World-News

The New York Times editorial states that "It is hard to imagine a moment when it would be more appropriate for senators to fight for a principle. Even a losing battle would draw the public's attention to the import of this nomination."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606K.shtml

The Bush administration rejected a 2002 Senate proposal that would have made it easier for FBI agents to obtain surveillance warrants in terrorism cases, concluding that the system was working well and that it would likely be unconstitutional to lower the legal standard.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606J.shtml

Gentechnik: Greenpeace veröffentlicht aktuelle Anbauflächen von Genmais in Deutschland (26.01.06)

Eine Übersichtskarte zu den geplanten Standorten von gentechnisch manipuliertem Mais in Deutschland veröffentlichte Greenpeace am Donnerstag in Hamburg. Für den diesjährigen Anbau der Gensaaten haben Landwirte den Angaben zufolge bis zum derzeitigen Stand 1357 Hektar an 108 Standorten beantragt. Die meisten Anbauflächen lägen wie im vergangenen Jahr mit 821 Hektar in Brandenburg.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12770

Buchstabengetreue Umsetzung gefordert: Umweltschützer sehen neues Gentechnikgesetz in Widerspruch zur EU-Richtlinie (26.01.06)

Der Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) befürchtet, dass die Öffentlichkeit über "schädliche Auswirkungen gentechnisch veränderter Organismen auf Mensch und Umwelt" sowie über "illegale Praktiken der Gentechnikindustrie" künftig nichts mehr erfährt. Das sehe der am Donnerstag im Bundestag vorgelegte Entwurf zur Änderung des Gentechnikgesetzes vor. Der Gesetzentwurf enthalte zur Freigabe entsprechender Informationen so viele Ausschlussregeln, dass Gentechnikskandale künftig nicht mehr an das Licht der Öffentlichkeit dringen würden, meint der Umweltverband. Agrarminister Horst Seehofer habe mehrfach die buchstabengetreue Umsetzung des EU-Gentechnikrechts angekündigt. Das von ihm vorgelegte "Dritte Gesetz zur Änderung des Gentechnikgesetzes" steht nach Auffassung des BUND jedoch in offenem Widerspruch zu den Vorgaben der europäischen Freisetzungsrichtlinie.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12771

26.01.06

Nach Angaben der US-Weltraumbehörde NASA war 2005 weltweit das wärmste Jahr seit Beginn der Wetteraufzeichnung vor mehr als hundert Jahren. Die NASA-Forscher machen wie die meisten Klimawissenschaftler die starke Zunahme der Treibhausgasemissionen für den Temperaturanstieg verantwortlich. Angesichts der ökologischen und ökonomischen Folgen der weltweiten Erwärmung fordert der Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) wirksame Maßnahmen, um den Kohlendioxidausstoß des Verkehrs zu reduzieren.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12772

FALLING WAGES: Both average real hourly and weekly wages are falling, dropping 0.4 percent from December 2004 to December 2005. Since the 2003 tax cuts, real average weekly earnings have fallen 0.8 percent, from $554.92 in May 2003 to $550.60 in Dec. 2005; hourly wages fell even further -- 1.1 percent -- from $16.52 in May 2003 to $16.34 in December 2005. Similarly, real average weekly earnings have fallen for the past four years since the end of the 2001 recession. But the top executives of America's 500 largest companies were, on average, insulated from this trend. They received an aggregate pay raise of 54 percent in 2005, bringing their total group compensation to $5.1 billion.

SUSTAINED, RECORD DEFICITS: In his 2002 State of the Union address, Bush promised that "our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short-term." And in 2003, Vice President Cheney stated, "I am a deficit hawk. So is the president." But neither of their statements has been true. The 2005 U.S. budget deficit was $319 billion, the "third-largest ever." Goldman Sachs predicts $5 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years and Federal Chairman Alan Greenspan argued last April that "the federal budget is on an unsustainable path. ... Unless that trend is reversed, at some point these deficits would cause the economy to stagnate or worse." The President's tax cuts would only "expand the deficit over the next five years," despite his promises to the contrary.

THE JOB DEFICIT: Job creation has been a central feature of Bush's past State of the Union addresses. But job creation during the Bush administration has been the lowest since World War II. Even since the 2003 tax cuts, job growth has been historically weak, growing at less than half the average rate for similar periods in comparable post-war recoveries. Jobs in the manufacturing sector have been particularly hard-hit, with California losing the most. General Motors and Ford have each announced cuts of 30,000 hourly jobs. Federal spending on employment and training for dislocated workers in 2005 was just $1.5 billion, less than the amount spend on highway aid and less than was spent in 2000 ($1.6 billion), when the unemployment rate was lower. The share of workers with a pension declined from 50.3 percent in 2000 to 40.6 percent in 2004, and the share without health insurance rose from 14.2 percent in 2000 to 15.7 percent in 2004.

RISING POVERTY: In 2004, Bush promised to "help more and more Americans...join in the growing prosperity of our country." But the poverty rate has risen each year since 2001, with 12.7 percent of the population now living in poverty. African-American poverty rose from 22.7 percent in 2001 to 24.7 percent in 2004, and child poverty went up from 16.3 percent in 2001 to 17.8 percent (1.3 million children are under the age of 18). Bush administration policies have further exacerbated these problems. The tax bills enacted since 2001 "have helped high-income households far more than other households," according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Households with incomes exceeding $1 million have received average tax cuts of $103,000, "an increase of 5.4 percent in their after-tax income." But in 2005, the bottom fifth of households "will receive an average combined tax cut of $18 from these bills, raising their after-tax income by 0.3 percent."

STAGNANT MINIMUM WAGE: The federal minimum wage has remained stuck at $5.15 an hour for nearly a decade, leaving about 7.3 million workers (5.8 percent of the workforce) unable to keep up with rising costs. A minimum wage increase would most benefit disadvantaged workers and would be an effective tool in the fight against poverty. Almost 61 percent of the workers who would be affected by a minimum wage increase are women, 15.3 percent are African-Americans, and 19.7 percent are Hispanics. The Economic Policy Institute concludes, "The minimum wage raises the wages of low-income workers in general, not just those below the official poverty line." While the federal government has been slow to act, states are taking action. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia currently have minimum wage rates higher than the federal rate. Members of Congress, by contrast, receives an annual increase of at least two percent in pay; current salaries are at $165,200. The last time Congress turned down its pay r NATIONAL SECURITY The Facade Crumbles

The administration's legal rationale for President Bush's warrantless domestic spying program -- already discredited by non-partisan legal experts -- has received another debilitating blow. Blogger and attorney Glenn Greenwald discovered that in 2002, Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) proposed comparatively modest changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to lower the standards for government surveillance of foreigners in the United States. The administration, however, formally opposed the DeWine amendment in a way that "appears to contradict several key arguments that the Bush administration is making to defend its eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without court warrants." The story has undercut the administration's public relations offensive to justify its warrantless domestic spying program, receiving coverage this morning by the Washington Post, LA Times, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, Knight Ridder.

