to open my window if I can help it as I try to keep out the way of these rays."
A spokesman for Lexus said the incidents were rare and the problem would occur only when the vehicle was stationary.
He said: "It can happen if there are transmitters on masts similar to the radio waves that the car works on."
A spokesman for Orange said: "In our experience, it is not our masts causing problems but failings in the car electrics itself.
"Our technology works at a specific frequency band so no other piece of electrical equipment should cross over into our frequency band, and vice versa.
"Our emission levels are hundreds of times within the strict international health and safety guidelines."
Omega read "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk?" under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16483902&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=it-s-driving-us-crazy--name_page.html
Starmail - 14. Dez, 19:05
VILLAGERS OPPOSE MAST PLAN
A MAN who moved his family more than 170 miles to get away from telephone masts now faces having one built near his new home.
David Powell has lived in Hagworthingham for five years after moving from Newbury, Berkshire, which has a high rate of childhood leukaemia - one of the health risks associated by some with mobile phone masts.
The dad of two explained: "We deliberately moved into a conservation area to get away from the masts."
His family now faces living in the shadow of a proposed 22.5 metre mobile phone mast at Mount Pleasant Farm, Hagworthingham.
He is just one member of the newly formed Hagworthingham Action Group (HAG) which opposes the mast, applied for by phone company O2.
Dean Martin lives 200ft (60 metres) away from the site and Alison Thompson lives just 75ft (22 metres) away.
The mast will also overshadow a well-used public footpath. HAG members say more than 70 per cent of the nearby 300 residents are opposed to the mast.
Their main objections are due to the health risks associated with these types of masts, including cancer.
The site is also in an area of outstanding natural beauty which government guidelines on the siting of masts state should be avoided if possible.
Residents feel there are many other masts nearby which could be shared by O2, an option strongly encouraged by the government yet one which residents feel has not been fully explored by O2.
Mr Martin added: "We are not saying we don't want or don't need a mast, we are just saying we don't want it so close to residential properties."
Mr Martin and Mr Powell insist if the mast were to be built they would move away from the area - despite facing a loss of up to 50 per cent on the value of their homes.
Mrs Thompson has been told by an estate agent her house would be un-sellable if the mast was built.
Mum of three Alison Darling, who lives 500 yards from the proposed site, asked how a mast could be built so near children's homes when it is so difficult to get permission for one near a school.
She added: "We live in a disposable society, does this now extend as far as the disposal of our children and their habitat?"
* The News contacted O2 for its comments but these had not been received at the time of going to press.
http://www.horncastlenews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=825&ArticleID=1284802
David Powell has lived in Hagworthingham for five years after moving from Newbury, Berkshire, which has a high rate of childhood leukaemia - one of the health risks associated by some with mobile phone masts.
The dad of two explained: "We deliberately moved into a conservation area to get away from the masts."
His family now faces living in the shadow of a proposed 22.5 metre mobile phone mast at Mount Pleasant Farm, Hagworthingham.
He is just one member of the newly formed Hagworthingham Action Group (HAG) which opposes the mast, applied for by phone company O2.
Dean Martin lives 200ft (60 metres) away from the site and Alison Thompson lives just 75ft (22 metres) away.
The mast will also overshadow a well-used public footpath. HAG members say more than 70 per cent of the nearby 300 residents are opposed to the mast.
Their main objections are due to the health risks associated with these types of masts, including cancer.
The site is also in an area of outstanding natural beauty which government guidelines on the siting of masts state should be avoided if possible.
Residents feel there are many other masts nearby which could be shared by O2, an option strongly encouraged by the government yet one which residents feel has not been fully explored by O2.
Mr Martin added: "We are not saying we don't want or don't need a mast, we are just saying we don't want it so close to residential properties."
Mr Martin and Mr Powell insist if the mast were to be built they would move away from the area - despite facing a loss of up to 50 per cent on the value of their homes.
Mrs Thompson has been told by an estate agent her house would be un-sellable if the mast was built.
Mum of three Alison Darling, who lives 500 yards from the proposed site, asked how a mast could be built so near children's homes when it is so difficult to get permission for one near a school.
She added: "We live in a disposable society, does this now extend as far as the disposal of our children and their habitat?"
* The News contacted O2 for its comments but these had not been received at the time of going to press.
http://www.horncastlenews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=825&ArticleID=1284802
Starmail - 14. Dez, 19:01
Now is the time to take a stand on the Patriot Act
A bipartisan group of senators have agreed to fight the Patriot Act—by filibuster if necessary. The law currently goes too far in curtailing our civil liberties and they're fighting back. The Senate will vote as soon as Thursday. This is the time to act.
This is a huge moment. Senators from both parties are standing together to protect privacy and liberty in a time of war—and they're ready to go all the way. It's important to support them and to show those who are still on the fence how important this issue is to you. Will you help us reach 250,000 signatures on our petition by Thursday so we can deliver them in time for the vote?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-5860861-l9VbnwjVnkVyUTWStYCHaw&t=2
If this filibuster holds, Congress could vote to temporarily extend the Patriot Act as it stands—allowing time for a new, better version that addresses the big problems in the law. This would be a huge victory for those of us who believe that liberty is non-negotiable.
The tide is turning in Congress. Leaders in Washington are beginning to demand accountability from the Bush administration on everything from Iraq to the use of torture. Now it looks like President Bush's plan to pass a new and more dangerous version of the Patriot Act is also in trouble.1
In 2001, only one senator voted against the Patriot Act. Since then, people from all across the political spectrum have come to realize that the Patriot Act strikes a blow to the fundamental rights, liberties, and privacy of all Americans. Protecting freedom is something that all of us—progressives and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans—can agree on.
That's why a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Larry Craig, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski and Democrats Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin and Ken Salazar, have been working to fix the Patriot Act. They have vowed to fight the most egregious provisions and filibuster reauthorization if necessary. We need to show them that we have their backs.
The Patriot Act that the president wants them to pass now goes too far and doesn't protect the privacy of innocent Americans. It doesn't address some of the biggest problems in the law. For example:2
* The government can obtain your private records, like medical, library, school, and other records—without showing any connection between your activities and and a suspected foreign terrorist.
* Some 30,000 National Security Letters ("NSLs") are issued each year to obtain private records,3 and the recipients of those NSLs are under a gag order that is almost impossible to overturn. But the Patriot Act does nothing to address these abusive powers.
* The government is allowed to get "sneak and peek" search warrants to search a home or business and doesn't have to tell the owner of the premises for a month. This power can be used in cases that don't have anything to do with terrorism.
Right now, the Patriot Act is just bad law about to get worse—and leaders in the Washington are actually willing to try to block it. We can't let our only chance to fix it slip away without a fight.
Hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition like this will show the Senate how serious Americans are about protecting their constitutional freedoms. Will you sign the petition and show your support for filibustering a Patriot Act that doesn't include privacy protections?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-5860861-l9VbnwjVnkVyUTWStYCHaw&t=3
Together, we can make sure we're safe—and our freedom is safe, too.
Thanks for all you do,
–Eli, Nita, Ben, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Tuesday, December 13th, 2005
Sources:
1. ACLU: Reform the Patriot Act
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/
2. ACLU: Summary of Patriot Reauthorization Act Conference Report
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/patriotdraft.html
3. "The FBI's Secret Scrutiny," Washington Post, November 6, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1263
Informant: Andrea Ball
This is a huge moment. Senators from both parties are standing together to protect privacy and liberty in a time of war—and they're ready to go all the way. It's important to support them and to show those who are still on the fence how important this issue is to you. Will you help us reach 250,000 signatures on our petition by Thursday so we can deliver them in time for the vote?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-5860861-l9VbnwjVnkVyUTWStYCHaw&t=2
If this filibuster holds, Congress could vote to temporarily extend the Patriot Act as it stands—allowing time for a new, better version that addresses the big problems in the law. This would be a huge victory for those of us who believe that liberty is non-negotiable.
The tide is turning in Congress. Leaders in Washington are beginning to demand accountability from the Bush administration on everything from Iraq to the use of torture. Now it looks like President Bush's plan to pass a new and more dangerous version of the Patriot Act is also in trouble.1
In 2001, only one senator voted against the Patriot Act. Since then, people from all across the political spectrum have come to realize that the Patriot Act strikes a blow to the fundamental rights, liberties, and privacy of all Americans. Protecting freedom is something that all of us—progressives and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans—can agree on.
That's why a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Larry Craig, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski and Democrats Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin and Ken Salazar, have been working to fix the Patriot Act. They have vowed to fight the most egregious provisions and filibuster reauthorization if necessary. We need to show them that we have their backs.
The Patriot Act that the president wants them to pass now goes too far and doesn't protect the privacy of innocent Americans. It doesn't address some of the biggest problems in the law. For example:2
* The government can obtain your private records, like medical, library, school, and other records—without showing any connection between your activities and and a suspected foreign terrorist.
* Some 30,000 National Security Letters ("NSLs") are issued each year to obtain private records,3 and the recipients of those NSLs are under a gag order that is almost impossible to overturn. But the Patriot Act does nothing to address these abusive powers.
* The government is allowed to get "sneak and peek" search warrants to search a home or business and doesn't have to tell the owner of the premises for a month. This power can be used in cases that don't have anything to do with terrorism.
Right now, the Patriot Act is just bad law about to get worse—and leaders in the Washington are actually willing to try to block it. We can't let our only chance to fix it slip away without a fight.
Hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition like this will show the Senate how serious Americans are about protecting their constitutional freedoms. Will you sign the petition and show your support for filibustering a Patriot Act that doesn't include privacy protections?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-5860861-l9VbnwjVnkVyUTWStYCHaw&t=3
Together, we can make sure we're safe—and our freedom is safe, too.
Thanks for all you do,
–Eli, Nita, Ben, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Tuesday, December 13th, 2005
Sources:
1. ACLU: Reform the Patriot Act
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/
2. ACLU: Summary of Patriot Reauthorization Act Conference Report
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/patriotdraft.html
3. "The FBI's Secret Scrutiny," Washington Post, November 6, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1263
Informant: Andrea Ball
Starmail - 14. Dez, 18:55
Tell Congress to have an honest debate on Iraq for the safety of our troops
Last week we were honored to have Congressman Murtha speak to our DCCC members. His call for an honest debate on Iraq has already garnered more support from our members than any other campaign we've launched this year.
We hope to deliver 50,000 names to the Speaker of the House, and right now we have more than 30,000 -- if you believe this Republican Congress has abdicated its responsibility long enough, please join us:
Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate on Iraq For the Safety of Our Troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
Hours after we launched this petition, the Republicans aired another example of their smear political stunts. From the beginning, Republicans have substituted divisive, over-the-line political attacks for substantive policy in Iraq. The campaign to sell America on war was carefully planned and brilliantly executed -- but it was clear that they had literally been too busy with the sales pitch to plan for the peace.
Last week President Bush released what he called a "Strategy for Victory in Iraq." Days later, we found out that it had been written by a pollster. Another few days after that we learned where the real Republican focus was -- they released a web ad so scurrilous that even a Republican Senator said they should take it down.
With a full-scale media blitz, the Republican National Committee released their "White Flag" campaign, attempting to smear Democrats like John Murtha as unpatriotic, undermining our troops and advocating "surrender." This is their substitute for real debate. The DCCC has put together a video to counterpunch their continued personal attacks. Attacking Democrats is not a plan for success in Iraq. I hope you will watch the DCCC video, sign the petition and then tell them to get their attention back on finding a real solution to the problems in Iraq:
Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate on Iraq For the Safety of Our Troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
For more than 1,000 days of war, the Republican Congress has counted itself out. There has been no oversight of the White House, and no serious debate on our future in Iraq.
This cannot go on -- the stakes are too high. We will deliver your name, along with tens of thousands of others, to the Speaker of the House before Congress goes home for recess. Please take a moment to watch the new video from the DCCC and to sign on to John Murtha's call for an honest debate:
Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate on Iraq For the Safety of Our Troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
Sincerely,
John Lapp Executive Director, DCCC
PS: We must show this Republican Congress how many Americans support John Murtha. Tell Congress to have an honest debate on Iraq for the safety of our troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
We hope to deliver 50,000 names to the Speaker of the House, and right now we have more than 30,000 -- if you believe this Republican Congress has abdicated its responsibility long enough, please join us:
Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate on Iraq For the Safety of Our Troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
Hours after we launched this petition, the Republicans aired another example of their smear political stunts. From the beginning, Republicans have substituted divisive, over-the-line political attacks for substantive policy in Iraq. The campaign to sell America on war was carefully planned and brilliantly executed -- but it was clear that they had literally been too busy with the sales pitch to plan for the peace.
Last week President Bush released what he called a "Strategy for Victory in Iraq." Days later, we found out that it had been written by a pollster. Another few days after that we learned where the real Republican focus was -- they released a web ad so scurrilous that even a Republican Senator said they should take it down.
With a full-scale media blitz, the Republican National Committee released their "White Flag" campaign, attempting to smear Democrats like John Murtha as unpatriotic, undermining our troops and advocating "surrender." This is their substitute for real debate. The DCCC has put together a video to counterpunch their continued personal attacks. Attacking Democrats is not a plan for success in Iraq. I hope you will watch the DCCC video, sign the petition and then tell them to get their attention back on finding a real solution to the problems in Iraq:
Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate on Iraq For the Safety of Our Troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
For more than 1,000 days of war, the Republican Congress has counted itself out. There has been no oversight of the White House, and no serious debate on our future in Iraq.
This cannot go on -- the stakes are too high. We will deliver your name, along with tens of thousands of others, to the Speaker of the House before Congress goes home for recess. Please take a moment to watch the new video from the DCCC and to sign on to John Murtha's call for an honest debate:
Tell Congress to Have an Honest Debate on Iraq For the Safety of Our Troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
Sincerely,
John Lapp Executive Director, DCCC
PS: We must show this Republican Congress how many Americans support John Murtha. Tell Congress to have an honest debate on Iraq for the safety of our troops.
http://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=102BD2F:4092A66
Starmail - 14. Dez, 18:50
Maintaler Ärzte-Appell
Maintaler Ärzte appellieren: Schluss mit dem weiteren Ausbau des Mobilfunks
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_maintaler_appell.pdf
Prof. Dr. Guido Zimmer: Nicht-thermaler Hitzeschock, Auswirkung von Mikrowellen
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_MaintalerAppell_Vortrag_Zimmer.pdf
Bürgerinitiative MwW e.V.: Erreicht oder reicht uns die Demokratie?
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_Statement_MwW_Februar_2005.pdf
Bürgerinitiative MwW e.V.: Sind Handys gesundheitsgefährdend?