ADMINISTRATION SAID LOWERING FISA STANDARD MAY BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL: DeWine's bill would have lowered the standard for surveillance of foreigners in the United States "from probable cause to reasonable suspicion." It was a much less ambitious effort than the administration's program, which lowered the standard not only for foreigners, but also for American citizens in the United States. Nevertheless, the Justice Department said it could not support the bill because it may have been unconstitutional. Even more significantly, unlike the administration's bill, the DeWine bill would not circumvent the FISA courts. James A. Baker, the Justice Department lawyer who oversees the Justice Department's Office of Intelligence Policy and Review, wrote that the bill may not "pass constitutional muster," meaning, "we could potentially put at risk ongoing investigations and prosecutions."

ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE CONTRADICTORY AND INACCURATE: Department of Justice spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said yesterday, "The FISA 'probable cause' standard is essentially the same as the 'reasonable basis' standard used in the terrorist surveillance program. The 'reasonable suspicion' standard, which is lower than both of these, is not used in either program." First, this completely contradicts what Michael Hayden, the former director of the National Security Agency, said on Monday. According to Hayden, the program was adopted precisely because there was a significant difference between "probable cause" and "reasonable basis." Hayden said, "The president's authorization allows us to track this kind of call more comprehensively and more efficiently. The trigger is quicker and a bit softer than it is for a FISA warrant." Second, a "reasonable suspicion" is not a "lower" standard than "reasonable basis." In constitutional law, "reasonabl ADMINISTRATION SAID EXISTING LAW HAS ENOUGH FLEXIBILITY: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claims the program, which started in late 2001, was put into place because existing law -- FISA-- was unsuitable for modern times. On Dec. 19, Gonzales said, "[W]e don't have the speed and the agility that we need, in all circumstances, to deal with this new kind of enemy. You have to remember that FISA was passed by the Congress in 1978." But Baker argued that existing law met the administration's needs. Baker wrote that modifications to FISA that were passed in the PATRIOT Act "enabled the government to become quicker, more flexible, and more focused in going 'up' on those suspected terrorists in the United States." Specifically, expanding the time between when the surveillance can start and when the government must obtain a warrant "has allowed us to make full and effective use of FISA's pre-existing emergency provisions to ensure that the government acts swiftly to respond to terrorist thr DEBATE UNDERSCORES THAT CONGRESS NEVER AUTHORIZED WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE: The fact that there was a debate on the DeWine amendment at all undercuts the administration's second argument. The administration claims Congress granted the administration the authority to conduct warrantless domestic wiretapping when it passed the September 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Al-Qaeda. If Congress already granted much broader authority, why did DeWine even propose the amendment? Moreover, the amendment was rejected by Congress. In other words, not only did Congress not grant the administration authority through the Authorization for Use of Military Force, it rejected a far less ambitious change to existing law.

Under the Radar

MILITARY -- 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL' POLICY COSTS MILITARY HIGHLY SKILLED SOLDIERS: Of the more than 10,000 people discharged under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, around 350 have been "military school graduates or service members who went to medical school at the taxpayers' expense - troops not as easily replaced by a nation at war that is struggling to fill its enlistment quotas." Beth Schissel, who graduated from the Air Force Academy before attending medical school, said, "You don't just go out on the street tomorrow and pluck someone from the general population who has an Air Force education, someone trained as a physician, someone who bleeds Air Force blue, who is willing to serve, and that you can put in Iraq tomorrow." Schissel is one of 244 health professionals who from 1994 to 2003 were discharged under the policy. "What advantage is the military getting by firing brain surgeons at the very time our wounded soldiers ar HUMAN RIGHTS -- IRAN AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, UNITED IN ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY: "In a reversal of policy, the United States on Monday backed an Iranian initiative to deny United Nations consultative status to organizations working to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people," according to a Human Rights Watch release. In May 2005, two international gay rights groups applied for consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, "the only official means by which non-governmental organizations around the world can influence and participate in discussions among member states at the United Nations. Nearly 3,000 groups enjoy this status. States opposed to the two groups' applications moved to have them summarily dismissed, an almost unprecedented move at the UN, where organizations are ordinarily allowed to state their cases." On Monday, the Bush administration joined Cameroon, China, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, the Russian F PUBLIC DIPLOMACY -- ACADEMIC GROUPS FILE SUIT AGAINST ADMINISTRATION FOR BARRING FOREIGN SCHOLARS: While Congress continues to debate renewal of the Patriot Act, a provision in the Act that has not attracted much public attention became the source of public lawsuit against the Bush administration yesterday. Three academic groups, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), sued the administration to stop it from barring foreign scholars from enetering the U.S. -- a power given to the Bush administration as a result of the so-called "ideological exclusion" provision of the Patriot Act. The "ideological exclusion" provision was used by the administration to revoke a visa for Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Islamic scholar, in August 2004. Ramadan was blocked from accepting a teaching position at the University of Notre Dame. The exclusion of Ramadan indicates an effort by the U.S. government to discourage academic debate about the war and other issues. &q JUDICIARY -- BUSH RENOMINATES JUDGE PREVIOUSLY BLOCKED BY SENATE MODERATES: The White House "flexed its judicial muscles yesterday," renominating Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit even as the Senate nears a vote on its divisive Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito. Kavanaugh, the White House staff secretary, was first nominated in July 2003, but his nomination failed as part of a deal struck by the "Gang of 14" moderate senators. Several criticisms of Kavanaugh mirror those leveled at President Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers: Kavanaugh has limited courtroom experience; has personally "coordinated" the administration's controversial and unsuccessful nominations of radical nominees Priscilla Owen and Miguel Estrada; and has demonstrated a history of twisting legal theories and philosophies "to best serve partisan interests," as typified by his co-authorship of the Starr repo BUDGET -- CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE NUMBERS SHOW INCREASING DEFICIT: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the federal budget deficit will reach at least $337 billion for the current year, and "the deficit is likely to go higher because of tax cuts and new additional spending for hurricane relief and the war in Iraq." "Wall Street analysts expect the deficit to eventually widen to $360 billion or more." The estimate is above last year's deficit of $319 billion. The estimate also calls into question the accuracy of the White House's most recent budget forecast. The White House recently over-estimated the budget deficit -- predicting it to be over $400 billion -- perhaps in an effort to later claim victory when actual deficit numbers came in lower than expected. The long-term deficit projections remain far gloomier. According to the CBO, deficits for 2006-10 will total $1.3 trillion.


Informant: Bugs

WAZ - Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Die praktische Ärztin berichtete auf Einladung der Bürgerbewegung "Contra Elektrosmog". "Wir sind in einer tödlichen Sackgasse", so Dr. Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam... weiter nach Anmeldung bei der WAZ.

http://www.waz.de/waz/waz.marl.volltext.php?kennung=on7wazLOKStaMarl38741&zulieferer=waz&kategorie=LOK&rubrik=Stadt&region=Marl&auftritt=WAZ&dbserver=1

NOW goes inside the American war machine to ask, are we fighting for the right reasons?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606P.shtml

Serge Truffaut writes that the Marty report already proves some European countries have failed to meet their commitments under the European Convention for Human Rights and argues that the Swiss senator's mandate must be extended to complete the job.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606H.shtml

Cindy Sheehan

A new world is necessary but not possible, until we Americans get over the arrogant idea that we can solve the Iraq issue and the human rights violations problems alone. We have to reach out to fellow members of the human race all over the world to forge the bonds that are crucial to protecting innocent members of humankind who are impoverished or killed by our government and corporatism that has gone wild and is largely unchecked, writes Cindy Sheehan.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606A.shtml

For everyone's info. Any press releases or anyone who wants to write an article or comment can be sent to this site and will usually be put on BBCOnline where other programmes may pick them up.

Here's how to get press releases onto BBC online

** Your news, your say, your pics ** Got some news? Tell the BBC News website what it should be covering. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4417370.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail ** Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all in one daily e-mail < http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >

Sarah P

Der neue Pentagon-Bericht für den Kongress.
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21867/1.html

Urteil: T-Online

Bresche für den Datenschutz
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21872/1.html

26 January 2006 RESIDENTS are urging a mobile phone company to scrap plans to install a mast near a school.

Bosses at Orange are planning to install a mast near Bedonwell Junior School in Bedonwell Road, Belvedere.

But residents, who have formed an action group called Orange Squash, are urging the phone giants to think again.

Orange has had a mast there since 1995, but their new plan is to remove it to a new site just 100 yards from the school.

Resident Alan Eaton, of Bedonwell Road, the driving force behind Orange Squash, has persuaded 200 people to sign a protest petition.

He said: "They want to move their mast further down the road. Years ago they told us the children would not be harmed if the mast was above them as fewer radio waves are emitted below the mast. They said they would if the mast was next to them - but this is what they are doing now."

Fellow resident Nicholas Pauli, of King Harolds Way, Bexleyheath, said: "I can't believe a phone mast and cabins could be built at Bedonwell Road, close to the school, not to mention the health risks and possible devaluation of the properties caused by this unsightly structure.

"It is extremely irresponsible and shows a complete disregard for concerns of parents and residents. I totally object to any more masts near schools or residential areas. There are already too many in the area."

Orange spokeswoman Jacqueline Sibander said the process was at an early stage. She added: "Orange has been asked to move it off the school grounds and is therefore looking for a replacement site. As the technology is very low powered, to provide coverage in area the base station has to be nearby. So any replacement for the school site will have to be in the area.

"We are going through the consultation period now and have spoken to representatives from Orange Squash, the school and other residents."

She was unable to say if a planning application would be submitted. "These are just the proposals at the moment.

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/82ex3

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0126/p16s01-stss.html


Informant: Teresa Binstock

Senator Ken Salazar
U.S. Senate
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0001

Subject: Protect our privacy -- support S. 2178!


Dear Senator Salazar:

As Americans, we expect the privacy of our personal information to be protected. That's why I urge you to support S. 2178, "The Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006."

General Wesley Clark's cellular phone records were recently purchased by a prominent blogger for less than a hundred dollars, demonstrating how easy it is for anyone to obtain this kind of sensitive personal information.

Americans should be able to trust that their privacy is being respected and protected by everyone from the government to our internet and mobile phone service providers.

Please support S. 2178, the Schumer/Specter "Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act," and urge your colleagues to do the same.

Sincerely,

Rita Hill



Any power that can be abused will be abused.
— Tyranny Law #1

Abuse always expands to fill the limits of resistance to it.
— Tyranny Law #2

If people don't resist the abuses to others, they will have no one to resist the abuses to themselves, and tyranny will prevail.
— Tyranny Law #3

http://www.gnn.tv/articles/2064/The_Law_Means_What_I_Tell_You_It_Means


Informant: Jennifer Van Bergen

From ufpj-news

by Jennifer Nevins, TomPaine.com

The Bush administration will do anything to keep the far right in good graces -- even deny contraception to rape victims.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20060126/twice_victimized.php

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=10980615


Informant: NHNE

Published: 25th January 2006

COMMUNICATIONS giant Vodafone has been criticised as a "time-waster" after a third application to put up a mobile phone mast on Bedells Lane was rejected.

The company wants to put the 15-metre mast up near to the King’s Arms roundabout in Wilmslow but has already had its plans turned down twice.

Initially it had applied to site the mast near to the roundabout but was defeated by planners after objections from councillors, residents, businesses, the Curzon Mews Residents Association and Cheshire County Council’s Highways department.

The company chose not to appeal and submitted a further application to Macclesfield Borough Council in June 2005 with the mast moved further up Bedells Lane, opposite the electricity substation.

However, this was again turned down because it was viewed to be unacceptably obtrusive and visually detrimental.

A third application lodged in November has now been refused after officers decided it would be an unwelcome intrusion on the skyline and harm the character of the area.

The mast would have a tri-sector antenna standing next to a large equipment cabinet, which Vodafone claims is necessary to increase 2G and 3G cover within the largely residential area of Wilmslow.

Wilmslow Hough Conservative Councillor Andrew Stephenson welcomed the decision and branded the company "time wasters". Having failed a third time he urged Vodafone to look elsewhere to site the mast.

He said: "I am pleased to say that planning permission for this mast has been refused, however it does not come as a surprise.

"This proposal was little changed from the previous application and I’m dismayed that Vodafone don’t appear to have taken on board the concerns we expressed over their last application."

He added: "Residents are deeply concerned about plans to erect another mast in this part of Wilmslow where there are already four masts in the immediate vicinity.

"It is unthinkable that a fifth freestanding mast should even be considered and I would urge Vodafone to explore all other possibilities, before submitting another application.

"We all want to be able to use mobile phones, but that doesn’t mean we should allow 15metre high masts in densely populated residential areas."

Catherine Mountford

First published by the Wilmslow Express

http://www.thewilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/s/208/208544_mobile_firm_branded_time_wasters.html

Einladung zum 10. bundesweiten Treffen des Aktionsbündnisses
Sozialproteste am 4.2.06 in Erfurt (pdf)
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/2006/as040206.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 26. Januar 2006

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Erwerbslose campieren vor der Arbeitsagentur in Aschersleben

Demonstranten bauen Zelte auf. Neue Regeln für Arbeitssuchende - Polizei reagiert tolerant auf ungenehmigtes Camp

Artikel von Jochen Miche vom 01.08.06 in Mitteldeutsche Zeitung/Ascherslebener Zeitung http://www.mz-web.de/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=ksta/page&atype=ksArtikel&aid=1150384477257&openMenu=1012902958597&calledPageId=1012902958597&listid=1018348861777

Aus dem Text: „…Dutzende Menschen kamen ins Gespräch mit den Organisatoren und Mitstreitern der Montagsdemos, die am Montagabend vor der Agentur für Arbeit ein nicht angemeldetes Zeltcamp aufgebaut hatten. In Ironisierung der am Dienstag in Kraft getretenen Neuregelungen für Arbeitslosengeld II-Empfänger erklärten die Teilnehmer den hinter den Mauern arbeitenden Arge- und Arbeits-Agentur-Mitarbeitern, "ab jetzt Tag und Nacht für Sie erreichbar" sein zu wollen….“ Siehe dazu auch:

»Wir gehen nicht«. Erwerbslose campieren vor der Arbeitsagentur in Aschersleben. Ein Gespräch mit Tommi Sander, einer der Sprecher der »Interessengemeinschaft contra Sozialabbau Aschersleben-Staßfurt«

„Wir protestieren, weil ab dem 1. August die verschärften Hartz-IV-Regeln gelten, das sogenannte Fortentwicklungsgesetz. Das schreibt vor, daß Arbeitslose Tag und Nacht für die Arbeits- beziehungsweise die Jobvermittlung erreichbar sein müssen. Deswegen haben wir gedacht, es sei am sinnvollsten, wenn wir hier Tag und Nacht anwesend sind, um die vielen Jobangebote entgegenzunehmen, die man uns verspricht…“ Interview von Martina Huth in junge Welt vom 2.8.06 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/08-02/037.php


DGB ruft zum Protest – wer kommt?