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_Statement_MwW_Maerz_2005.pdf
--------
Ärzte-Appelle gegen Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1064751/
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_maintaler_appell.pdf
Prof. Dr. Guido Zimmer: Nicht-thermaler Hitzeschock, Auswirkung von Mikrowellen
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_MaintalerAppell_Vortrag_Zimmer.pdf
Bürgerinitiative MwW e.V.: Erreicht oder reicht uns die Demokratie?
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_Statement_MwW_Februar_2005.pdf
Bürgerinitiative MwW e.V.: Sind Handys gesundheitsgefährdend?
http://www.elektrosmognews.de/news/20051113_Statement_MwW_Maerz_2005.pdf
--------
Ärzte-Appelle gegen Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1064751/
Starmail - 14. Dez, 16:33
WHY THEY GOT RID OF TRAFICANT ON CAPITAL HILL: HE TOLD THE TRUTH
Starmail - 14. Dez, 15:18
Katrina gives new meaning to simplicity
Christian Science Monitor
by Danny Heitman
12/13/05
In the days after hurricane Katrina, as I hustled to restore our Baton Rouge household to normal, my 9-year-old daughter's Christmas wish list grew longer by the hour. With increasing frequency, as I hauled fallen limbs to the curb and packed away the portable generator, my daughter would tug on my sleeve to announce yet another doll or video game that she wanted under the yuletide tree. I recoiled at the timing of her material longings. We were among the fortunate ones, after all - south Louisiana residents who had dodged most of the hurricane's wrath with no real damage to life or limb. We had reminded our kids quite often of our good fortune, and it seemed that my 9-year-old, young though she is, should have been old enough to know that this wasn't the week to wish for more. Why was she focused on filling her toy box in the midst of so much misery, with New Orleans evacuees arriving literally next door?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1213/p09s02-coop.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Danny Heitman
12/13/05
In the days after hurricane Katrina, as I hustled to restore our Baton Rouge household to normal, my 9-year-old daughter's Christmas wish list grew longer by the hour. With increasing frequency, as I hauled fallen limbs to the curb and packed away the portable generator, my daughter would tug on my sleeve to announce yet another doll or video game that she wanted under the yuletide tree. I recoiled at the timing of her material longings. We were among the fortunate ones, after all - south Louisiana residents who had dodged most of the hurricane's wrath with no real damage to life or limb. We had reminded our kids quite often of our good fortune, and it seemed that my 9-year-old, young though she is, should have been old enough to know that this wasn't the week to wish for more. Why was she focused on filling her toy box in the midst of so much misery, with New Orleans evacuees arriving literally next door?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1213/p09s02-coop.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 15:11
Message management
The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias
12/13/05
Having argued with tedious frequency for the proposition that the United States needs to look for ways to head for the exit doors in Iraq, I'm naturally heartened, in some ways, by a recent uptick in anti-war sentiment among the Democratic Party's leaders. Nevertheless, advocacy of withdrawal within the liberal community has long been bedeviled by a fairly vicious case of what I like to call the 'pundit's fallacy' -- assertions that the key to electoral success is for a party or political leader to adopt the writer's policy preferences. In their December 12 issue, for example, the editors of The Nation argue that 'Democrats must recognize, as [John] Murtha has, that by putting aside politics and doing what is right for the country they will not only establish their party as the alternative that is needed; they will isolate the Administration and create a space where sensible Republicans can join a new bipartisan drive to get this country's troops out of the Iraq quagmire.' The basis for this proposition is the view that 'the public has turned against the war'...
http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=10722
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Matthew Yglesias
12/13/05
Having argued with tedious frequency for the proposition that the United States needs to look for ways to head for the exit doors in Iraq, I'm naturally heartened, in some ways, by a recent uptick in anti-war sentiment among the Democratic Party's leaders. Nevertheless, advocacy of withdrawal within the liberal community has long been bedeviled by a fairly vicious case of what I like to call the 'pundit's fallacy' -- assertions that the key to electoral success is for a party or political leader to adopt the writer's policy preferences. In their December 12 issue, for example, the editors of The Nation argue that 'Democrats must recognize, as [John] Murtha has, that by putting aside politics and doing what is right for the country they will not only establish their party as the alternative that is needed; they will isolate the Administration and create a space where sensible Republicans can join a new bipartisan drive to get this country's troops out of the Iraq quagmire.' The basis for this proposition is the view that 'the public has turned against the war'...
http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=10722
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 15:08
The "retreat and defeat" Dems
AlterNet
by Stephen Pizzo
12/14/05
"For once the Republican attack machine has described the Democratic Party perfectly: retreat and defeat. It's what Democrats are all about now. I'm not talking about the Democrats' position (if they had one) on Bush's fool's errand of a war in Iraq. I'm talking about how Democrats have flatly refused to stand and fight the war here at home, the war for America's own democracy. Democrats remind me of the that group of kids in every grammar school whose members were not smart enough to be dorks nor tough enough to be knuckle-dragging jocks. They are stuck in a social vacuum of sorts. Every now and then one of them gets some backbone and declares he's 'gonna show those jocks.' To which his frustrated friends eagerly egg him on. So he tosses an insult or rock at the school thugs, who of course immediately counter attack. His friends desert him leaving him screaming, 'it was an accident, honest. I didn't mean it.' After which the thugs would beat the c... out of him anyway...
http://www.alternet.org/story/29552/
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Stephen Pizzo
12/14/05
"For once the Republican attack machine has described the Democratic Party perfectly: retreat and defeat. It's what Democrats are all about now. I'm not talking about the Democrats' position (if they had one) on Bush's fool's errand of a war in Iraq. I'm talking about how Democrats have flatly refused to stand and fight the war here at home, the war for America's own democracy. Democrats remind me of the that group of kids in every grammar school whose members were not smart enough to be dorks nor tough enough to be knuckle-dragging jocks. They are stuck in a social vacuum of sorts. Every now and then one of them gets some backbone and declares he's 'gonna show those jocks.' To which his frustrated friends eagerly egg him on. So he tosses an insult or rock at the school thugs, who of course immediately counter attack. His friends desert him leaving him screaming, 'it was an accident, honest. I didn't mean it.' After which the thugs would beat the c... out of him anyway...
http://www.alternet.org/story/29552/
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 15:04
Reforming countries
Rebirth of Reason
by Tibor R. Machan
12/14/05
Sometimes discussions get bogged down completely because the issues are cast improperly, as in the case of whether Iraq and other countries around the globe could become liberal democracies. President Bush and his defenders appear to consider it an offense to the people in such countries when skeptics question whether they are 'ready for democracy.' And there is a point to finding that line of doubt offensive. In principle, as a basic aspect of our lives, human beings can, of course, improve themselves on all levels, including the political. ... Yet, extremely powerful psychological and sociological forces make such reforms very hard to achieve in our lives. That's especially so when it comes to changing massive institutional obstacles that stand in the way to making improvements in various countries across the globe...
http://tinyurl.com/87c7b
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Tibor R. Machan
12/14/05
Sometimes discussions get bogged down completely because the issues are cast improperly, as in the case of whether Iraq and other countries around the globe could become liberal democracies. President Bush and his defenders appear to consider it an offense to the people in such countries when skeptics question whether they are 'ready for democracy.' And there is a point to finding that line of doubt offensive. In principle, as a basic aspect of our lives, human beings can, of course, improve themselves on all levels, including the political. ... Yet, extremely powerful psychological and sociological forces make such reforms very hard to achieve in our lives. That's especially so when it comes to changing massive institutional obstacles that stand in the way to making improvements in various countries across the globe...
http://tinyurl.com/87c7b
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:50
Lieberman's "war cabinet"
AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo
12/14/05
The other day, when Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) suggested that it's time for George W. Bush to form a 'war cabinet,' everybody knew what he had in mind. Rumors of Donald Rumsfeld's departure from the Department of Defense were (and are) rife, and it was clear Lieberman was proposing himself as a replacement. Aside from the brazenly self-promotional aspect of this gambit, however, there is the rhetorical conceit of pretending that we're in the position of Britain during the blitz. This is so typical of the neoconservative vocabulary of crisis-mongering that it has evolved into an ideological tic: their response to any criticism, any deviation from their totalist conception of the 'war on terrorism,' is an outraged cry: 'Don't you know there's a war on?' Lieberman resorted to this tack most recently upon returning from his latest visit to Iraq, whereupon he announced: 'In matters of war, we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.' As if 'we' are responsible for this administration's lack of credibility...
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8238
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Justin Raimondo
12/14/05
The other day, when Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) suggested that it's time for George W. Bush to form a 'war cabinet,' everybody knew what he had in mind. Rumors of Donald Rumsfeld's departure from the Department of Defense were (and are) rife, and it was clear Lieberman was proposing himself as a replacement. Aside from the brazenly self-promotional aspect of this gambit, however, there is the rhetorical conceit of pretending that we're in the position of Britain during the blitz. This is so typical of the neoconservative vocabulary of crisis-mongering that it has evolved into an ideological tic: their response to any criticism, any deviation from their totalist conception of the 'war on terrorism,' is an outraged cry: 'Don't you know there's a war on?' Lieberman resorted to this tack most recently upon returning from his latest visit to Iraq, whereupon he announced: 'In matters of war, we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.' As if 'we' are responsible for this administration's lack of credibility...
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8238
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:47
The deaths of children
LewRockwell.Com
by Butler Shaffer
12/14/05
For all the many reasons I hold political systems in utter contempt, this is by far the most dominant: the state is in a constant war with all of life. It always has been and it always will be, and no mouthing by politicians of empty bromides about 'caring' will ever change this fundamental fact. Political systems war against the spontaneous and self-directed nature of all living systems, using violence as a weapon to force life to go in directions it does not choose. The state is the most fundamentally indecent of all human inventions, a fact that most of us prefer to keep from our conscious mind, which we obfuscate with lies and rationalizations; anesthetize with drugs or alcohol; or trivialize with entertainment-as-news. The most contemptible expression of the state's war against life is found in its abuse, maiming, and slaughter of children...
http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer125.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Butler Shaffer
12/14/05
For all the many reasons I hold political systems in utter contempt, this is by far the most dominant: the state is in a constant war with all of life. It always has been and it always will be, and no mouthing by politicians of empty bromides about 'caring' will ever change this fundamental fact. Political systems war against the spontaneous and self-directed nature of all living systems, using violence as a weapon to force life to go in directions it does not choose. The state is the most fundamentally indecent of all human inventions, a fact that most of us prefer to keep from our conscious mind, which we obfuscate with lies and rationalizations; anesthetize with drugs or alcohol; or trivialize with entertainment-as-news. The most contemptible expression of the state's war against life is found in its abuse, maiming, and slaughter of children...
http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer125.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:45
Is the Pentagon spying on Americans?
MSNBC
12/13/05
A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military. A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a 'threat' and one of more than 1,500 'suspicious incidents' across the country over a recent 10-month period...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10454316/
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/13/05
A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military. A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a 'threat' and one of more than 1,500 'suspicious incidents' across the country over a recent 10-month period...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10454316/
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:41
US shipped out detainees
Tampa Tribune
12/13/05
A European investigator said Tuesday he has found mounting indications the United States illegally held detainees in Europe but then hurriedly shipped out the last ones to North Africa a month ago when word leaked out. Dick Marty, a Swiss senator looking into claims the CIA operated secret prisons in Europe, said an ongoing, monthlong investigation unearthed 'clues' that Poland and Romania were implicated - perhaps unwittingly...
http://tinyurl.com/72zom
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/13/05
A European investigator said Tuesday he has found mounting indications the United States illegally held detainees in Europe but then hurriedly shipped out the last ones to North Africa a month ago when word leaked out. Dick Marty, a Swiss senator looking into claims the CIA operated secret prisons in Europe, said an ongoing, monthlong investigation unearthed 'clues' that Poland and Romania were implicated - perhaps unwittingly...
http://tinyurl.com/72zom
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:39
Bürgerrechtsorganisationen gegen Vorratsdatenspeicherung - Vorratsdatenspeicherung klar verfassungswidrig
Vorratsdatenspeicherung
Bürgerrechtsorganisationen gegen Vorratsdatenspeicherung. Attac, CCC und FoeBuD fordern EU-Parlament auf, die Richtlinie abzulehnen und kündigen Proteste an
FoeBuD e.V.-Pressemitteilung vom 10.12.05
http://www.foebud.org/datenschutz-buergerrechte/vorratsdatenspeicherung/buergerrechtsorganisationen-gegen-vorratsdatenspeicherung
siehe dazu auch: Überwachungsstaatenbund - Offener Brief gegen Vorratsdatenspeicherung: „Ein Überwachungsstaat ist nicht genug. Dank EU soll's ein Überwachungsstaatenbund sein. Mindestens ein halbes, maximal 24 Monate (in Polen gleich 15 Jahre) sollen alle Telekommunikationsdaten aufgehoben werden. Nicht von Verbrechern, sondern Daten aller Menschen. Diese haben nämlich alle etwas zu verbergen: Ihre Privatsphäre…“
http://www.foebud.org/datenschutz-buergerrechte/vorratsdatenspeicherung/uebewachungsstaatenbund
Vorratsdatenspeicherung klar verfassungswidrig! Humanistische Union appelliert an EU-Parlamentarier, Richtlinienentwurf zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung zurückzuweisen.