Resolution für Aktionen gegen Sozialabbau der Bezirksfachbereichskonferenz des Fachbereich 5 von Verdi Stuttgart vom 11.7.06:

„Wir begrüßen es, dass der DGB für den 21. Oktober 2006 zu Aktionen gegen die bereits beschlossenen bzw die noch geplanten Sozialabbaumaßnahmen der großen Koalition aufruft. Auf Grund der Erfahrungen der vergangenen Jahre fordern wir den DGB auf diese Aktionen auch konsequent auf allen Ebenen vorzubereiten, damit es machtvolle Manifestationen werden. Wir erwarten vom DGB, dass es sich nicht wieder nur um einmalige Aktionen handelt, sondern wir fordern, dass diese Auftakt werden für wirkungsvolle Aktivitäten bis hin zu Streiks. Die geplanten bzw beschlossenen Einschnitte beim Gesundheitswesen, bei der Altersvorsorge, beim Rentenalter, beim Kündigungsschutz, bei der Mehrwertsteuererhöhung, bei den unsozialen Hartz Gesetzen etc können nur durch das geschlossene Handeln der arbeitenden Menschen und derer, denen Arbeit verwehrt wird zurückgewiesen werden. Dem DGB, als Organisation der abhängig Beschäftigten und der Erwerbslosen, obliegt es diesen Protest zu organisieren.“


Perspektiven der Proteste 2005ff.

Erneuerung des Sozialstaats? Eine Debatte mit Fallstricken für die Formierung einer vereinigten Linkspartei in Deutschland

Diskussionsbeitrag von Karl Heinz Roth, zuerst erschienen im Supplement der Zeitschrift Sozialismus 5/2006 – wir danken dem Autor für die Freigabe! http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/karloroth.html

Aus dem Text: „…Die Doppelkrise der Lohnarbeitsgesellschaft wird nach wie vor nur in einer Hinsicht zur Kenntnis genommen, nicht aber die hinter der Massenerwerbslosigkeit auch versteckte Abkehr der Unterklassen von autoritären und entfremdeten Arbeitsverhältnissen Vor allem bei der Abwehr aller Bestrebungen zur Einführung eines bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens wird nach wie vor Klartext geredet: Wer sich für sie einsetze, betreibe eine besonders elegante Variante der „Entsorgung“ der Erwerbslosen. Auf die umgekehrte Frage, ob ihr eigenes starres Festhalten an den Kernbelegschaften der doppelt freien Lohnarbeiter nicht seinerseits zur Zementierung patriarchal-hierarchischer Strukturen beitrage und die Klassenfragmentierung im Fall einer Rückkehr zur Vollbeschäftigung sogar weiter vertiefen könnte, wollen sich auch die ins WASG- Lager gewechselten Gewerkschafter gar nicht erst einlassen. (…) Auf die disziplinierende Ethik der kapitalistisch verwerteten Arbeitsverausgabung mögen sie beide [PDS und WASG] nicht verzichten. Für die gewerkschaftlichen Keynesianer ist und bleibt die Lohnarbeitsgesellschaft elementare Grundlage ihrer Bemühungen um die „Re-Regulierung des Sozialen“, und das sicher auch deshalb, weil sie dadurch auch selbst als Tarifspezialisten und Arbeitsmarktpolitiker wieder „re-reguliert“ werden. (…) Dem Prozess der fortschreitenden Klassenfragmentierung sollte eine Konzeption der Klassenformierung entgegen gesetzt werden, die von denjenigen Massenbedürfnissen ausgeht, die in allen Teilen der neuen Unterklassen lebendig sind. Aus ihnen könnten erste Übergangsforderungen entwickelt werden: Umverteilung der Arbeit durch radikale Arbeitszeitverkürzung, Existentsicherung durch die Durchsetzung obligatorischer Mindestlöhne und Überwindung des normativen Arbeitszwangs durch die Einführung eines bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens. Dabei ist die Kopplung dieser drei Übergangsforderungen entscheidend. Nur im Ensemble zwingen sie das Kapital in die Defensive, weil sie den verwertenden und steuernden Zugriff auf die Massenbedürfnisse nach selbstbestimmter Tätigkeit und nach der Gewinnung ihrer sozialen Individualität in egalitär verfassten kleinen Gemeinschaften erschweren. (…) Nur auf der kommunalen Ebene der „Metropolenregionen“ und ihrer Subzentren können die Kämpfe für Mindestlohn, radikale Arbeitszeitverkürzung und bedingungsloses Sozialeinkommen konkret geführt und exemplarisch mit der sozialen Wiederaneignung der privatisierten infrastrukturellen Ressourcen
(Wohnungswesen, Transportsysteme, Bildungswesen und Gesundheit, Kommunalwirtschaft, Sozialkassen) verbunden werden…“


Aus: LabourNet, 3. August 2006

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25/26. November: 2tägige Aktionskonferenz der Sozialen Bewegungen in Dortmund

„Zu einer 2tätigen Aktionskonferenz der Sozialen Bewegungen werden vom das Bündnis 3. Juni (Demonstration: Schluss mit den Reformen gegen uns!) am 25/26. alle Akteure aus ganz Deutschland eingeladen. Thematisch soll die Konferenz, eine Fortsetzung der Frankfurter Aktionskonferenz von 2005, die Frage: "Wie weiter mit der Sozialen Bewegung" diskutieren…“ Pressemeldung des Bündnis 3. Juni (Schluss mit den Reformen gegen uns!) vom 09.08.2006 http://www.protest2006.de/infos/allgemein/aktionskonferenz_der_sozialen_bewegungen_im_november.html


Gegen die Politik der Bundesregierung: Sozialproteste

Die bundesweiten AGen soziale Sicherungssysteme und Genug für Alle laden ein zu einem Arbeitstreffen Herbstaktionen am 2. und 3. September 2006 in Frankfurt. Gewerkschaftshaus, Raum 4, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße 69-77. Beginn: Samstag 13:30 - Ende Sonntag 14:00 Uhr. Siehe die Einladung (pdf) http://www.attac.de/genug-fuer-alle/neu/media/Einladung%20GfA.pdf?wb_session_id=fdbdc5bec5a059eb1aa4e9add28e9645


13. bundesweites Treffen des Aktionsbündnisses Sozialproteste (ABSP): Massenmobilisierungen im Herbst und weitere Aktivitäten

Am 19. August wird das 13. bundesweite Treffen des Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste (ABSP) in Braunschweig stattfinden. Siehe Sonderseite mit allen Dokumenten zur Vorbereitung http://www.die-soziale-bewegung.de/archiv.html#Braunschweig_19-8-2006


Erwerbslose campieren vor der Arbeitsagentur in Aschersleben

Ziviler Ungehorsam in Aschersleben (Sachsen- Anhalt). Ungenehmigtes Zeltcamp vor der „Agentur für Armut“