HU-Pressemitteilung vom 13.12.2005
http://www.humanistische-union.de/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=246&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0&POSTNUKESID=994a5a271b8ee470ff6d2543507426f2
Siehe auch die ausführliche Stellungnahme der Humanistischen Union zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung vom 12.12.05 (pdf)
http://files.humanistische-union.de/2005/vorratsdatenspeicherung_12.12.2005.pdf
Analysen zur Vorratspeicherung von TK-Verbindungsdaten stehen noch aus
„Heute entscheidet das EU-Parlament in Straßburg über die Einführung der verdachtsunabhängigen Speicherung von Telekommunikationsverbindungsdaten. Gleichzeitig steht der Nachweis für die Notwendigkeit der Datensammelei noch aus. In Wiesbaden arbeitet das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) derzeit noch an der Zusammenfassung von Umfrageergebnissen unter deutschen Dienststellen: Die Rechtstatsachensammelstelle sollte durch die bundesweite Umfrage den Bedarf für längere Speicherfristen ermitteln…“ heise-online-Meldung vom 14.12.2005
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/67348
Arbeitnehmerdatenschutz
Gewerkschaften fordern Datenschutz am elektronischen Arbeitsplatz
„Mit dem Thema "Onlinerechte im Betrieb" beschäftigte sich eine Fachtagung von DGB und ver.di am 13. Dezember 2005 in Berlin. Das Problem: Immer mehr Arbeitgeber kontrollieren die Leistung ihrer Angestellten über deren E-Mail-, Internet und Intranet-Verkehr. Ohne dass ein Arbeitnehmer davon weiß, kann der Chef nachvollziehen, an wen seine Mitarbeiter mailen, welche Internetseiten sie aufrufen und vieles mehr. Und zwar problemlos, mit der ganz normalen Software, wie Gerrit Wiegand und Jens Mösinger von der Internetfirma mainis GmbH in Offenbach versicherten. "Im Normalfall, so Wiegand, "hat der Arbeitgeber vollen Zugriff auf sämtliche Daten."…“ Meldung beim DGB ohne Datum http://www.dgb.de/homepage_kurztexte/datenschutz.htm
Siehe auch: „Arbeitnehmer brauchen Schutz vor Datensammelwut im Job“ DGB-Pressemitteilung Nr. 173 vom 13.12.2005
http://www.dgb.de/presse/pressemeldungen/pmdb/pressemeldung_single?pmid=2700
Aus: LabourNet, 14. Dezember 2005
Bürgerrechtsorganisationen gegen Vorratsdatenspeicherung. Attac, CCC und FoeBuD fordern EU-Parlament auf, die Richtlinie abzulehnen und kündigen Proteste an
FoeBuD e.V.-Pressemitteilung vom 10.12.05
http://www.foebud.org/datenschutz-buergerrechte/vorratsdatenspeicherung/buergerrechtsorganisationen-gegen-vorratsdatenspeicherung
siehe dazu auch: Überwachungsstaatenbund - Offener Brief gegen Vorratsdatenspeicherung: „Ein Überwachungsstaat ist nicht genug. Dank EU soll's ein Überwachungsstaatenbund sein. Mindestens ein halbes, maximal 24 Monate (in Polen gleich 15 Jahre) sollen alle Telekommunikationsdaten aufgehoben werden. Nicht von Verbrechern, sondern Daten aller Menschen. Diese haben nämlich alle etwas zu verbergen: Ihre Privatsphäre…“
http://www.foebud.org/datenschutz-buergerrechte/vorratsdatenspeicherung/uebewachungsstaatenbund
Vorratsdatenspeicherung klar verfassungswidrig! Humanistische Union appelliert an EU-Parlamentarier, Richtlinienentwurf zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung zurückzuweisen.
HU-Pressemitteilung vom 13.12.2005
http://www.humanistische-union.de/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=246&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0&POSTNUKESID=994a5a271b8ee470ff6d2543507426f2
Siehe auch die ausführliche Stellungnahme der Humanistischen Union zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung vom 12.12.05 (pdf)
http://files.humanistische-union.de/2005/vorratsdatenspeicherung_12.12.2005.pdf
Analysen zur Vorratspeicherung von TK-Verbindungsdaten stehen noch aus
„Heute entscheidet das EU-Parlament in Straßburg über die Einführung der verdachtsunabhängigen Speicherung von Telekommunikationsverbindungsdaten. Gleichzeitig steht der Nachweis für die Notwendigkeit der Datensammelei noch aus. In Wiesbaden arbeitet das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) derzeit noch an der Zusammenfassung von Umfrageergebnissen unter deutschen Dienststellen: Die Rechtstatsachensammelstelle sollte durch die bundesweite Umfrage den Bedarf für längere Speicherfristen ermitteln…“ heise-online-Meldung vom 14.12.2005
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/67348
Arbeitnehmerdatenschutz
Gewerkschaften fordern Datenschutz am elektronischen Arbeitsplatz
„Mit dem Thema "Onlinerechte im Betrieb" beschäftigte sich eine Fachtagung von DGB und ver.di am 13. Dezember 2005 in Berlin. Das Problem: Immer mehr Arbeitgeber kontrollieren die Leistung ihrer Angestellten über deren E-Mail-, Internet und Intranet-Verkehr. Ohne dass ein Arbeitnehmer davon weiß, kann der Chef nachvollziehen, an wen seine Mitarbeiter mailen, welche Internetseiten sie aufrufen und vieles mehr. Und zwar problemlos, mit der ganz normalen Software, wie Gerrit Wiegand und Jens Mösinger von der Internetfirma mainis GmbH in Offenbach versicherten. "Im Normalfall, so Wiegand, "hat der Arbeitgeber vollen Zugriff auf sämtliche Daten."…“ Meldung beim DGB ohne Datum http://www.dgb.de/homepage_kurztexte/datenschutz.htm
Siehe auch: „Arbeitnehmer brauchen Schutz vor Datensammelwut im Job“ DGB-Pressemitteilung Nr. 173 vom 13.12.2005
http://www.dgb.de/presse/pressemeldungen/pmdb/pressemeldung_single?pmid=2700
Aus: LabourNet, 14. Dezember 2005
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:34
Canada Wants to Protect Itself from the Patriot Act
When US companies work with the Canadian federal government, their files, including confidential personal information on Canadians, could today be subject to FBI search. The Canadian government is taking steps to prevent this potential assault on Canadians' privacy.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121305H.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121305H.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:26
Bush Strategy Undermined by Ethnic Militias
President George W. Bush's strategy for transforming Iraq is threatened by the growth of sectarian militias that are undercutting Iraq's nascent national army and fueling ethnic violence, according to analysts and former US officials.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121305C.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121305C.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:24
Tierversuche für Handys
HLV INFO 189/AT
14-12-2005
Diese Empfehlung wird Ihnen von
Ute.u.Gerhard.Kampschulte@t-online.de geschickt.
Die Nachricht des Absenders an Sie lautet:
Es wird das Tier gequält für den Reibach der Betreiber. Nach dem Tier kommt der Mensch.
Mit freundlichen Gruss
Gerhard Kampschulte
Der Titel der empfohlenen Seite lautet:
Tierversuche für Handys
Die Adresse der empfohlenen Seite lautet:
http://datenbank-tierversuche.de/m.php4?u=/magazin/content/2005-08-05-tierversuche-handys.php4
Mit der Ausbreitung des Mobilfunks - mehr als 1,6 Milliarden Menschen benutzen weltweit Handys - wächst die Sorge der Öffentlichkeit um dessen Auswirkungen auf die menschliche Gesundheit. Die möglichen Gefahren dieser neuen Technologie eingehend zu untersuchen, ist naheliegend und wurde bereits in unzähligen Studien in aller Welt umgesetzt. Doch anstatt auf einige der 1,6 Milliarden potentieller »Versuchsobjekte« zurückzugreifen, setzt man hierzulande lieber auf Tierversuche. Das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz vergab einen Forschungsauftrag an die Internationale Universität Bremen zur Auswirkung von Handystrahlung auf Mäuse (1). Es wurden Tiere verwendet, die durch eine genetische Veränderung im Alter von einem Jahr an einem Lymphom (Lymphknotenkrebs) erkranken. Die eine Hälfte der Mäuse wurde in ihren Käfigen rund 10 Monate lang einer dauernden Handystrahlung (900 MHz) ausgesetzt. Die andere Hälfte diente als Kontrolle und wurde nicht bestrahlt. Alle Tiere, ob bestrahlt oder nicht, litten bald an Krebs, sie verloren an Gewicht, bekamen Atemnot, gesträubtes Fell und hervorstehende Augen. Insgesamt 320 Mäuse mussten für die Erkenntnis leiden und sterben, dass eine dauerhafte Handystrahlung bei Mäusen offensichtlich keine erhöhte Krebsrate hervorruft.
Abgesehen von der ethischen Problematik, drängt sich die Frage auf, wie realitätsnah dieser Versuch ist. Wie viele der 1,6 Milliarden Handynutzer werden wohl fast ihr ganzes Leben lang Tag und Nacht mit einem ans Ohr geschnallten Handy herumlaufen? Und bei wie vielen von ihnen ist durch eine gentechnische Manipulation eine Krebserkrankung vorprogrammiert?
Handynutzer sind keine Mäuse
Ein schwedisches Forscherteam veröffentlichte im Dezember 2004 eine Auswertung von rund 50 Bevölkerungsstudien, die die Wirkung von elektromagnetischen Strahlen unter verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten untersuchten: Krebsrate, Herz-Kreislauferkrankungen, grauer Star sowie Symptome wie Kopfschmerzen, Schwindel, Übelkeit, Schlafprobleme usw. Die Ergebnisse waren so unterschiedlich, dass eine von Handys ausgehende Gesundheitsgefahr zwar nicht bewiesen, aber auch keine Entwarnung gegeben werden konnte. Die schwedischen Wissenschaftler führen dies auf die kurzen Zeitspannen der Studien zurück sowie nicht zuletzt auf die fehlende Möglichkeit, Intensität und Häufigkeit des Mobiltelefonierens bei den einzelnen Personen genau dokumentieren zu können. Diese Variabilität beim Menschen macht epidemiologische Studien so schwierig, aber die Beurteilung im »Tiermodell« unmöglich. Menschen sind eben keine Mäuse, die tagein tagaus mit gleicher Intensität bestrahlt werden. Auch spielen beim Handynutzer noch andere Faktoren, wie Stress, eine Rolle. Und schließlich können Mäuse nicht Auskunft darüber geben, ob sie unter Kopfschmerzen, Übelkeit oder Nackenschmerzen leiden.
Zellkulturen fühlen keinen Schmerz Neben epidemiologischen Studien eignen sich auch In-vitro- (= im Reagenzglas) Studien zur Abschätzung der Risiken von Mobilfunk-Magnetfeldern. Ein mögliches krebsauslösendes Potential von Hochfrequenzfeldern wurde anhand von Zellkulturen herausgefunden. Zwölf Forschergruppen hatten in einer von 2000 bis 2003 durchgeführten, von der EU geförderten so genannten REFLEX-Studie (3) herausgefunden, dass elektromagnetische Felder das Erbgut (DNA) schädigen können.
Bevölkerungsstudien im Tierversuch nachvollziehen
Die Bremer Experimentatoren sollten nun auch noch herausfinden - wieder durch das Bundesamt für Strahlenforschung und somit mit unseren Steuergeldern finanziert - wie sich niederfrequente Strahlung auswirkt. Für das gehäufte Vorkommen von Leukämie und anderen Krebserkrankungen bei Menschen, die in der Nähe von Hochspannungsleitungen leben, gibt es bereits handfeste Beweise. Die Bremer Experimente sollten denn auch die in zahlreichen Populationsstudien festgestellten Risiken im Tierversuch nur »nachvollziehen« (4). Bei den Mäusen ergab sich jedoch nach 38-wöchiger Dauerbestrahlung mit 50 Hz-Feldern keine erhöhte Krebsrate. Alle 480 Mäuse, bestrahlte und unbestrahlte, litten und starben gleich häufig an dem Krebs, der bei ihnen durch eine gentechnische Veränderung vorprogrammiert war. Die beim Menschen gefundenen Hinweise auf ein erhöhtes Krebsrisiko durch Hochspannungsleitungen konnten im Tierversuch nicht bestätigt werden. Werden die am Menschen gewonnenen Erkenntnisse jetzt verworfen? Sicherlich nicht. Hätte man sich die Tierversuche dann nicht auch gleich schenken können? 480 leidensfähigen Mitgeschöpfen wäre ein qualvoller Tod erspart geblieben.
Weitere Tierversuche geplant
Trotz der offensichtlichen Unsinnigkeit von Tierversuchen - von der Grausamkeit ganz zu schweigen - vergibt das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz weiterhin tierexperimentell ausgerichtete Forschungsaufträge. Das von ihm koordinierte Deutsche Mobilfunk-Forschungsprogramm umfasst im Zeitraum 2002 - 2006 insgesamt 52 Forschungsvorhaben, einige davon mit Tierversuchen (5). So wird der Einfluss des Mobilfunks auf die Durchlässigkeit der Blut-Hirn-Schranke bei Ratten getestet. Außerdem sind Langzeitversuche mit mehreren Generationen von Ratten sowie die Untersuchung der Auswirkungen auf die Vermehrungsfähigkeit und Entwicklung von Ratten bereits im Gange. Für eine noch ausstehende Studie zur Frage, ob Kinder und Jugendliche auf hochfrequente elektromagnetische Felder empfindlicher reagieren als Erwachsene wird ein »tierexperimenteller Ansatz favorisiert«.
Wenn Sie dem Bundesamt für Strahlenforschung (höflich) Ihre Meinung sagen möchten, schreiben Sie an:
Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz
Postfach 10 01 49
38201 Salzgitter
Internet:
www.bfs.de
Email: emfforschung@bfs.de
Literatur:
(1) BMC Cancer (electronic recource) 2004: 4(1), 77
(2) Environmental Health Perspektives 2004: 112 (17), 1741-1754
(3) REFLEX = Risk Evaluation of Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Energy Electromagnetic Field Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro Methods; http://www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/artikel.asp?id=34482
(4) Radiation Research 2004: 162, 194-200
(5) http://www.emf-forschungsprogramm.de/home/forschung
Dr. med. vet. Corina Gericke
14-12-2005
Diese Empfehlung wird Ihnen von
Ute.u.Gerhard.Kampschulte@t-online.de geschickt.
Die Nachricht des Absenders an Sie lautet:
Es wird das Tier gequält für den Reibach der Betreiber. Nach dem Tier kommt der Mensch.
Mit freundlichen Gruss
Gerhard Kampschulte
Der Titel der empfohlenen Seite lautet:
Tierversuche für Handys
Die Adresse der empfohlenen Seite lautet:
http://datenbank-tierversuche.de/m.php4?u=/magazin/content/2005-08-05-tierversuche-handys.php4
Mit der Ausbreitung des Mobilfunks - mehr als 1,6 Milliarden Menschen benutzen weltweit Handys - wächst die Sorge der Öffentlichkeit um dessen Auswirkungen auf die menschliche Gesundheit. Die möglichen Gefahren dieser neuen Technologie eingehend zu untersuchen, ist naheliegend und wurde bereits in unzähligen Studien in aller Welt umgesetzt. Doch anstatt auf einige der 1,6 Milliarden potentieller »Versuchsobjekte« zurückzugreifen, setzt man hierzulande lieber auf Tierversuche. Das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz vergab einen Forschungsauftrag an die Internationale Universität Bremen zur Auswirkung von Handystrahlung auf Mäuse (1). Es wurden Tiere verwendet, die durch eine genetische Veränderung im Alter von einem Jahr an einem Lymphom (Lymphknotenkrebs) erkranken. Die eine Hälfte der Mäuse wurde in ihren Käfigen rund 10 Monate lang einer dauernden Handystrahlung (900 MHz) ausgesetzt. Die andere Hälfte diente als Kontrolle und wurde nicht bestrahlt. Alle Tiere, ob bestrahlt oder nicht, litten bald an Krebs, sie verloren an Gewicht, bekamen Atemnot, gesträubtes Fell und hervorstehende Augen. Insgesamt 320 Mäuse mussten für die Erkenntnis leiden und sterben, dass eine dauerhafte Handystrahlung bei Mäusen offensichtlich keine erhöhte Krebsrate hervorruft.