Bericht von Axel Schmidt, Mitorganisator der Interessengemeinschaft Contra Sozialabbau Aschersleben- Staßfurt http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/2006/ascherscamp.html

Aus: LabourNet, 14. August 2006

Die Idee der Trennung von Einkommen und Arbeit ist radikal genug, um utopisch zu bleiben

Artikel von Guillaume Paoli in Freitag vom 27.01.2006
http://www.freitag.de/2006/04/06042101.php


Aus: LabourNet, 26. Januar 2006

Protest gegen »Bolkestein« vor Europaparlament untersagt. Globalisierungskritiker gegen Einschränkung der Demonstrationsfreiheit. Bundestag diskutiert Dienstleistungsrichtlinie

„Werden die EU-Oberen angesichts anhaltender und erfolgreicher Proteste gegen die Liberalisierung der europäischen Wirtschaft nervös? Es scheint so. Mittlerweile hat die französische Polizei verboten, daß die länderübergreifende Großdemonstration gegen die EU-Dienstleistungsrichtlinie am 11. Februar in Strasbourg vor das Europaparlament zieht…“ Artikel von Rüdiger Göbel in junge Welt vom
26.01.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/01-26/001.php


Österreich: Aktiv gegen die Dienstleistungsrichtlinie

Die Initiative "Aktiv gegen die Dienstleistungsrichtlinie" wird von der Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, der Gewerkschaft der Gemeindebediensteten und der Gewerkschaft der Eisenbahner getragen. Siehe die Kampagnenhomepage http://www.gdg.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=GDG/Page/GDG_Index&n=GDG_0.0.6.1.9&cid=1136986077537


Aus: LabourNet, 26. Januar 2006

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO BUSH WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY TO RELEASE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

WHERE: National Press Club, Washington, DC

WHEN: Feb. 2, 12 Noon

INFORMATION: http://www.bushcommission.org

CONTACT: 212-941-8086

EMAIL: commission@nion.us

The International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration met in New York City the weekend of January 20th through the 22nd to work towards fulfilling its mandate: "When the possibility of far-reaching war crimes and crimes against humanity exists, people of conscience have a solemn responsibility to inquire into the nature and scope of these acts, and to determine if they do in fact rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity."

A prestigious panel of jurists heard testimony documenting criminal acts and policies allegedly perpetrated by President Bush and his administration from prominent experts, former US and UK officials, and eye-itnesses, in the areas of war, torture, global environment and health, and Katrina. Hundreds of people attended and the session was covered by CNN, Newsday, all-news channel New York 1, Pacifica radio, and other media. (See links at end of this e-mail.)

Musician, actor and human rights activist Harry Belafonte opened the session: "It is important when all the instruments of government collapse, we go in the final hour, to the most important line of battle: the people themselves." (Full audio and video of all speeches will be posted at www.bushcommission.org)

Attorney Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, stated: "We are putting the Bush administration on trial. We investigate in order to expose. We document in order to indict. We arouse consciousness in order to create mass resistance."

* Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector, testified: "What passes for intelligence is nothing more than politically motivated propaganda...There was no intelligence failure because the policy wasn't disarmament; it was regime change."

* Craig Murray, ex-UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan: "There was no form of torture so extreme that the CIA would refuse the results of that torture....You can't build security on evil. I don't believe torture works, but even it if did work, I'd rather die than have anyone tortured to save my life."

* Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski (Ret.): "When [General Geoffrey] Miller arrived at Abu Ghraib, he said, 'It's my opinion that you're treating the prisoners too well....You have to treat the prisoners like dogs... Rumsfeld...authorized sleep deprivation, stress positions, meal disruptions, serving meals late, not serving a meal, leaving the lights on, playing loud music, issuing criticism of their religions."

* Dr. Alan Berkman, Prof. of Public Health, Columbia University: "[Bush's] ideologically driven prevention agenda has in fact accounted for millions of deaths in the five years since he took power."

* Daphne Wysham, of the Institute for Policy Studies: "The Bush White House is deliberately targeting information policy-makers have on climate change in an effort to protect some of the most powerful industries on the planet, namely the oil, gas, and coal industries."

* Hurricane Katrina Victim Larry McBride testified that he and other prisoners in a New Orleans jail were left to die during Hurricane Katrina, and were then beaten and denied food and water by the National Guard when they fled to higher ground.

The panel of jurists is currently deliberating and receiving further evidence. Preliminary findings will be made public at a news conference scheduled for February 2nd at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. at noon. The Commission will later issue detailed findings, accompanied by full documentation. Video and audio transcripts will be posted as available.

As the Commission has brought these proceedings to conclusion, the aggregate impact of the scope and severity of these crimes has shocked even the organizers and experts. People in different fields have shared their information and were stunned. This Commission's work is breaking new ground and will impact the whole political terrain.

YOUR PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT ARE NEEDED!

Your participation is essential to fulfilling the Commission's mission by making its work and findings known to millions. As Michael Ratner said, this is a pivotal moment. It's no time to sit on the side lines. It is up to all of us to take the evidence of the Commission out into society, to fuel and reframe the debate from one about 'dishonesty," "misconduct," and "law-break" to a recognition of unconscionable crimes against humanity. In doing so, this Commission becomes an instrumentality of all of humanity.

We have a rare opportunity to help make this happen. Funds are needed to fly jurists and witnesses from Europe and the U.S. to Washington, DC for our Feb. 2 press conference. We urge you to give all you can, and then give more. History, and global humanity, demand nothing less. Checks should be made out to "Not In Our Name" and mailed to Not In Out Name, 305 West Broadway, #199, New York, NY 10013. Contributions can be made on line at www.nion.us/NSOC/sign.htm.

Visit the Commission web site at www.bushcommission.org. Volunteers needed in the New York area!

Contact the office at commission@nion.us. or call 212-941-8086.

Please post and circulate to your e-list.

LINKS TO COVERAGE:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012406Z.shtml

http://rwor.org/a/032/tribunal-indicts-bush.htm

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-nychur224597668jan22,0,7488407,print.story

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/manhattan/am-chur0121,0,5904260,print.story

Craig's was also Newsday's quote of the day -- "I would rather die than to have someone tortured to protect me."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20060123/cm_huffpost/014272_200601222006

http://www.observer.com/printpage.asp?iid=12260&ic=New+York+World

http://www.countercurrents.org/us-ritter250106.htm

http://www.townhall.com/news/ext_wire.html?rowid=46401

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_david_sw_060121_testimony_from_bush_.htm


UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545



Informant: C. Clark Kissinger

From ufpj-news

Betrachtungen von Hans-Dieter Hey - 18.1.2006

"In Zeiten hoher Verschuldung und sinkender Staatsquote ist es notwendig, die Rolle des Staates zu überdenken und seine Regierungstätigkeiten zu optimieren. Eine Politik, die die Regierungsqualität auf lange Sicht erhöht und zugleich die Bürokratiebelastung der Wirtschaft senkt, birgt die Chance für mehr Dynamik, Wachstum und Arbeitsplätze." (Bertelsmann) Das klingt wie der Bericht einer Unternehmensberatung für eine Firma und vermittelt Zuversicht...