Abgesehen von der ethischen Problematik, drängt sich die Frage auf, wie realitätsnah dieser Versuch ist. Wie viele der 1,6 Milliarden Handynutzer werden wohl fast ihr ganzes Leben lang Tag und Nacht mit einem ans Ohr geschnallten Handy herumlaufen? Und bei wie vielen von ihnen ist durch eine gentechnische Manipulation eine Krebserkrankung vorprogrammiert?
Handynutzer sind keine Mäuse
Ein schwedisches Forscherteam veröffentlichte im Dezember 2004 eine Auswertung von rund 50 Bevölkerungsstudien, die die Wirkung von elektromagnetischen Strahlen unter verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten untersuchten: Krebsrate, Herz-Kreislauferkrankungen, grauer Star sowie Symptome wie Kopfschmerzen, Schwindel, Übelkeit, Schlafprobleme usw. Die Ergebnisse waren so unterschiedlich, dass eine von Handys ausgehende Gesundheitsgefahr zwar nicht bewiesen, aber auch keine Entwarnung gegeben werden konnte. Die schwedischen Wissenschaftler führen dies auf die kurzen Zeitspannen der Studien zurück sowie nicht zuletzt auf die fehlende Möglichkeit, Intensität und Häufigkeit des Mobiltelefonierens bei den einzelnen Personen genau dokumentieren zu können. Diese Variabilität beim Menschen macht epidemiologische Studien so schwierig, aber die Beurteilung im »Tiermodell« unmöglich. Menschen sind eben keine Mäuse, die tagein tagaus mit gleicher Intensität bestrahlt werden. Auch spielen beim Handynutzer noch andere Faktoren, wie Stress, eine Rolle. Und schließlich können Mäuse nicht Auskunft darüber geben, ob sie unter Kopfschmerzen, Übelkeit oder Nackenschmerzen leiden.
Zellkulturen fühlen keinen Schmerz Neben epidemiologischen Studien eignen sich auch In-vitro- (= im Reagenzglas) Studien zur Abschätzung der Risiken von Mobilfunk-Magnetfeldern. Ein mögliches krebsauslösendes Potential von Hochfrequenzfeldern wurde anhand von Zellkulturen herausgefunden. Zwölf Forschergruppen hatten in einer von 2000 bis 2003 durchgeführten, von der EU geförderten so genannten REFLEX-Studie (3) herausgefunden, dass elektromagnetische Felder das Erbgut (DNA) schädigen können.
Bevölkerungsstudien im Tierversuch nachvollziehen
Die Bremer Experimentatoren sollten nun auch noch herausfinden - wieder durch das Bundesamt für Strahlenforschung und somit mit unseren Steuergeldern finanziert - wie sich niederfrequente Strahlung auswirkt. Für das gehäufte Vorkommen von Leukämie und anderen Krebserkrankungen bei Menschen, die in der Nähe von Hochspannungsleitungen leben, gibt es bereits handfeste Beweise. Die Bremer Experimente sollten denn auch die in zahlreichen Populationsstudien festgestellten Risiken im Tierversuch nur »nachvollziehen« (4). Bei den Mäusen ergab sich jedoch nach 38-wöchiger Dauerbestrahlung mit 50 Hz-Feldern keine erhöhte Krebsrate. Alle 480 Mäuse, bestrahlte und unbestrahlte, litten und starben gleich häufig an dem Krebs, der bei ihnen durch eine gentechnische Veränderung vorprogrammiert war. Die beim Menschen gefundenen Hinweise auf ein erhöhtes Krebsrisiko durch Hochspannungsleitungen konnten im Tierversuch nicht bestätigt werden. Werden die am Menschen gewonnenen Erkenntnisse jetzt verworfen? Sicherlich nicht. Hätte man sich die Tierversuche dann nicht auch gleich schenken können? 480 leidensfähigen Mitgeschöpfen wäre ein qualvoller Tod erspart geblieben.
Weitere Tierversuche geplant
Trotz der offensichtlichen Unsinnigkeit von Tierversuchen - von der Grausamkeit ganz zu schweigen - vergibt das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz weiterhin tierexperimentell ausgerichtete Forschungsaufträge. Das von ihm koordinierte Deutsche Mobilfunk-Forschungsprogramm umfasst im Zeitraum 2002 - 2006 insgesamt 52 Forschungsvorhaben, einige davon mit Tierversuchen (5). So wird der Einfluss des Mobilfunks auf die Durchlässigkeit der Blut-Hirn-Schranke bei Ratten getestet. Außerdem sind Langzeitversuche mit mehreren Generationen von Ratten sowie die Untersuchung der Auswirkungen auf die Vermehrungsfähigkeit und Entwicklung von Ratten bereits im Gange. Für eine noch ausstehende Studie zur Frage, ob Kinder und Jugendliche auf hochfrequente elektromagnetische Felder empfindlicher reagieren als Erwachsene wird ein »tierexperimenteller Ansatz favorisiert«.
Wenn Sie dem Bundesamt für Strahlenforschung (höflich) Ihre Meinung sagen möchten, schreiben Sie an:
Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz
Postfach 10 01 49
38201 Salzgitter
Internet:
www.bfs.de
Email: emfforschung@bfs.de
Literatur:
(1) BMC Cancer (electronic recource) 2004: 4(1), 77
(2) Environmental Health Perspektives 2004: 112 (17), 1741-1754
(3) REFLEX = Risk Evaluation of Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Energy Electromagnetic Field Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro Methods; http://www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/artikel.asp?id=34482
(4) Radiation Research 2004: 162, 194-200
(5) http://www.emf-forschungsprogramm.de/home/forschung
Dr. med. vet. Corina Gericke
Starmail - 14. Dez, 14:01
Jury Indicts Siegelman, Scrushy
A federal grand jury on Monday indicted former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth Chairman Richard Scrushy on more charges in a political corruption case.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5475859,00.html
From Information Clearing House
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5475859,00.html
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:44
Europeans Outraged at Schwarzenegger
California's execution of Stanley Tookie Williams on Tuesday outraged many in Europe who regard the practice as barbaric, and politicians in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's native Austria called for his name to be removed from a sports stadium in his hometown.
http://tinyurl.com/ccphb
From Information Clearing House
http://tinyurl.com/ccphb
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:40
The Plague Upon Eden
Not satisfied with the level of pollution and carbon dioxide emissions spewed by the world today, blinded by the quest to further our comfortable, gluttonous ways, we continue pushing the increase of carbon, oil and gas consumption ever more.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11296.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11296.htm
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:39
Brazilians to 'Try' Bush for Crimes Against Humanity
According to this article from Brazil's OTempo newspaper, mock trials of U.S. President George W. Bush are to be held as a way of educating young people about the 'crimes' and abuse of power by the Bush Administration.
http://www.watchingamerica.com/otempo000002.shtml
http://www.watchingamerica.com/otempo000002.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:30
Torture may be necessary: former W.House advisor
A former top adviser to President George W. Bush on Iraq policy said on Monday there are instances when torture may be appropriate.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051213/us_nm/iraq_usa_blackwill_dc
From Information Clearing House
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051213/us_nm/iraq_usa_blackwill_dc
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:29
Khaled El-Masri Tells of Torture in 'Secret' U.S. Custody
VIDEO: ACLU Holds Briefing With Khaled El-Masri, Announcing His Lawsuit Against the CIA for Torture.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11299.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11299.htm
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:28
Refusal to question US over 'torture flights' may be illegal
Straw finally admits CIA planes landed in Britain.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1665912,00.html
From Information Clearing House
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1665912,00.html
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:26
Illegal CIA transfer of individuals evident: investigator
Legal proceedings in certain countries seemed to indicate that individuals had been abducted and transferred to other countries unlawfully by CIA.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/13/content_3917547.htm
From Information Clearing House
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/13/content_3917547.htm
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:25
The United States has 160,000 troops in Iraq serving as the Praetorian guard for the Shiite regime
We’re killing hundreds of Sunnis all over western Iraq on their behalf.
http://tinyurl.com/cm3v9
From Information Clearing House
http://tinyurl.com/cm3v9
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:22
The region will wrest back control when the US stumbles out of Iraq
This costly intervention has exposed the myth of America as conductor of a grand democratic Middle Eastern orchestra.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1665668,00.html
From Information Clearing House
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1665668,00.html
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:20
Iraq militant group says won't hit voting stations
"This does not mean that we back this so-called political process... Our jihad against the Americans and their followers continues," the group said in the statement.
http://tinyurl.com/9kryk
From Information Clearing House
http://tinyurl.com/9kryk
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:18
What Peace Needs
By Monica Benderman
Our government has told us we must fear the Conscientious Objectors because they have stood against an illegal war of aggression. Our government, threatened by Sgt. Benderman’s moral stand to defend humanity and our constitution, has imprisoned him in the hopes that the slamming of the rusty, mildewed bars will silence his message of truth.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11300.htm
Our government has told us we must fear the Conscientious Objectors because they have stood against an illegal war of aggression. Our government, threatened by Sgt. Benderman’s moral stand to defend humanity and our constitution, has imprisoned him in the hopes that the slamming of the rusty, mildewed bars will silence his message of truth.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11300.htm
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:16
Global Food Trade & the New Slave Labour
Starmail - 14. Dez, 13:14
The Great Perversion
By Charles Sullivan
The experience that most Americans live vicariously through television is an utter fraud. As Thoreau said, “We have become the tools of our tools.” Our lives have become more virtual than real.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11295.htm
The experience that most Americans live vicariously through television is an utter fraud. As Thoreau said, “We have become the tools of our tools.” Our lives have become more virtual than real.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11295.htm
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:48
Reduced to double talk in defending torture policy
Council of Europe probe backs claims of CIA prison flights
By AFX News
The CIA appears to have abducted suspects in Europe and illegally transferred them to other countries, according to the preliminary results of a Council of Europe investigation released today.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11294.htm
When Allies Become Accomplices to Terror
By Christian Bommarius, Senior Editor
Does a State become a rogue State because it uses roguish methods? Or does it use roguish methods because it is a rogue state? - " It makes no difference if a State tortures (or outsources torture) in the name of human rights, in the name of a religion or in the name of a dictator. For it then tortures not as a society based on the rule of law but as its antithesis.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11298.htm
Reduced to double talk in defending torture policy
By HELEN THOMAS
How long will the American people tolerate the shaming of their nation by the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war and the spiriting of detainees to secret prisons outside the United States?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11297.htm
By AFX News
The CIA appears to have abducted suspects in Europe and illegally transferred them to other countries, according to the preliminary results of a Council of Europe investigation released today.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11294.htm
When Allies Become Accomplices to Terror
By Christian Bommarius, Senior Editor
Does a State become a rogue State because it uses roguish methods? Or does it use roguish methods because it is a rogue state? - " It makes no difference if a State tortures (or outsources torture) in the name of human rights, in the name of a religion or in the name of a dictator. For it then tortures not as a society based on the rule of law but as its antithesis.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11298.htm
Reduced to double talk in defending torture policy
By HELEN THOMAS
How long will the American people tolerate the shaming of their nation by the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war and the spiriting of detainees to secret prisons outside the United States?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11297.htm
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:47
Two days to stop the Patriot Act: Sign Petition
Sign Petition to Stop (Filibuster) The Patriot Act !!!
MoveOn.org Political Action: Stop the Patriot Act
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=1
Two days to stop the Patriot Act
Now is the time to take a stand on the Patriot Act. Senators from both parties have vowed to fight reauthorization by filibuster if necessary until it includes needed reforms. Can you help us reach our goal of 250,000 signatures to show support for filibustering the Patriot Act? Stop the Patriot Act Dear MoveOn member, A bipartisan group of senators have agreed to fight the Patriot Act by filibuster if necessary. The law currently goes too far in curtailing our civil liberties and they're fighting back. The Senate will vote as soon as Thursday. This is the time to act. This is a huge moment. Senators from both parties are standing together to protect privacy and liberty in a time of war—and they're ready to go all the way. It's important to support them and to show those who are still on the fence how important this issue is to you. Will you help us reach 250,000 signatures on our petition by Thursday so we can deliver them in time for the vote?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=2
If this filibuster holds, Congress could vote to temporarily extend the Patriot Act as it stands allowing time for a new, better version that addresses the big problems in the law. This would be a huge victory for those of us who believe that liberty is non-negotiable. The tide is turning in Congress. Leaders in Washington are beginning to demand accountability from the Bush administration on everything from Iraq to the use of torture. Now it looks like President Bush's plan to pass a new and more dangerous version of the Patriot Act is also in trouble.1 In 2001, only one senator voted against the Patriot Act. Since then, people from all across the political spectrum have come to realize that the Patriot Act strikes a blow to the fundamental rights, liberties, and privacy of all Americans. Protecting freedom is something that all of us progressives and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans can agree on. That's why a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Larry Craig, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski and Democrats Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin and Ken Salazar, have been working to fix the Patriot Act. They have vowed to fight the most egregious provisions and filibuster reauthorization if necessary. We need to show them that we have their backs. The Patriot Act that the president wants them to pass now goes too far and doesn't protect the privacy of innocent Americans. It doesn't address some of the biggest problems in the law. For example: 2 The government can obtain your private records, like medical, library, school, and other records without showing any connection between your activities and and a suspected foreign terrorist. Some 30,000 National Security Letters ("NSLs") are issued each year to obtain private records, 3 and the recipients of those NSLs are under a gag order that is almost impossible to overturn. But the Patriot Act does nothing to address these abusive powers. The government is allowed to get "sneak and peek" search warrants to search a home or business and doesn't have to tell the owner of the premises for a month. This power can be used in cases that don't have anything to do with terrorism. Right now, the Patriot Act is just bad law about to get worse and leaders in the Washington are actually willing to try to block it. We can't let our only chance to fix it slip away without a fight. Hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition like this will show the Senate how serious Americans are about protecting their constitutional freedoms. Will you sign the petition and show your support for filibustering a Patriot Act that doesn't include privacy protections?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=3
Together, we can make sure we're safe and our freedom is safe, too. Thanks for all you do.