http://www.arbeiterfotografie.com/sozialraub/2006-01-18-hdh-gehirnwaesche.html

Soldiers prosecuted in the abuse or even deaths of detainees rarely have paid a heavy price, an indication of the difficulties the US military has had sorting out right from wrong during the war on terrorism, human rights groups and military lawyers say.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012506F.shtml

An organization with strong backing from the top Democrats in Congress intends to launch a costly election-year campaign to promote issues on the party's agenda, officials said Tuesday, beginning with a television commercial arguing it's "time for a change" after a season of political corruption.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012506C.shtml

The number of people unemployed worldwide climbed to new heights in 2005, as robust economic growth failed to offset an increase in people seeking work - especially among the vast and growing legion of jobless youth, the International Labour Office said in its annual Global Employment Trends report.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012506LA.shtml

Last week, the Bush FDA quietly slipped a multibillion dollar gift to the pharmaceutical industry into a widely touted consumer-friendly drug labeling rule change. The additional rule change would bar state courts from hearing individual or class-action liability suits against drug companies.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012506HA.shtml



Doctors Urge Ban on Gifts from Drug Makers

The free gifts, drugs and classes that pharmaceutical and medical device makers routinely give doctors undermine good medical care, hurt patients and should be banned, a group of influential doctors say in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012506HB.shtml

For those of you that can read and understand Swedish, or get automatic
translations, please note the following very well written interview:

"Mobiltelefonstrålning ofarlig?"
from "Äventyrliga Föräldrar" 5/2005
http://www.aventyrliga.se/spec-artikel.php?id=8


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

On a glorious Saturday in New York, a spirited crowd of close to eight hundred people gathered inside the cavernous, subterranean Great Hall at New York's Cooper Union to hear Representative John Conyers and a dozen other eloquent speakers--address the gravest issue of our time: How do we save our imperiled democracy?

http://tinyurl.com/8ugj2


From Information Clearing House

America revisits 17th Century England in turmoil.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11673.htm

A Houston-based anti-Halliburton group was spied on by a top-secret Pentagon counter-intelligence agency in 2004, according to a report in Newsweek magazine.

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_2124259.shtml


From Information Clearing House

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging a provision of the Patriot Act that is being used to deny visas to foreign scholars whose political views the government disfavors. The lawsuit charges that the provision, known as the "ideological exclusion" provision, is being used to prevent United States citizens and residents from hearing speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

http://aclu.org/safefree/general/23582prs20051110.html


From Information Clearing House

A provision in the "Patriot Act" creates a new federal police force with power to violate the Bill of Rights. You might think that this cannot be true as you have not read about it in newspapers or heard it discussed by talking heads on TV.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11660.htm

Five current and former National Security Agency (NSA) employees have told Cybercast News Service that the agency frequently retaliates against whistleblowers by falsely labeling them "delusional," "paranoid" or "psychotic."

http://tinyurl.com/8yfmd


From Information Clearing House

NSA DIRECTOR, GENERAL MICHAEL HAYDEN, CONTRADICTS HIS 2002 TESTIMONY TO THE JOINT INQUIRY OF CONGRESS.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-breitweiser/nsa-director-haydenone-_b_14361.html


From Information Clearing House

Twenty cases of detainee abuse allegations against CIA and Defence Department employees have been referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution, a senior U.S. official said in a letter released on Tuesday.

http://tinyurl.com/829bt


From Information Clearing House

If the Senate accepts President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, our nation will undergo profound legal changes, resulting in its transformation from a democratic republic to a corporatist dictatorship.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11670.htm

The Bush ad—ministration dreamed of liberating the country on the cheap. Billions in untapped oil reserves would pay for reconstruction and nation-building. But hundreds of billions of American tax dollars later, Iraq's oil still isn't flowing at prewar levels.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10965520/site/newsweek/


From Information Clearing House

Please help me my friends, who lived through war, who experienced war around the world. Please tell me the way in which I can pass on this horrible experience to others. Please also tell me, explain to me why many of us still, as my friend observes, keep "quiet and cower."

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/chuong4.html


From Information Clearing House

Documentary by Iraqi Journalist Captures the Horrors of the U.S. Siege:

Whole neighborhoods were attacked and relief workers were denied access. When the dust had settled, 10,000 buildings were destroyed with thousands more seriously damaged. At least 100,000 residents were permanently displaced and over 70 U.S. soldiers were killed. The Iraqi death toll remains unknown, but is well into the hundreds.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/25/155226


From Information Clearing House

When troops are cut, we'll still be bombing the hell out of the place.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11666.htm

A four-year blueprint for the military reflects a view that the war is an anomaly. There's talk of robots and drones, but no force buildup.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/news2/latimes2.htm


From Information Clearing House

"This generation of servicemembers will be in what we're calling the Long War," the general said. "Our estimate is that for at least the next 20 years, part of our focus will be on how do we deal with the extremist networks that will continue to threaten the United States and its allies."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11663.htm

New studies make the Bush administration's "liberation" argument for a 'pre-emptive' war against Iraq seem questionable.

http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Iraq_war.php


From Information Clearing House

by Charles Sullivan

Working class people, especially progressives, must come to understand that our interests are not being served by hitching our political wagons to either the Democratic or the Republican Party. The Republicrats represent a capitalist system that has given rise to class division, the unequal distribution of wealth, private ownership, and a system of wage slavery that does not serve democracy, but plutocracy.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11659.htm

In a message dated 1/25/06 1:14:55 PM, L BUZZELL writes:

<< Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse.

1 hour, 50 minutes ago

Deepening concern about US deficits and a possible oil supply shock are weighing on a world economy that will be driven largely by China during
2006, a panel of leading economists predicted at the World Economic Forum.

"This is the year to watch out carefully for the end of the great American spending binge," Stephen Roach, chief economist at US bank Morgan Stanley, told the annual meeting of global business and political leaders.

Just hours after China announced that its economy had grown by 9.9 percent in 2005, the panel said Chinese growth was set to continue at the kind of pace that helped it leapfrog over Britain and France to become the world's fourth-biggest economy.

However the four economists cautioned that while Chinese policymakers appeared to be moving to prevent their economy overheating, there was little sign of action in the United States to tackle imbalances.

Roach cautioned that investors appeared to be "plugging ahead irrespective of current account issues and the asset price bubble."

"What's occurring right now in markets and in policy circles is a dangerous degree of complacency. And out of complacency usually comes the surprise that ends up doing the most damage to markets and economies."

The danger lurking behind the high US current account deficit is that foreign investors might begin to lose confidence in the US economy and start withdrawing their assets.

This would cause a fall in the value of the dollar and could lead to a sharp growth-dampening increase in US interest rates.

Roach also said data from the United States indicated that "the property bubble is nearing an end," potentially drying up the last source for the spending spree.

The panel warned that other parts of the world such as Asia -- where savings levels are high -- would need to compensate for a forthcoming slump in US consumption.

"When the US increases its savings -- and it must increase its savings -- that will reduce aggregate demand in the world," said banker Jakob Frenkel of American International Group.

"This is the time the rest of the world must reduce its savings to make up for the slack. That's the tango principle," he added.

Laura Tyson of the London Business School commented: "I think that's understood as a policy issue in China. I don't think it's understood as a policy issue in the United States."