Eli, Nita, Ben, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Tuesday, December 13th, 2005 Sources:
1. ACLU: Reform the Patriot Act
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/
2. ACLU: Summary of Patriot Reauthorization Act Conference Report
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/patriotdraft.html
3. "The FBI's Secret Scrutiny," Washington Post, November 6, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1263
Informant: Scott Munson
MoveOn.org Political Action: Stop the Patriot Act
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=1
Two days to stop the Patriot Act
Now is the time to take a stand on the Patriot Act. Senators from both parties have vowed to fight reauthorization by filibuster if necessary until it includes needed reforms. Can you help us reach our goal of 250,000 signatures to show support for filibustering the Patriot Act? Stop the Patriot Act Dear MoveOn member, A bipartisan group of senators have agreed to fight the Patriot Act by filibuster if necessary. The law currently goes too far in curtailing our civil liberties and they're fighting back. The Senate will vote as soon as Thursday. This is the time to act. This is a huge moment. Senators from both parties are standing together to protect privacy and liberty in a time of war—and they're ready to go all the way. It's important to support them and to show those who are still on the fence how important this issue is to you. Will you help us reach 250,000 signatures on our petition by Thursday so we can deliver them in time for the vote?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=2
If this filibuster holds, Congress could vote to temporarily extend the Patriot Act as it stands allowing time for a new, better version that addresses the big problems in the law. This would be a huge victory for those of us who believe that liberty is non-negotiable. The tide is turning in Congress. Leaders in Washington are beginning to demand accountability from the Bush administration on everything from Iraq to the use of torture. Now it looks like President Bush's plan to pass a new and more dangerous version of the Patriot Act is also in trouble.1 In 2001, only one senator voted against the Patriot Act. Since then, people from all across the political spectrum have come to realize that the Patriot Act strikes a blow to the fundamental rights, liberties, and privacy of all Americans. Protecting freedom is something that all of us progressives and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans can agree on. That's why a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Larry Craig, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski and Democrats Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin and Ken Salazar, have been working to fix the Patriot Act. They have vowed to fight the most egregious provisions and filibuster reauthorization if necessary. We need to show them that we have their backs. The Patriot Act that the president wants them to pass now goes too far and doesn't protect the privacy of innocent Americans. It doesn't address some of the biggest problems in the law. For example: 2 The government can obtain your private records, like medical, library, school, and other records without showing any connection between your activities and and a suspected foreign terrorist. Some 30,000 National Security Letters ("NSLs") are issued each year to obtain private records, 3 and the recipients of those NSLs are under a gag order that is almost impossible to overturn. But the Patriot Act does nothing to address these abusive powers. The government is allowed to get "sneak and peek" search warrants to search a home or business and doesn't have to tell the owner of the premises for a month. This power can be used in cases that don't have anything to do with terrorism. Right now, the Patriot Act is just bad law about to get worse and leaders in the Washington are actually willing to try to block it. We can't let our only chance to fix it slip away without a fight. Hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition like this will show the Senate how serious Americans are about protecting their constitutional freedoms. Will you sign the petition and show your support for filibustering a Patriot Act that doesn't include privacy protections?
http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=3
Together, we can make sure we're safe and our freedom is safe, too. Thanks for all you do.
Eli, Nita, Ben, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Tuesday, December 13th, 2005 Sources:
1. ACLU: Reform the Patriot Act
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/
2. ACLU: Summary of Patriot Reauthorization Act Conference Report
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/patriotdraft.html
3. "The FBI's Secret Scrutiny," Washington Post, November 6, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1263
Informant: Scott Munson
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:43
The Abramoff primer
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:36
US Actively Engaged In War Crimes
HEADLINES and NEWS LINKS Courtesy of TvNewsLies.org
http://tvnewslies.org/news
TVNL RADIO LIVE! NOON to 2! ET TODAY!
http://tvnewslies.org/html/radio_show.html
Dec.13-2005 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:
http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#rights
· Iraqi Ministry Denies Captives Were Abused · Reduced to double talk in defending torture policy · CIA abduction claims 'credible' - Allegations that the CIA abducted and illegally transported terror suspects across European borders are credible, an investigator has said.
**United States Is Actively Engaged In War Crimes - Some times it is hard to admit that we have leaders in Washington, DC that have no conscience, no morals, no integrity, no humaneness. What they do in our name, as if they were doing us all a favor, turns to true tragedy and they just keep on as business as usual in our national capital.
WAR : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#war
· Suicide Car Bomber Attacks U.S. Patrol in Baghdad - killing at least 25 people, including several children and an American soldier, news services and the military reported. · A war and its fearsome consequences: How the world has changed post-Iraq · Iraq Sunni politician shot dead
ECONOMY : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news#economy
· Two countries, one booming, one struggling: which one followed the free-trade route? - A look at Vietnam and Mexico exposes the myth of market liberalisation
9/11 News : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#911
· High-Level Officials Warn of Fake Terror - A variety of current and former high-level officials have recently warned that the Bush administration is attempting to instill a dictatorship in America, and will itself carry out a fake terrorist attack in order to obtain one.
DOMESTIC : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#domestic
· Justices To Review DeLay-Led Districting · US ex-gang boss Williams executed . · Maine governor signs trade deal with Cuba, calls for better relations · DIEBOLD CEO WALDEN O'DELL RESIGNS! · Rumor of levee dynamite persists
ENVIRONMENT : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#environment
· Extinction alert for 800 species · EU backs landmark chemicals law · Record Drought Cripples Life Along the Amazon
INTERNATIONAL : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#international
· Trade battle starts in Hong Kong · Car bomb kills anti-Syrian MP Tueni in Beirut
JOURNALISM & MEDIA : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#media
· Was the Golden Globe News Coverage Sufficient? - Did you listen to the vital analysis and points raised by the "journalists" on TV? Did you puke? Did you grow old waiting for some real news?
HEALTH & SCIENCE : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#health
· Violent video games alter brain's response to violence
Informant: Scott Munson
http://tvnewslies.org/news
TVNL RADIO LIVE! NOON to 2! ET TODAY!
http://tvnewslies.org/html/radio_show.html
Dec.13-2005 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:
http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#rights
· Iraqi Ministry Denies Captives Were Abused · Reduced to double talk in defending torture policy · CIA abduction claims 'credible' - Allegations that the CIA abducted and illegally transported terror suspects across European borders are credible, an investigator has said.
**United States Is Actively Engaged In War Crimes - Some times it is hard to admit that we have leaders in Washington, DC that have no conscience, no morals, no integrity, no humaneness. What they do in our name, as if they were doing us all a favor, turns to true tragedy and they just keep on as business as usual in our national capital.
WAR : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#war
· Suicide Car Bomber Attacks U.S. Patrol in Baghdad - killing at least 25 people, including several children and an American soldier, news services and the military reported. · A war and its fearsome consequences: How the world has changed post-Iraq · Iraq Sunni politician shot dead
ECONOMY : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news#economy
· Two countries, one booming, one struggling: which one followed the free-trade route? - A look at Vietnam and Mexico exposes the myth of market liberalisation
9/11 News : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#911
· High-Level Officials Warn of Fake Terror - A variety of current and former high-level officials have recently warned that the Bush administration is attempting to instill a dictatorship in America, and will itself carry out a fake terrorist attack in order to obtain one.
DOMESTIC : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#domestic
· Justices To Review DeLay-Led Districting · US ex-gang boss Williams executed . · Maine governor signs trade deal with Cuba, calls for better relations · DIEBOLD CEO WALDEN O'DELL RESIGNS! · Rumor of levee dynamite persists
ENVIRONMENT : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#environment
· Extinction alert for 800 species · EU backs landmark chemicals law · Record Drought Cripples Life Along the Amazon
INTERNATIONAL : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#international
· Trade battle starts in Hong Kong · Car bomb kills anti-Syrian MP Tueni in Beirut
JOURNALISM & MEDIA : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#media
· Was the Golden Globe News Coverage Sufficient? - Did you listen to the vital analysis and points raised by the "journalists" on TV? Did you puke? Did you grow old waiting for some real news?
HEALTH & SCIENCE : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#health
· Violent video games alter brain's response to violence
Informant: Scott Munson
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:32
2005 Federal Budget: Misplaced and Uncompassionate Priorities
This is important to know.
fyi -- of interest .... claire
On December 8, 2005, the Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives presented a new, modified federal budget for 2006 and beyond. The President and the Republican leadership are saying that the costs associated with rebuilding the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina have driven up the national deficit to an unacceptable level. They claim that this new budget was necessary in order to "offset" these rebuilding costs. I voted against this budget proposal, below are my reason for doing so.
Misplaced and Uncompassionate Priorities
The proposed budget would cut funding for vital social services such as health care, child care, education, and veterans benefits. Spending for the war in Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, however, will remain intact. It would seem that the Majority has a double standard when it comes to spending the American taxpayers' money. Apparently, it is acceptable to drive up the deficit to unprecedented levels with tax cuts for the rich and for an ill advised war; yet, when Americans need help to recover from a natural disaster, budget "offsets" suddenly become necessary. In a cruel irony, the "offsets" are targeted at precisely the programs that Katrina's victims need most.
Cut are proposed in the following programs:
Medicaid
The budget proposal includes cuts to Medicaid of $13.4 billion over five years (when offset by $1.5 billion in new spending, creates a net cut of $11.9 billion, $3.3 million in Michigan alone). This legislation will also impose new premiums and cost sharing for many poor, mostly elderly, Medicaid beneficiaries, making it more expensive to visit a doctor or go to the hospital. For the first time, this bill allows health care providers to refuse care if a Medicaid recipient cannot afford the new co-payment.
Food Stamps
Two new provisions will cut $844 million from the food stamp budget by taking food stamps away from 300,000 Americans and legal immigrants. Additionally, with these new cuts, over 40 states will opt to coordinate their eligibility rules so that families must now meet a separate income test specific to the Food Stamp Program which would cause an additional estimated 225,000 people to lose food stamps.
Child Care
The budget proposal would double the hourly work requirement under TANF for parents of children under six, from 20 to 40 hours a week, but provide only $500 million in additional funding for child care over the next five years. Consequently, 100,000 children presently eligible will not receive child care assistance over the next five years.
In addition, under the increased work requirements, states' costs for child care will increase by an estimated $4.1 billion over the next five years. As a result, 270,000 children of low-wage working parents who are not on welfare will likely lose their child care assistance.
Child Support
The proposed budget cuts 4.9 billion from child support enforcement programs. Reduced enforcement will decrease child support payments by $8 billion over the next five years and $21.3 billion over the next ten years, depriving many children of necessary assistance.
Foster Care
The proposal will cut $600 million in assistance for abused and neglected children who are in foster care, many of them with grandparents and other relatives. Unless states devote new resources to foster care, services will be cut, and caseloads will increase in a system that is already overburdened and under funded.
Education
The new budget will cut $14.3 billion from federal student aid programs through 2010. At a time when federal student aid is not keeping pace with rising college costs, these budget cuts will make a quality college education even more expensive for students and families. Included in these cuts are nearly $8 billion in new charges to students and families that will raise the cost of their college loans. As a result of these cuts, the typical student borrower, already saddled with $17,500 in debt, will be forced to pay an additional $5,800 for his or her college loans.
Veterans Health Care
In a time when many American soldiers are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seriously wounded and with lifelong debilitating injuries, the Republicans' budget will cut more than $600 million dollars from the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaving nearly
100,000 veterans without health care services.
While I am vehemently opposed to balancing the budget on the backs of America's middle and lower class, I acknowledge that the size of the current deficit is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. For that reason I support the Democratic alternative budget. This alternative would balance the budget by 2012, have a smaller deficit than the Republican budget every year, accumulate less debt, and wasted fewer resources on interest payments needed to service the national debt. To read more about the Democratic Budget visit:
http://www.house.gov/budget_democrats/analyses/06fact_sheets_for_budget_debate.pdf
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Member of Congress
note from claire: if -- upon reading this, you are driven to call and voice your opinion -- the capital switchboard number is: Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Claire McGee Oregon District 5 Congressional Leader U.S. Department of Peace http://www.dopcampaign.org
Pete Sorenson for Governor
if you work for peace, stop paying for war claire@coalitionofthemajority.org
Informant: smilingmoon14
fyi -- of interest .... claire
On December 8, 2005, the Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives presented a new, modified federal budget for 2006 and beyond. The President and the Republican leadership are saying that the costs associated with rebuilding the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina have driven up the national deficit to an unacceptable level. They claim that this new budget was necessary in order to "offset" these rebuilding costs. I voted against this budget proposal, below are my reason for doing so.
Misplaced and Uncompassionate Priorities
The proposed budget would cut funding for vital social services such as health care, child care, education, and veterans benefits. Spending for the war in Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, however, will remain intact. It would seem that the Majority has a double standard when it comes to spending the American taxpayers' money. Apparently, it is acceptable to drive up the deficit to unprecedented levels with tax cuts for the rich and for an ill advised war; yet, when Americans need help to recover from a natural disaster, budget "offsets" suddenly become necessary. In a cruel irony, the "offsets" are targeted at precisely the programs that Katrina's victims need most.
Cut are proposed in the following programs:
Medicaid
The budget proposal includes cuts to Medicaid of $13.4 billion over five years (when offset by $1.5 billion in new spending, creates a net cut of $11.9 billion, $3.3 million in Michigan alone). This legislation will also impose new premiums and cost sharing for many poor, mostly elderly, Medicaid beneficiaries, making it more expensive to visit a doctor or go to the hospital. For the first time, this bill allows health care providers to refuse care if a Medicaid recipient cannot afford the new co-payment.
Food Stamps
Two new provisions will cut $844 million from the food stamp budget by taking food stamps away from 300,000 Americans and legal immigrants. Additionally, with these new cuts, over 40 states will opt to coordinate their eligibility rules so that families must now meet a separate income test specific to the Food Stamp Program which would cause an additional estimated 225,000 people to lose food stamps.
Child Care
The budget proposal would double the hourly work requirement under TANF for parents of children under six, from 20 to 40 hours a week, but provide only $500 million in additional funding for child care over the next five years. Consequently, 100,000 children presently eligible will not receive child care assistance over the next five years.
In addition, under the increased work requirements, states' costs for child care will increase by an estimated $4.1 billion over the next five years. As a result, 270,000 children of low-wage working parents who are not on welfare will likely lose their child care assistance.
Child Support
The proposed budget cuts 4.9 billion from child support enforcement programs. Reduced enforcement will decrease child support payments by $8 billion over the next five years and $21.3 billion over the next ten years, depriving many children of necessary assistance.
Foster Care
The proposal will cut $600 million in assistance for abused and neglected children who are in foster care, many of them with grandparents and other relatives. Unless states devote new resources to foster care, services will be cut, and caseloads will increase in a system that is already overburdened and under funded.
Education
The new budget will cut $14.3 billion from federal student aid programs through 2010. At a time when federal student aid is not keeping pace with rising college costs, these budget cuts will make a quality college education even more expensive for students and families. Included in these cuts are nearly $8 billion in new charges to students and families that will raise the cost of their college loans. As a result of these cuts, the typical student borrower, already saddled with $17,500 in debt, will be forced to pay an additional $5,800 for his or her college loans.
Veterans Health Care
In a time when many American soldiers are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seriously wounded and with lifelong debilitating injuries, the Republicans' budget will cut more than $600 million dollars from the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaving nearly
100,000 veterans without health care services.
While I am vehemently opposed to balancing the budget on the backs of America's middle and lower class, I acknowledge that the size of the current deficit is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. For that reason I support the Democratic alternative budget. This alternative would balance the budget by 2012, have a smaller deficit than the Republican budget every year, accumulate less debt, and wasted fewer resources on interest payments needed to service the national debt. To read more about the Democratic Budget visit:
http://www.house.gov/budget_democrats/analyses/06fact_sheets_for_budget_debate.pdf
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Member of Congress
note from claire: if -- upon reading this, you are driven to call and voice your opinion -- the capital switchboard number is: Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Claire McGee Oregon District 5 Congressional Leader U.S. Department of Peace http://www.dopcampaign.org
Pete Sorenson for Governor
if you work for peace, stop paying for war claire@coalitionofthemajority.org
Informant: smilingmoon14
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:29
Handy im Auto: Gehirn schaltet nur langsam um
13. Dezember 2005
Auch Freisprechanlagen riskant - Forscher führten Tests zu Single- und Multi-Tasking durch - Mehr als verdoppelte Reaktionszeit Trennlinie Foto: APA/Schneider
Nur zeitverzögert multi-tasking-fähig: Gleichzeitiges Autofahren und Telefonieren kann die Reaktionszeit mehr als verdoppeln. Link Oregon State University Wien - Autofahren und Telefonieren - auch mit Freisprechanlage - sind laut Experten keine gute Kombination. Wissenschafter der Oregon State University haben nun herausgefunden, dass es das Umschalten im Gehirn zwischen verschiedenen Aufgaben ist, das zu verzögerten Reaktionen führt.
Die Psychologie-Professorin Mei-Ching Lien hat dazu verschiedene Labor-Versuche unternommen, bei denen Probanden mit einzelnen (single-tasking) oder mehrfachen (multi-tasking) Aufgaben gleichzeitig konfrontiert werden. So mussten die Versuchspersonen beim single-tasking beispielsweise immer wieder auf das Erscheinen von rotem Licht reagieren, etwa durch einen Tastendruck quittieren. Obwohl es individuelle Unterschiede gab, lag die typische Reaktionszeit bei etwa 300 Millisekunden.
Reaktionszeit mehr als verdoppelt
Dann fügten die Wissenschafter in den Versuchsaufbau eine zweite, von der ersten sich unterscheidende Aufgabe ein. Die Probanden mussten beispielsweise eine bestimmte Form erkennen und darauf reagieren. Das Wechseln führte zu deutlichen verzögerten Reaktionszeiten, auch wenn die Versuchspersonen darauf vorbereitet waren. "Die Einführung einer zweiten Aufgabe erhöhte die Reaktionszeiten auf etwa 800 Millisekunden", so die Forscherin.
Für Lien sind die Experimente durchaus mit Autofahren und dabei Telefonieren vergleichbar. Auch wenn es viele Menschen glauben, dass beides mehr oder weniger automatisch abläuft, bedarf es doch des ständigen Umschaltens zwischen den komplexen Anforderungen des Verkehrs und etwa der Beantwortung einer Frage des Telefonpartners. Dabei sind die Reaktionszeiten jeweils verlängert. Bei einer Geschwindigkeit von 100 Kilometer pro Stunde macht die Verlängerung der Reaktionszeit von 300 auf 800 Millisekunden einen Weg von 14 Metern aus, eine Strecke, die entscheidend sein kann.
Für die Psychologin ist es auch ein Unterschied, ob ein Autofahrer telefoniert, oder sich mit einem Beifahrer unterhält. Wird es im Verkehr brenzlig, kann sich der Beifahrer danach richten und ruhig sein. Ein Gesprächspartner am Telefon kann das nicht. (APA)
http://derstandard.at/?id=2273532
Auch Freisprechanlagen riskant - Forscher führten Tests zu Single- und Multi-Tasking durch - Mehr als verdoppelte Reaktionszeit Trennlinie Foto: APA/Schneider
Nur zeitverzögert multi-tasking-fähig: Gleichzeitiges Autofahren und Telefonieren kann die Reaktionszeit mehr als verdoppeln. Link Oregon State University Wien - Autofahren und Telefonieren - auch mit Freisprechanlage - sind laut Experten keine gute Kombination. Wissenschafter der Oregon State University haben nun herausgefunden, dass es das Umschalten im Gehirn zwischen verschiedenen Aufgaben ist, das zu verzögerten Reaktionen führt.
Die Psychologie-Professorin Mei-Ching Lien hat dazu verschiedene Labor-Versuche unternommen, bei denen Probanden mit einzelnen (single-tasking) oder mehrfachen (multi-tasking) Aufgaben gleichzeitig konfrontiert werden. So mussten die Versuchspersonen beim single-tasking beispielsweise immer wieder auf das Erscheinen von rotem Licht reagieren, etwa durch einen Tastendruck quittieren. Obwohl es individuelle Unterschiede gab, lag die typische Reaktionszeit bei etwa 300 Millisekunden.
Reaktionszeit mehr als verdoppelt
Dann fügten die Wissenschafter in den Versuchsaufbau eine zweite, von der ersten sich unterscheidende Aufgabe ein. Die Probanden mussten beispielsweise eine bestimmte Form erkennen und darauf reagieren. Das Wechseln führte zu deutlichen verzögerten Reaktionszeiten, auch wenn die Versuchspersonen darauf vorbereitet waren. "Die Einführung einer zweiten Aufgabe erhöhte die Reaktionszeiten auf etwa 800 Millisekunden", so die Forscherin.
Für Lien sind die Experimente durchaus mit Autofahren und dabei Telefonieren vergleichbar. Auch wenn es viele Menschen glauben, dass beides mehr oder weniger automatisch abläuft, bedarf es doch des ständigen Umschaltens zwischen den komplexen Anforderungen des Verkehrs und etwa der Beantwortung einer Frage des Telefonpartners. Dabei sind die Reaktionszeiten jeweils verlängert. Bei einer Geschwindigkeit von 100 Kilometer pro Stunde macht die Verlängerung der Reaktionszeit von 300 auf 800 Millisekunden einen Weg von 14 Metern aus, eine Strecke, die entscheidend sein kann.
Für die Psychologin ist es auch ein Unterschied, ob ein Autofahrer telefoniert, oder sich mit einem Beifahrer unterhält. Wird es im Verkehr brenzlig, kann sich der Beifahrer danach richten und ruhig sein. Ein Gesprächspartner am Telefon kann das nicht. (APA)
http://derstandard.at/?id=2273532
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:23
Next up News 14 Dec
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:16
No Talk and No Action
McKibben laments the tragic intransigence of the US at the Montreal climate talks, calling it "too painful to watch." Yet he lauds the courageous young people who took to the streets to demand action and "let Harlan Exxon Watson know that they knew he was the lamest sort of tool."
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/121305EC.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/121305EC.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:12
More Blacks Live with Pollution
An Associated Press analysis of a little-known government research project shows that black Americans are 79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where industrial pollution is suspected of posing the greatest health danger.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121305T.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121305T.shtml
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:10
An Increasingly Aerial Occupation
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:09
Smog Air Pollution Worsening in National Parks
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:06
Senators Must Stand For Innocent Americans and Bill of Rights
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:06
McCarthy Courage Sorely Lacking Today
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:05
If Democrats Only Had Some Courage
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:03
Liberal Protesters Target GOP Budget
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:02
War and its Consequences: World Changes Post-Iraq
Starmail - 14. Dez, 11:01
WHO and EHS "factsheet"
Latest from WHO on EHS:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/print.html
‘Electromagnetic fields and public health; Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity’.
Note the advice on limiting exposure differs from that from Jill Meara at the Health Protection Agency, in saying if the kitchen is too hot, stay there: just think cool.
Echoes from recent WHO advice not to measure EMFs because the worry might make it worse.
Which itself is an interesting observation, since EMFs as a biological stressor are what it's all about. Worry might indeed make EHS worse, by the same route that EMFs cause it.
And see how definitive the Rubin and Wessely paper (American Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine) is becoming in refuting any connection between EMF and EHS.
And so the inexorable march of Ideopathic Environmental Intolerance (IEI), in which the soaring modern dis-eases are apparently none of our own making. While we pollute and destroy our environment, indeed our planet, we are supposed to feel good again, with a pill and a bit of cognitive behavioural therapy.
Andy
--------
WHO, EMF, Electromagnetic Radiation and Mobile Phones
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1194586/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/print.html
‘Electromagnetic fields and public health; Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity’.
Note the advice on limiting exposure differs from that from Jill Meara at the Health Protection Agency, in saying if the kitchen is too hot, stay there: just think cool.
Echoes from recent WHO advice not to measure EMFs because the worry might make it worse.
Which itself is an interesting observation, since EMFs as a biological stressor are what it's all about. Worry might indeed make EHS worse, by the same route that EMFs cause it.
And see how definitive the Rubin and Wessely paper (American Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine) is becoming in refuting any connection between EMF and EHS.
And so the inexorable march of Ideopathic Environmental Intolerance (IEI), in which the soaring modern dis-eases are apparently none of our own making. While we pollute and destroy our environment, indeed our planet, we are supposed to feel good again, with a pill and a bit of cognitive behavioural therapy.
Andy
--------
WHO, EMF, Electromagnetic Radiation and Mobile Phones
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1194586/
Starmail - 14. Dez, 10:35
Conman Pulls Sales Tricks to Market Torture
Starmail - 14. Dez, 10:23
Don't pass the Patriot Act until it provides protections for our constitutional rights and freedoms
***SOS***Urgent Actions needed***Stop the Patriot Act***Time Sensitive Please do your part and forward this message far and wide, right away...Two days, I think we have...The three actions are posted at the end of this message
Okay guys...Some of "US" don't go along with a lot of what the ACLU or MoveOn.org represents and stands for and I don't even know anything about the The Progressive Patriots, yet
But there's no reason we can't join efforts together when we do agree with the issue, is there?
Everyone falls at different ends of the spectrum of opinions and beliefs on all issues in a wide variety of combinations and we know it's not possible to agree on every issue
But we can still work together whenever possible...We have to...
Every bit of energy does help...especially when added to every other effort
I just called my representatives here in Ohio and was told they both have not released their positions on the patriot act yet...I had a lot to say...I wanted them to know I was a registered voter to help insure the correct decision
Please make those calls and sign these two petitions...Our future and lives depend on it...Don't wait for others to do it...That has never worked
Sincerely,
Marsha
#1 Click here to take action>>>American Civil Liberties Union:
http://tinyurl.com/8zl3r
#2 Sign Petition to Stop The Patriot Act !
MoveOn.org Political Action: Stop the Patriot Act
Address: http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=1
#3 Click here: Progressive Patriots http://tinyurl.com/7dk8t
Okay guys...Some of "US" don't go along with a lot of what the ACLU or MoveOn.org represents and stands for and I don't even know anything about the The Progressive Patriots, yet
But there's no reason we can't join efforts together when we do agree with the issue, is there?
Everyone falls at different ends of the spectrum of opinions and beliefs on all issues in a wide variety of combinations and we know it's not possible to agree on every issue
But we can still work together whenever possible...We have to...
Every bit of energy does help...especially when added to every other effort
I just called my representatives here in Ohio and was told they both have not released their positions on the patriot act yet...I had a lot to say...I wanted them to know I was a registered voter to help insure the correct decision
Please make those calls and sign these two petitions...Our future and lives depend on it...Don't wait for others to do it...That has never worked
Sincerely,
Marsha
#1 Click here to take action>>>American Civil Liberties Union:
http://tinyurl.com/8zl3r
#2 Sign Petition to Stop The Patriot Act !
MoveOn.org Political Action: Stop the Patriot Act
Address: http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-548767-VYuskRzuL0YFm9x2Iiw2tQ&t=1
#3 Click here: Progressive Patriots http://tinyurl.com/7dk8t
Starmail - 14. Dez, 10:20
The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis
BALTIMORE, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. budget deficit increased 43% in November, to $83.1 billion, the largest November deficit on record. So far this fiscal year, which began October 1, 2005, the government is $130 billion in the hole, after being down $115 billion this time last year. And as one best-selling author warns, this dangerous trend has dire consequences for every American. In the New York Times bestseller Empire of Debt, co-authors Addison Wiggin and Bill Bonner write, "When people cannot pay their debts, they do not pay them. But the debts do not cease to exist." Wiggin warns this is as true with governments as it is with people. "Even Washington can't spend more than it earns forever," he says. "Yet the American people don't seem to realize that they're the ones who will be stuck with the bill." Wiggin points out that the American Debt Clock totals over $26,000 per citizen. "That's a trend that we might call 'unsustainable.' The total US debt crested $8 trillion in October. That's two-thirds of the total US GDP. If we were paying it, that would be 6 out of every 10 dollars earned in the economy going to pay off debt." Unfortunately, Wiggin says, just the opposite is happening. Following Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. House of Representatives passed four tax-cutting bills, which eliminated $94.5 billion in revenue from the federal budget. The total cost of rebuilding in the Gulf will exceed twice the total spending cuts approved last month. "Of course, voters like it when politicians cut taxes," Wiggin says. "But from a financial standpoint, it's pointless if you're increasing spending at the same time." For more from Addison Wiggin, see http://www.dailyreckoning.com . Addison Wiggin is editorial director and publisher of The Daily Reckoning. He is also the co-author, along with Bill Bonner, of the recently released New York Times bestseller, Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis. Brought to you by Agora Financial, and written by the NY Times best- selling authors Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin, The Daily Reckoning is a daily, free e-letter that weaves information about the financial world, investing and everyday life into an educational and entertaining format that has been engaging their readers for over six years.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-13-2005/0004233256&EDATE=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law
Informant: beefree
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-13-2005/0004233256&EDATE=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law
Informant: beefree
Starmail - 14. Dez, 10:07
The Weekly Standard’s War
Starmail - 14. Dez, 10:00
The Fair Tax Scam
Laurence Vance on another big-government trick.
http://lewrockwell.com/orig6/fair-tax.html
http://lewrockwell.com/orig6/fair-tax.html
Starmail - 14. Dez, 09:57
WHAT DOES 'BY THE PEOPLE' MEAN TO YOU?