Growth in China fuelled by export demand is set to reach 8.8 to 9.3 percent in 2006, according to Min Zhu, executive assistant president Bank of China.

"I would say Chinese GDP (gross domestic product) is still underestimated," he added, pointing to "millions" of small and medium-sized businesses that were not accounted for in domestic economic data.

"There is still room for China to grow."

Highlighting a "fundamental change in the centre of gravity" in the world economy, Frenkel said national savings in China amounted to 45 percent of GDP compared with 10 percent in the United States.

"You do not need to be a nuclear scientist to ask where the growth will continue in the future," he added, also pointing to China's booming imports from the rest of Asia, which are fuelling the regional economy.

French Finance Minister Thierry Breton acknowledged China's stature as he arrived in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.

"I think the big story is that China is moving up," he told journalists.

"We tried to be prepared in France for many years -- China is an extremely important industrial partner in this new global environment."

Concern also focused on the potential for an energy shock caused by bottlenecks in supplies due to a shortage of capacity or political problems.

"The real question is what is the probability of a supply shock on the energy front," Laura Tyson of the London Business School underlined, amid consensus on the durability of high oil prices.

The economists admitted they were largely "in the dark" on oil due to international tensions over Iran, a rebellion in Nigeria and the potential for a repeat of Hurricane Katrina, which temporarily shut down extraction in the Gulf of Mexico. >>


Informant: Hopedance

URGENT: Our senators are looking for support especially by phone. If you are a member of MoveOn in particular, PLEASE appeal to them to mobilize their own participants on this.

Please note the updated action link below. Now that an Alito filibuster is looking increasingly likely, this new action deals also with the threat of an abusive Senate rule change, the so-called nuclear option.

Please distribute this inspirational piece as widely as possible.

BE YOUR OWN HERO, DEMAND A FILIBUSTER OF ALITO NOW

Even if you have already sent emails or made calls, the most powerful way for you to follow up is by calling and faxing the LOCAL district offices of your senators. You can get all their numbers in an instant with one click at

NEW ACTION PAGE: http://www.nocrony.com/no_nuke.php

The national toll free numbers are 888-355-3588, 888-818-6641 and 800-426-8073, just ask for any senator by name.

>From time to time people will arise with the vision and the passion to inspire other people, and the bravery to take a stand for justice even if they have to do it alone. Sometimes tyranny maintains its power only by a kind of mental intimidation, a threat that would collapse entirely if it were just challenged. And whether those people are celebrated or not, all who take a stand against tyranny, in any way they can, deserve to be recognized as heros.

So it was with Rosa Parks. She was a simple seamstress who did not set out to be a hero. While she worked as a volunteer secretary for the NAACP, she did not see herself as a national leader. But on that day in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, she decided she would no longer suffer the humiliation and surrender her bus seat because of her race. In her own words, "The time had just come when I had been pushed as far as I could stand to be pushed I suppose."

That one simple act of resistance precipitated the Montgomery Bus Boycott, perhaps the key pioneering event in the creation of the whole civil rights movement.

Today we have a Congress controlled by a numerical majority who operate as bullies. They hold votes open for hours at a time while they browbeat and threaten even their own party members. They disrespect and disregard long established rules of procedure and decorum. They exclude the participation of those representing at least half of the American people from any kind of meaningful decision making. And if ever opposed, they threaten they will not hesitate to further abuse their power by moving to abolish the right to filibuster.

Do they not fear the American people? Thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of our citizens are calling and emailing and faxing their senators right now to demand that Samuel Alito not be allowed to run our Supreme Court into some right wing ditch. And if you are asking, "Who will lead the filibuster that will stop this?" If you are asking yourself, "Who will stand up against the intimidation and the fear and expose those bullies for the fringe minority that they truly are?" The answer is . . . YOU are doing it right now.

With every personal message you send, you are telling our senators that it is time for we the people to take a stand. With every phone call you make, you are telling them it's time to take our country back. With every fax, YOU are a hero for democracy. The majority of the American people no longer believe in done deals. The other side has already lost, and the proof of it is that they are reduced to making empty verbal threats. They'll clean our clock one Republican senator was quoted yesterday as saying.

But privately the other side is telling its own few supporters that something dreadful has happened, that we actually think we can win, and that we will succeed unless they redouble their own lobbying efforts. And it's not working for them. On the Ed Shultz show yesterday, and Ed does not screen his calls, EVERY person who called in was demanding that there be a filibuster if necessary to save our Supreme Court from Samuel Alito.

There is only one way to deal with a bully. You must stand up to them. And we must keep standing up to them. We must keep calling our senators to tell them that the American people support them for taking a courageous stand. They must stand alone on the floor of the Senate, but we must continue rallying to their side. If the other side declares war on the filibuster we must call and call again to express our outrage. Each of us in our own way must find the courage to stand individually and declare, "The time has just come when I've been pushed as far as I can stand to be pushed."

NEW ACTION PAGE: http://www.nocrony.com/no_nuke.php

As more and more of us raise our voices together we are seeing the dawning of a new political day. And on this day, no longer will we have to live under the tyranny of intimidation and fear. Indeed, we have nothing to fear but defeatism itself. It's up to us alone.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.

Powered by The People's Email Network
Copyright 2005, Patent pending, All rights reserved

Harry Reid met with progressive lobbyists on Tuesday and told them he has nearly 44 votes against Alito, but there are 8 Democratic Senators who will not support a filibuster.

Only 41 votes are needed for a filibuster. If Reid has nearly 44 votes against Alito, every one of those Senators should support a filibuster or their vote against Alito is meaningless.

So call the Democrats who are leading this battle and demand a united Democratic filibuster:
Harry Reid (NV)
Dick Durbin (IL)
Chuch Schumer (NY)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Pat Leahy (VT)

Use these toll free numbers to call the Capitol: 888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641. If you can't get through, look up the Senator's District Office number in your phone book or here:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir

Reid would not name the "Alito 8" who are blocking a Democratic filibuster - so we need to identify them and tell them not to betray the Democrats who funded them and voted for them.

The most likely suspects are the "Red State" Democrats:
Tom Carper (DE)
Kent Conrad (ND)
Byron Dorgan (ND)
Tim Johnson (SD)
Mary Landrieu (LA)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Mark Pryor (AR)

Also call these "Blue State" and pro-choice Republicans:
Lincoln Chafee (RI)
Susan Collins (ME)
Lisa Murkowsky (AK)
Bob Smith (OR)
Olympia Snowe (ME)
Ted Stevens (AK)

For extra credit, call all the 2008 Presidential candidates who are sitting Senators - Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, and John Kerry - and tell them to either LEAD THE FILIBUSTER or FORGET ABOUT YOUR SUPPORT.

You can also send that message to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (202-224-2447) and the Democratic National Committee (202-863-8000).

Share what you learn with Democrats.com members here:
http://www.democrats.com/alito-8

____________________


THE CASE FOR IMPEACHMENT


Our 40th Year

The San Francisco Bay Guardian this week outlines the case for impeaching President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Guardian, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, is one of the first newspapers in the country to call for impeaching the president.

The article, written by City Editor Steven T. Jones, cites top Constitutional lawyers and scholars as well as political figures to make the case that Bush and Cheney have abused executive authority to the point where they may well have committed impeachable offenses.