Starmail - 14. Dez, 09:54
Leon County (Florida) supervisor of elections Ion Sancho will never again use Diebold in an election
BREAKING: Due to contractual non-performance and security design issues, Leon County (Florida) supervisor of elections Ion Sancho told Black Box Voting that he will never again use Diebold in an election. He has requested funds to replace the Diebold system from the county. He will issue a formal announcement to this effect shortly.
Finnish security expert Harri Hursti proved that Diebold lied to Secretaries of State across the nation when Diebold claimed votes could not be changed on the memory card.
A test election was run in Leon County today with a total of eight ballots - six ballots voted "no" on a ballot question as to whether Diebold voting machines can be hacked or not. Two ballots, cast by Dr. Herbert Thompson and by Harri Hursti voted "yes" indicating a belief that the Diebold machines could be hacked.
At the beginning of the test election the memory card programmed by Harri Hursti was inserted into an Optical Scan Diebold voting machine. A "zero report" was run indicating zero votes on the memory card. In fact, however, Hursti had pre-loaded the memory card with plus and minus votes.
The eight ballots were run through the optical scan machine. The standard Diebold-supplied "ender card" was run through as is normal procedure ending the election. A results tape was run from the voting machine.
Correct results should have been:
Yes:2 No:6
However, just as Hursti had planned, the results tape read:
Yes:7 No:1
The results were then uploaded from the optical scan voting machine into the GEMS central tabulator. The central tabulator is the "mother ship" that pulls in all votes from voting machines. The results in the central tabulator read:
Yes:7 No:1
This exploit, accomplished without being given any password and with the same level of access given thousands of poll workers across the USA, showed that the votes themselves were changed in a one-step process. This hack would not be detected in any normal canvassing procedure, and it required only a single a credit-card sized memory card.
On Oct. 17, 2005 Diebold Elections Systems Research and Development chief Pat Green specifically told the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) board of elections that votes cannot be changed using only a memory card. Video of Pat Green, Cuyahoga County
According to Public Records responses obtained by Black Box Voting in response to our requests shows that Diebold promulgated this misrepresentation to as many as 800 state and local elections officials.
In other news, according to "Bradblog" a stockholder suit was filed today against Diebold by the law offices of Scott and Scott:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm
Informant: mojo_j_2000
Finnish security expert Harri Hursti proved that Diebold lied to Secretaries of State across the nation when Diebold claimed votes could not be changed on the memory card.
A test election was run in Leon County today with a total of eight ballots - six ballots voted "no" on a ballot question as to whether Diebold voting machines can be hacked or not. Two ballots, cast by Dr. Herbert Thompson and by Harri Hursti voted "yes" indicating a belief that the Diebold machines could be hacked.
At the beginning of the test election the memory card programmed by Harri Hursti was inserted into an Optical Scan Diebold voting machine. A "zero report" was run indicating zero votes on the memory card. In fact, however, Hursti had pre-loaded the memory card with plus and minus votes.
The eight ballots were run through the optical scan machine. The standard Diebold-supplied "ender card" was run through as is normal procedure ending the election. A results tape was run from the voting machine.
Correct results should have been:
Yes:2 No:6
However, just as Hursti had planned, the results tape read:
Yes:7 No:1
The results were then uploaded from the optical scan voting machine into the GEMS central tabulator. The central tabulator is the "mother ship" that pulls in all votes from voting machines. The results in the central tabulator read:
Yes:7 No:1
This exploit, accomplished without being given any password and with the same level of access given thousands of poll workers across the USA, showed that the votes themselves were changed in a one-step process. This hack would not be detected in any normal canvassing procedure, and it required only a single a credit-card sized memory card.
On Oct. 17, 2005 Diebold Elections Systems Research and Development chief Pat Green specifically told the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) board of elections that votes cannot be changed using only a memory card. Video of Pat Green, Cuyahoga County
According to Public Records responses obtained by Black Box Voting in response to our requests shows that Diebold promulgated this misrepresentation to as many as 800 state and local elections officials.
In other news, according to "Bradblog" a stockholder suit was filed today against Diebold by the law offices of Scott and Scott:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm
Informant: mojo_j_2000
Starmail - 14. Dez, 09:53
Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc.
EXCLUSIVE: SECURITIES FRAUD LITIGATION FILED AGAINST DIEBOLD, INC! Eight Current and Former Executives Named as Co-Defendants, Including former CEO O'Dell and New CEO Swidarski.
Class Action Suit Alleges Fraud, Insider Trading, Manipulation of Stock Prices, Concealment of Known Flaws in Voting Machines and Company Structural Problems.
The BRAD BLOG can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. (stock symbol: DBD) naming eight top executive officers in the company as co-defendants. The suit has been filed by plaintiff Janice Konkol, alleging securities fraud against the North Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of Voting Systems and ATM machines on behalf of investors who owned shares of Diebold stock and lost money due to an alleged fraudulent scheme by the company and its executives to deceive shareholders during the "class period" of October 22, 2003 through September 21, 2005.
The suit was filed today in U.S. Federal District Court in Ohio and alleges the company "artificially inflated" stock prices through misleading public information designed to conceal the true nature of Diebold's financial and legal situation. The defendants are also alleged to have attempted to disguise well-known and ongoing problems with Diebold's Voting Machine equipment and software. Additionally, the suit alleges insider trading by defendants resulting in proceeds of $2.7 million. Remedies are sought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The suit, filed by the law firm Scott+Scott, LLC on behalf of Konkol and the plaintiff class, names former Diebold CEO and Chairman, Walden O'Dell as a co-defendant along with seven other current and former officers of the once-venerable company.
News of the pending litigation was first reported as imminent in an exclusive report by The BRAD BLOG late last week.
Yesterday, in a surprise announcement, O'Dell unexpectedly resigned from the company. A Diebold press release described O'Dell as leaving the company for "personal reasons". He was immediately replaced by the company's president and chief operating officer, Thomas W. Swidarski, who had directly overseen Diebold's Election Systems subsidiary division for some time. Swidarski is also named as a co-defendant in today's class action suit.
After news was released of weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on September 21, Diebold stock prices plummeted 15.5% in unusually heavy trading that resulted in a one day sell-off costing investors more than $40 million dollars. The complaint describes Diebold and the co-defendants as having "failed to disclose adverse facts known" to the company and that they "participated in a fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud."
The suit, to be released in full by The BRAD BLOG shortly, alleges Diebold and the eight co-defendants failed to alert investors to adverse facts known to the company, choosing instead to participate in a "fraudulent scheme and course of business" that operated as a fraud or deceit on the company's shareholders.
The suit describes the liabilities of the company and co-defendants as follows...
Each defendant is liable for (a) making false statements, or (b) failing to disclose adverse facts known to him about Diebold. Defendants' fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit on purchasers of Diebold publicly traded securities was a success, as it (a) deceived the investing public regarding Diebold's prospects and business; (b) artificially inflated the prices of Diebold's publicly traded securities; (c) allowed insiders to sell over 51,000 shares of Diebold stock, for proceeds of $2.7 million; and (d) caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase Diebold's publicly traded securities at inflated prices.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm
Informant: beefree
--------
Is Diebold the next Enron? Is Diebold TOAST? I'd like to think so, but even in the unlikely event Diebold goes under, no doubt their fraudulent voting machines will remain in use around the country because "it would be too expensive to replace them."
Diebold machines - $5000 each. Democracy - priceless.
No mention of this in the mainstream media, yet, that I can find.
Margie
EXCLUSIVE: SECURITIES FRAUD LITIGATION FILED AGAINST DIEBOLD, INC!
Eight Current and Former Executives Named as Co-Defendants, Including former CEO O'Dell and New CEO Swidarski Class Action Suit Alleges Fraud, Insider Trading, Manipulation of Stock Prices, Concealment of Known Flaws in Voting Machines and Company Structural Problems
The BRAD BLOG can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. stock symbol: DBD naming eight top executive officers in the...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/ can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. stock symbol: DBD http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DBD&d=t naming eight top executive officers in the company as co-defendants. The suit has been filed by plaintiff Janice Konkol, alleging securities fraud against the North Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of Voting Systems and ATM machines on behalf of investors who owned shares of Diebold stock and lost money due to an alleged fraudulent scheme by the company and its executives to deceive shareholders during the "class period" of October 22, 2003 through September 21, 2005.
The suit was filed today in U.S. Federal District Court in Ohio and alleges the company "artificially inflated" stock prices through misleading public information designed to conceal the true nature of Diebold's financial and legal situation. The defendants are also alleged to have attempted to disguise well-known and ongoing problems with Diebold's Voting Machine equipment and software. Additionally, the suit alleges insider trading by defendants resulting in proceeds of $2.7 million. Remedies are sought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The suit, filed by the law firm Scott+Scott, LLC on behalf of Konkol and the plaintiff class, names former Diebold CEO and Chairman, Walden O'Dell as a co-defendant along with seven other current and former officers of the once-venerable company.
News of the pending litigation was first reported as imminent in an exclusive report by The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002126.htm late last week.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm Yesterday, in a surprise announcement, O'Dell unexpectedly resigned
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002149.htm from the company. A Diebold press release described O'Dell as leaving the company for "personal reasons". He was immediately replaced by the company's president and chief operating officer, Thomas W. Swidarski, who had directly overseen Diebold's Election Systems subsidiary division for some time. Swidarski is also named as a co-defendant in today's class action suit.
After news was released of weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on September 21, Diebold stock prices plummeted 15.5%
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001852.htm in unusually heavy trading that resulted in a one day sell-off costing investors more than $40 million dollars. The complaint describes Diebold and the co-defendants as having "failed to disclose adverse facts known" to the company and that they "participated in a fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud."
The suit, to be released in full by The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/ shortly, alleges Diebold and the eight co-defendants failed to alert investors to adverse facts known to the company, choosing instead to participate in a "fraudulent scheme and course of business" that operated as a fraud or deceit on the company's shareholders.
The suit describes the liabilities of the company and co-defendants as follows...
Each defendant is liable for a making false statements, or b failing to disclose adverse facts known to him about Diebold. Defendants' fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit on purchasers of Diebold publicly traded securities was a success, as it a deceived the investing public regarding Diebold's prospects and business; b artificially inflated the prices of Diebold's publicly traded securities; c allowed insiders to sell over 51,000 shares of Diebold stock, for proceeds of $2.7 million; and caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase Diebold's publicly traded securities at inflated prices.
...THE DEFENDANTS...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm Named as co-defendants in the suit along with former CEO O'Dell and new CEO Swidarski are President of International Operations, Michael J. Hillock; Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions, David Bucci; Interim Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Controller, Kevin J. Krakora; Vice President and Chief Information Officer, John M. Crowther; Senior Vice President and CFO, Gregory T. Geswein; and President and COO, Eric C. Evans. Titles applied to the named co-defendants during the class period. Evans, for example resigned from the company on the same day as the Sep. 21, 2005 announcement. "Each individual defendant," the suit points out, "owed a duty to the Company and its shareholders not to trade on inside information."
The claim cites a number of allegedly misleading news releases pertaining to the fitness and security of election systems as contracted by Diebold in San Diego County in 2003; their settlement for $2.6 million with the state of California in 2004, wherein Diebold is alleged to have concealed "the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company" from investors; and an "astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate" statement about "restructuring charges" in the Sep. 21 announcement.
Once again, quoting from the lawsuit:
During the Class Period, defendants knew and concealed that:
a the Company remained unable to assure the quality and working order of their voting machine products;
b the Company lacked a credible state of internal controls and corporate compliance;
c the 2004 settlement with the State of California served to conceal from investors the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company, impacting product quality, strategic planning, forecasting, guidance, internal controls and corporate compliance;
and
d the Company's "prediction" of astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate restructuring charges for the entire 2005 fiscal year grossly understated the true costs defendants faced to restructure the Company.
The complaint alleges that the company lied to investors about the true costs of its restructuring activities, concealing the fact that Diebold was facing far worse restructuring issues than publicly represented -- indicative of far greater problems than the company was willing to reveal.
For example, the complaint indicates that the problems Diebold faced in California in 2004 were merely the tip of an internal structural iceberg which the company had sought to conceal from investors when they decided to make a settlement in the case. Investors could not know then that the problems revealed by the California litigation in 2004 were a sign of more and deeper internal problems to come. The settlement agreed to by Diebold in that case, the suit alleges, was meant to keep a lid on the larger dimensions of the problems, rather than indicating that the issues at stake had been fully resolved. Press materials released by the company announcing the settlement -- and included in the version of the complaint filed today -- seem to indicate otherwise to investors.
...THE INSIDER...
Additional facets of the company's internal structural problems were revealed in a series of previous BRAD BLOG articles
http://www.bradblog.com/Diebold.htm reporting on an anonymous company insider we dubbed "DIEB-THROAT" who alerted us to the "Cyber Alert Warning"
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB04-252.html#diebold issued by a branch of the Dept. of Homeland Security in August of 2004. That warning concerned the vulnerability to hackers of Diebold's central vote tabulating software prior to last year's Presidential Election. The election watchdog organization BlackBoxVoting.org http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ , who had first discovered the vulnerability, had also recently arranged for a computer security expert to successfully hack into actual Diebold voting machines used in Leon County, Florida without leaving any trace of the manipulation.
It was just several days after our first report on DIEB-THROAT
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001838.htm that stock prices plunged at the company in September. Diebold attempted to blame their troubles, at the time, on bad weather in the gulf which lead our insider source to aver
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001852.htm : "Using Hurricane Katrina is a poor excuse for bad products - the last time this kind of deception occurred it was called Enron."
Internet news site, The RAW STORY http://www.rawstory.com/ recently ran their own interview with DIEB-THROAT
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Dieboldinsiderallegescompanyplagued1206.html revealing still more structural problems within the company and its voting division. The report explained that the company was "plagued by technical woes," even as a Diebold spokesperson claimed the 144-year old company "has a sterling reputation in the industry."
...THE PLAINTIFF...
Plaintiff Konkol, a just-retired 29-year public school employee from Central Wisconsin first invested in Diebold in 1999. She told The BRAD BLOG http://www.bradblog.com/ that she purchased the stock thinking, "ATM's that'd be the way to go." She originally invested $500 which eventually grew to $1400 before falling. She is also invested in Diebold via mutual funds held by the Wisconsin Education Union in which she is a member. Konkol, a 56-year old grandmother of three, recently returned from two weeks of volunteering on the Gulf Coast with several members of her Lutheran church. "We got a big group together and we went down to the Gulf to help out in Katrina."
"I believe in churches...I believe we should practice what we're preached to about," she told us. "I don't like it when big companies take advantage of us little people," she said. "I can't say that I'm anti-big business...I just want things to be fair."
It appears that Scott+Scott, the attorneys associated with the case, are just beginning to learn about the full scope of the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Diebold on investors. Amended complaints with additional details are expected to be filed in the weeks and months to come. Other law firms are also expected to file similar suits which will eventually be consolidated by the Federal District Court hearing the case. Indeed The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/ has been contacted since filing our original report
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002126.htm on this last week, by other firms who are said to be pursuing similar litigation against Diebold.
...THE REFORMERS...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm As one of America's largest Voting Machine Companies along with ES&S, they account for the tabulation of more than 80% of America's votes every election Diebold has been the target of Election Reform advocates for their strong partisan support of Republican causes and candidates, a statement made prior to last year's Presidential Election to Republican fundraisers by O'Dell that he was committed to "delivering the state of Ohio" to George W. Bush, along with their reluctance to include verifiable paper ballots with their voting products and to make the source-code for their software open and available for public inspection.
A recent 100+ page GAO report
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001940.htm , shamefully unreported http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001964.htm by the mainstream media, confirmed many of the Election Reform advocates concerns about the security and vulnerability of Voting Equipment made by Diebold and other such companies. In California, a recent mock election test revealed that some 20% of Diebold touch-screen voting machines failed to operate as expected after being previous decertified for similar failures and vulnerabilities. Despite that, California's Republican Sec. of State Bruce McPherson remarkably is considering re-certifying those same machines in the state which Diebold has described as America's "largest voting market."
Diebold was one of seven major American Voting Machine companies named in Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy"
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/Campaigns/DV4D/ campaign launched on Presidents' Day last February. The campaign demanded accountability and openness by the Voting Machine Companies in what Velvet Revolution deemed a "patriotic duty" to "ensure free, fair and transparent elections" by the private companies entrusted with running our sacred public democracy. The BRAD BLOG http://www.bradblog.com/ is a co-founder of VelvetRevolution.us http://www.velvetrevolution.us/ .
Konkol's complaint as filed today demands "a trial by jury."
The BRAD BLOG http://www.bradblog.com/ will of course, compile an extensive, accurate and verifiable paper trail in regards to this story as it continues to unfold...
UPDATE Scott+Scott, LLC releases news of the case filing in a press release here...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051213/netu036.html?.v=32
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm
Class Action Suit Alleges Fraud, Insider Trading, Manipulation of Stock Prices, Concealment of Known Flaws in Voting Machines and Company Structural Problems.
The BRAD BLOG can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. (stock symbol: DBD) naming eight top executive officers in the company as co-defendants. The suit has been filed by plaintiff Janice Konkol, alleging securities fraud against the North Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of Voting Systems and ATM machines on behalf of investors who owned shares of Diebold stock and lost money due to an alleged fraudulent scheme by the company and its executives to deceive shareholders during the "class period" of October 22, 2003 through September 21, 2005.
The suit was filed today in U.S. Federal District Court in Ohio and alleges the company "artificially inflated" stock prices through misleading public information designed to conceal the true nature of Diebold's financial and legal situation. The defendants are also alleged to have attempted to disguise well-known and ongoing problems with Diebold's Voting Machine equipment and software. Additionally, the suit alleges insider trading by defendants resulting in proceeds of $2.7 million. Remedies are sought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The suit, filed by the law firm Scott+Scott, LLC on behalf of Konkol and the plaintiff class, names former Diebold CEO and Chairman, Walden O'Dell as a co-defendant along with seven other current and former officers of the once-venerable company.
News of the pending litigation was first reported as imminent in an exclusive report by The BRAD BLOG late last week.
Yesterday, in a surprise announcement, O'Dell unexpectedly resigned from the company. A Diebold press release described O'Dell as leaving the company for "personal reasons". He was immediately replaced by the company's president and chief operating officer, Thomas W. Swidarski, who had directly overseen Diebold's Election Systems subsidiary division for some time. Swidarski is also named as a co-defendant in today's class action suit.
After news was released of weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on September 21, Diebold stock prices plummeted 15.5% in unusually heavy trading that resulted in a one day sell-off costing investors more than $40 million dollars. The complaint describes Diebold and the co-defendants as having "failed to disclose adverse facts known" to the company and that they "participated in a fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud."
The suit, to be released in full by The BRAD BLOG shortly, alleges Diebold and the eight co-defendants failed to alert investors to adverse facts known to the company, choosing instead to participate in a "fraudulent scheme and course of business" that operated as a fraud or deceit on the company's shareholders.
The suit describes the liabilities of the company and co-defendants as follows...
Each defendant is liable for (a) making false statements, or (b) failing to disclose adverse facts known to him about Diebold. Defendants' fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit on purchasers of Diebold publicly traded securities was a success, as it (a) deceived the investing public regarding Diebold's prospects and business; (b) artificially inflated the prices of Diebold's publicly traded securities; (c) allowed insiders to sell over 51,000 shares of Diebold stock, for proceeds of $2.7 million; and (d) caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase Diebold's publicly traded securities at inflated prices.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm
Informant: beefree
--------
Is Diebold the next Enron? Is Diebold TOAST? I'd like to think so, but even in the unlikely event Diebold goes under, no doubt their fraudulent voting machines will remain in use around the country because "it would be too expensive to replace them."
Diebold machines - $5000 each. Democracy - priceless.
No mention of this in the mainstream media, yet, that I can find.
Margie
EXCLUSIVE: SECURITIES FRAUD LITIGATION FILED AGAINST DIEBOLD, INC!
Eight Current and Former Executives Named as Co-Defendants, Including former CEO O'Dell and New CEO Swidarski Class Action Suit Alleges Fraud, Insider Trading, Manipulation of Stock Prices, Concealment of Known Flaws in Voting Machines and Company Structural Problems
The BRAD BLOG can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. stock symbol: DBD naming eight top executive officers in the...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/ can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. stock symbol: DBD http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DBD&d=t naming eight top executive officers in the company as co-defendants. The suit has been filed by plaintiff Janice Konkol, alleging securities fraud against the North Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of Voting Systems and ATM machines on behalf of investors who owned shares of Diebold stock and lost money due to an alleged fraudulent scheme by the company and its executives to deceive shareholders during the "class period" of October 22, 2003 through September 21, 2005.
The suit was filed today in U.S. Federal District Court in Ohio and alleges the company "artificially inflated" stock prices through misleading public information designed to conceal the true nature of Diebold's financial and legal situation. The defendants are also alleged to have attempted to disguise well-known and ongoing problems with Diebold's Voting Machine equipment and software. Additionally, the suit alleges insider trading by defendants resulting in proceeds of $2.7 million. Remedies are sought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The suit, filed by the law firm Scott+Scott, LLC on behalf of Konkol and the plaintiff class, names former Diebold CEO and Chairman, Walden O'Dell as a co-defendant along with seven other current and former officers of the once-venerable company.
News of the pending litigation was first reported as imminent in an exclusive report by The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002126.htm late last week.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm Yesterday, in a surprise announcement, O'Dell unexpectedly resigned
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002149.htm from the company. A Diebold press release described O'Dell as leaving the company for "personal reasons". He was immediately replaced by the company's president and chief operating officer, Thomas W. Swidarski, who had directly overseen Diebold's Election Systems subsidiary division for some time. Swidarski is also named as a co-defendant in today's class action suit.
After news was released of weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on September 21, Diebold stock prices plummeted 15.5%
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001852.htm in unusually heavy trading that resulted in a one day sell-off costing investors more than $40 million dollars. The complaint describes Diebold and the co-defendants as having "failed to disclose adverse facts known" to the company and that they "participated in a fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud."
The suit, to be released in full by The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/ shortly, alleges Diebold and the eight co-defendants failed to alert investors to adverse facts known to the company, choosing instead to participate in a "fraudulent scheme and course of business" that operated as a fraud or deceit on the company's shareholders.
The suit describes the liabilities of the company and co-defendants as follows...
Each defendant is liable for a making false statements, or b failing to disclose adverse facts known to him about Diebold. Defendants' fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit on purchasers of Diebold publicly traded securities was a success, as it a deceived the investing public regarding Diebold's prospects and business; b artificially inflated the prices of Diebold's publicly traded securities; c allowed insiders to sell over 51,000 shares of Diebold stock, for proceeds of $2.7 million; and caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase Diebold's publicly traded securities at inflated prices.
...THE DEFENDANTS...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm Named as co-defendants in the suit along with former CEO O'Dell and new CEO Swidarski are President of International Operations, Michael J. Hillock; Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions, David Bucci; Interim Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Controller, Kevin J. Krakora; Vice President and Chief Information Officer, John M. Crowther; Senior Vice President and CFO, Gregory T. Geswein; and President and COO, Eric C. Evans. Titles applied to the named co-defendants during the class period. Evans, for example resigned from the company on the same day as the Sep. 21, 2005 announcement. "Each individual defendant," the suit points out, "owed a duty to the Company and its shareholders not to trade on inside information."
The claim cites a number of allegedly misleading news releases pertaining to the fitness and security of election systems as contracted by Diebold in San Diego County in 2003; their settlement for $2.6 million with the state of California in 2004, wherein Diebold is alleged to have concealed "the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company" from investors; and an "astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate" statement about "restructuring charges" in the Sep. 21 announcement.
Once again, quoting from the lawsuit:
During the Class Period, defendants knew and concealed that:
a the Company remained unable to assure the quality and working order of their voting machine products;
b the Company lacked a credible state of internal controls and corporate compliance;
c the 2004 settlement with the State of California served to conceal from investors the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company, impacting product quality, strategic planning, forecasting, guidance, internal controls and corporate compliance;
and
d the Company's "prediction" of astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate restructuring charges for the entire 2005 fiscal year grossly understated the true costs defendants faced to restructure the Company.
The complaint alleges that the company lied to investors about the true costs of its restructuring activities, concealing the fact that Diebold was facing far worse restructuring issues than publicly represented -- indicative of far greater problems than the company was willing to reveal.
For example, the complaint indicates that the problems Diebold faced in California in 2004 were merely the tip of an internal structural iceberg which the company had sought to conceal from investors when they decided to make a settlement in the case. Investors could not know then that the problems revealed by the California litigation in 2004 were a sign of more and deeper internal problems to come. The settlement agreed to by Diebold in that case, the suit alleges, was meant to keep a lid on the larger dimensions of the problems, rather than indicating that the issues at stake had been fully resolved. Press materials released by the company announcing the settlement -- and included in the version of the complaint filed today -- seem to indicate otherwise to investors.
...THE INSIDER...
Additional facets of the company's internal structural problems were revealed in a series of previous BRAD BLOG articles
http://www.bradblog.com/Diebold.htm reporting on an anonymous company insider we dubbed "DIEB-THROAT" who alerted us to the "Cyber Alert Warning"
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB04-252.html#diebold issued by a branch of the Dept. of Homeland Security in August of 2004. That warning concerned the vulnerability to hackers of Diebold's central vote tabulating software prior to last year's Presidential Election. The election watchdog organization BlackBoxVoting.org http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ , who had first discovered the vulnerability, had also recently arranged for a computer security expert to successfully hack into actual Diebold voting machines used in Leon County, Florida without leaving any trace of the manipulation.
It was just several days after our first report on DIEB-THROAT
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001838.htm that stock prices plunged at the company in September. Diebold attempted to blame their troubles, at the time, on bad weather in the gulf which lead our insider source to aver
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001852.htm : "Using Hurricane Katrina is a poor excuse for bad products - the last time this kind of deception occurred it was called Enron."
Internet news site, The RAW STORY http://www.rawstory.com/ recently ran their own interview with DIEB-THROAT
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Dieboldinsiderallegescompanyplagued1206.html revealing still more structural problems within the company and its voting division. The report explained that the company was "plagued by technical woes," even as a Diebold spokesperson claimed the 144-year old company "has a sterling reputation in the industry."
...THE PLAINTIFF...
Plaintiff Konkol, a just-retired 29-year public school employee from Central Wisconsin first invested in Diebold in 1999. She told The BRAD BLOG http://www.bradblog.com/ that she purchased the stock thinking, "ATM's that'd be the way to go." She originally invested $500 which eventually grew to $1400 before falling. She is also invested in Diebold via mutual funds held by the Wisconsin Education Union in which she is a member. Konkol, a 56-year old grandmother of three, recently returned from two weeks of volunteering on the Gulf Coast with several members of her Lutheran church. "We got a big group together and we went down to the Gulf to help out in Katrina."
"I believe in churches...I believe we should practice what we're preached to about," she told us. "I don't like it when big companies take advantage of us little people," she said. "I can't say that I'm anti-big business...I just want things to be fair."
It appears that Scott+Scott, the attorneys associated with the case, are just beginning to learn about the full scope of the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Diebold on investors. Amended complaints with additional details are expected to be filed in the weeks and months to come. Other law firms are also expected to file similar suits which will eventually be consolidated by the Federal District Court hearing the case. Indeed The BRAD BLOG
http://www.bradblog.com/ has been contacted since filing our original report
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002126.htm on this last week, by other firms who are said to be pursuing similar litigation against Diebold.
...THE REFORMERS...
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm As one of America's largest Voting Machine Companies along with ES&S, they account for the tabulation of more than 80% of America's votes every election Diebold has been the target of Election Reform advocates for their strong partisan support of Republican causes and candidates, a statement made prior to last year's Presidential Election to Republican fundraisers by O'Dell that he was committed to "delivering the state of Ohio" to George W. Bush, along with their reluctance to include verifiable paper ballots with their voting products and to make the source-code for their software open and available for public inspection.
A recent 100+ page GAO report
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001940.htm , shamefully unreported http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001964.htm by the mainstream media, confirmed many of the Election Reform advocates concerns about the security and vulnerability of Voting Equipment made by Diebold and other such companies. In California, a recent mock election test revealed that some 20% of Diebold touch-screen voting machines failed to operate as expected after being previous decertified for similar failures and vulnerabilities. Despite that, California's Republican Sec. of State Bruce McPherson remarkably is considering re-certifying those same machines in the state which Diebold has described as America's "largest voting market."
Diebold was one of seven major American Voting Machine companies named in Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy"
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/Campaigns/DV4D/ campaign launched on Presidents' Day last February. The campaign demanded accountability and openness by the Voting Machine Companies in what Velvet Revolution deemed a "patriotic duty" to "ensure free, fair and transparent elections" by the private companies entrusted with running our sacred public democracy. The BRAD BLOG http://www.bradblog.com/ is a co-founder of VelvetRevolution.us http://www.velvetrevolution.us/ .
Konkol's complaint as filed today demands "a trial by jury."
The BRAD BLOG http://www.bradblog.com/ will of course, compile an extensive, accurate and verifiable paper trail in regards to this story as it continues to unfold...
UPDATE Scott+Scott, LLC releases news of the case filing in a press release here...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051213/netu036.html?.v=32
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002153.htm
Starmail - 14. Dez, 09:50