The article chronicles a growing grassroots movement that has largely escaped the notice of the mainstream news media. Jones' piece and an accompanying note by Executive Editor Tim Redmond, chide the leadership of the Democratic Party for its failures to press the impeachment issue.
http://www.sfbg.com/

____________________

Google ImpeachPAC!

George Bush wants to know what you've been Googling. If Bush wants to use Google to find out what Americans are secretly thinking, let's tell him - LOUD AND CLEAR.

Please visit http://Google.com right now and type this:

IMPEACHPAC

When you get the Google search results, click on the very first link for IMPEACHPAC.

Once you visit IMPEACHPAC, we hope you'll send a second message by making a small donation to help us elect pro-impeachment candidates to Congress. Our goal is $100,000, and we're over half-way there.

You can also send a message directly to your Representative and Senators urging them to Impeach Bush:

http://democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/65

Please Google IMPEACHPAC right now. Why now? Because every Monday, Google publishes a list of the top 15 search words for the week.

http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

And forward this message to your friends. If we can get millions of people to Google IMPEACHPAC, we will create a media firestorm and prove to George Bush and the Corporate Media that Americans want to IMPEACH BUSH NOW.

____________________

IMPEACHMENT FORCED INTO NEWS AND ONTO MCLAUGHLIN GROUP

The McLaughlin Group political talk show devoted much of its discussion this past Sunday to the topic of impeachment. You deserve the credit for that. Steve Thomma of Knight Ridder said on the show that he receives 20-50 emails a day supporting impeachment and that he thinks the emails are "organized." He's right! They are organized here:
http://democrats.com/bush-impeachment-polls

The clip that McLaughlin plays from the Murtha-Moran town hall forum doesn't show either of them saying a word. Rather it shows the hundreds of us who were packed in the room cheering for impeachment.

The quote McLaughlin reads from Al Gore is not from his speech, but from his response to a reporter's question afterwards on impeachment -- what people in the room were promoting with flyers and shouts.

Just as we forced the Downing Street Minutes into the news, we are forcing impeachment into the news. And Congress will follow. Please take a minute to contact the major media and to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. It could save this country. Here are some tips:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/media

Watch the McLaughlin Group video:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002317.htm
____________________

UPCOMING EVENTS TO END THE WAR AND HOLD WARMAKERS ACCOUNTABLE

The following events can also be found in the After Downing Street events system at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

You can also go there to find events near you or to create them.

Panel Discussion of Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq
Featuring: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Stephen Zunes, Ann Wright, Michael Schwartz, David Swanson, Harlan Hopgood, Steve Young, Lisa Lubow, and Norman Solomon.
Saturday, January 28, 7:30 p.m.
Grand Ballroom - Manhattan Beach Marriott, 1400 Parkview Avenue, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party and US Tour of Duty
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6939

"Out of Iraq" Forum
Featuring: David Swanson, Ann Wright, Jane Bright
Sunday, January 29, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
The Paul Kopeikin Gallery, 6150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.
Progressive Democrats of America, After Downing Street, & Clothing of the American Mind
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6947

Bush-Cheney Impeachment Forum
Featuring: Kevin Zeese, Cindy Sheehan, Ann Wright, David Swanson, Ramsey Clark, Marcus Raskin, and Ralph Nader.
Monday, January 30, noon to 2 p.m.
Bus Boys and Poets, 14th and V Streets, NW, Washington, DC
Democracy Rising, After Downing Street/Censure Bush, Backbone Campaign, Democrats.com, ImpeachPAC, Montgomery County Progressive Alliance, and Progressive Democrats of America.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6900

Cindy Sheehan to Read from Her New Book
Monday, January 30, 7 p.m.
All Souls Unitarian Church, 1500 Harvard St. NW, Washington, DC
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6904

Dick Cheney Birthday Bash
Monday, January 30, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Duggan's Pub, 440 S. 11th Street, Lincoln, Neb.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6678

Alternative State of the Union
Featuring: Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Katrina vanden Heuvel, John Cavanagh.
(Rep. John Conyers is expected to address censure and impeachment.)
Tuesday, January 31, 9:00 – 9:40 a.m. news conference followed by two panel discussions of 45-50 min.
Democratic National Headquarters, The Wasserman Conference Room, 430 South Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6916

Related Nation Editorial:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/editors

"Out of Iraq" by Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/woolsey

"A Unified Security Budget" by John Conyers
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/conyers

Bring the Noise and Drown Out Bush’s Lies
Tuesday, January 31, 8 p.m.
In large cities and town squares across the country — we will rally one hour before Bush’s address. At 9:00 PM let the world hear us as we symbolically drown out Bush’s lies—bring your own noise—drums, pots and pans, musical instruments — your voice. Let taxi horns blare and church bells ring, as we bring our own state of the union message: BUSH STEP DOWN!
http://www.worldcantwait.org

The People's State of the Union
Instead of sitting at home alone shouting at your TV in anger and frustration, take the People's State of the Union to the public. Gather with other CODEPINK women at a friendly bar or restaurant to watch the President's speech and make a night of it.
CODE PINK
http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?list=type&type=106

Iraq's Oil and Port Workers and their Unions: Photographs by David Bacon
January 31 - February 28
Opening Reception: January 31, 7:30 p.m.
United Steel Workers Local 675, 1200 E. 220th St., Carson, Calif.
March 1 - March 31
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63, 350 W. 5th Street, San Pedro, Calif.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6948

Take Our Demand to the White House
This regime is immoral, dangerous, and criminally indictable.
Bush Lied. Bush Spied. Bush Step Down.
2006. 2008. Too late. Turn your outrage into mass political action.
Saturday, February 4, 11 a.m.
17th & Constitution, Washington, DC
http://www.worldcantwait.org

Public Forum
Featuring: Ray McGovern, Paul Martin, Paul Schroeder, Rosemary Palmer.
February 8
Maplewood, NJ
South Mountain Peace Action
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6855

Making Change/Creating Peace!
Featuring: Medea Benjamin, David Swanson
February 15, 7:30 p.m.
Veterans Hall, Santa Cruz, Calif.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6906

Presidents Day
February 20 is Presidents Day. Don't you wish we had a president? Cindy Sheehan plans to travel to Houston to ask to speak with Bush's mother. Why not plan your own President's day event?

Protest Powell
Protest Colin Powell at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

A Day of Events in San Diego
Friday, March 3
Brunch at Catfish Club, featuring: David Swanson;
UCSB Anti-War Rally, www.truthout.org ;
6:30 p.m. panel discussion, featuring: Cindy Sheehan, Ann Wright, David Swanson.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6744

Women Say No to War
March 8, International Women's Day
At White House and around the world
http://www.codepink4peace.org/

Students Say No to War in Iraq
March 13-17 on campuses everywhere, marking three years of war.
http://campusantiwar.net

UFPJ Anti-War Events Everywhere
March 15 to 22, marking three years of war.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6681

National Campaign of Nonviolent Actions Planned at Congressional Offices
Now through March 20, marking three years of war.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6704

March to the Pentagon
March 20
Iraq Pledge of Resistance
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/7044

Progressive Plan for Ohio
March 26
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/ohioplan.pdf

SIGNS FOR ANY OCCASION:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6792



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