Freitag, 28. April 2006

How can we best return to our governments the essential values of protecting the 'life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness' of their people

The Story of Carl

"How can we best return to our governments the essential values of protecting the 'life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness' of their people, and separate from our governments contamination by the profit motive, which rightly should remain in the realm of business and not politics?" asks Thom Hartmann.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806I.shtml

March of the Conservatives

"The Christian Right's reclamation of Luc Jacquet's documentary tends to make us smile here in a France where the secular foundation and the recoil from religious practice more and more cloud any understanding of the dislocations under way in the American psyche and progressively increase the cultural differences that separate our two countries." Political researcher Catherine Croisier wonders whether the US is poised to return to a "Technicolor version of the pre-Civil Rights" era.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806H.shtml

"Nothing Prepared Me for Bush"

With over 65 percent of Americans disapproving of our current president, why can't we get some credible opposition in Washington? As we head toward midterm elections and look ahead to those of 2008, it's a question that is weighing heavily on millions of American minds. Two longtime observers of our increasingly corrupt political system, Robert Scheer and Joe Klein, have written books documenting the causes and the consequences. Onnesha Roychoudhuri interviews Scheer, who has some startling insights.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806G.shtml

Caring for Veterans on the Cheap

Judith Coburn examines: "Much has been written about how President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld waged war on the cheap, sending too few ill-equipped young soldiers - 30% of them ill-trained reservists and National Guardsmen - into battle. But little has been reported about how shockingly on-the-cheap the homecomings of these soldiers have proved to be."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806B.shtml

Katrina Report Rips the White House Anew

A Senate inquiry into the government's Hurricane Katrina failures ripped the Bush administration anew Thursday and urged the scrapping of the nation's disaster response agency. But with a new hurricane season just weeks away, senators conceded that few if any of their proposals could become reality in time.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806A.shtml

"Second class stamp to blame" for mobile phone mast planning permission

http://www.newswireless.net/index.cfm/article/2691

Save the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

The beaches of Orissa, India is home to one of the natural wonders of the world. Every year, between November and May, hundreds of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles congregate and mate in the coastal waters, before the females struggle up the beach in their tens of thousands to nest en masse, a rare phenomenon called the arribada (Spanish for arrival). The Olive Ridley turtle is famous for this mass nesting behaviour (explanation: the Kemps ridley also exhibits mass nesting behaviour) and Orissa is one of only three places in the world where it happens.

But over the last decade instead of the beaches bringing life and a new generation of turtles, the beaches have become a mass graveyard, with over 100,000 washed ashore, dead. They are victims of illegal fishing in no take zones and the thousands that die every year are just a fraction of the total, as most are not washed ashore. Industrial development and mega projects that are in the pipeline, particularly large ports, pose another danger to the turtles and their nesting beaches, threatening the very existence of this ecological marvel.

In 2006, the Year of the Turtle, Greenpeace has established the Turtle Witness Camp in the Devi region, a former mass-nesting site, bearing witness to the magic and fragility of an entire Olive Ridley season.

Join us in our campaign to protect the Olive Ridleys of Orissa.

Provide your details below and help us tell the Prime Minister of India to take action to protect the endangered Olive Ridleys Turtles:
http://prefs.greenpeace.org/mail-links/clicks/20057.2475012.5409

Hartz V in Vorbereitung?

Erwerbslosengruppen sind durch neue Gesetzesinitiativen der großen Koalition alarmiert.

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/22/22553/1.html

AMNESTY REPORT BLASTS 'WAR CRIMES'

U.S. PREPARES TO FACE U.N. ON TORTURE AS AMNESTY REPORT BLASTS 'WAR CRIMES'

Raw Story Friday,
April 28, 2006

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/As_U.S._prepares_to_face_U.N._0428.html

As the United States prepares a team of 30 to defend its record on torture before a U.N. committee, Amnesty International http://news.amnesty.org/ has made public a report blasting the United States for failing to take appropriate steps to eradicate use of torture at U.S. detention sites around the world, RAW STORY has learned.

U.S. compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment will be the topic of May 5 and 8 U.N. hearings in Geneva.

The United States last appeared before the Committee Against Torture in May, 2000. Amnesty claims that practices criticized by the Committee six years ago -- such as the use of electro-shock weapons and excessively harsh conditions in "super-maximum" security prisons -- have been used and exported by U.S. forces abroad.

The Amnesty report reviews several cases where U.S. detainees held in Afghanistan and Iraq have died as a result of torture. The group also lambasts U.S. use of electro-shock weapons, inhuman and degrading conditions of isolation in "super-max" security prisons and abuses against women in the prison system -- including sexual abuse by male guards, shackling while pregnant and even in labor.

As of now, the U.S. has yet to prosecute a single official, military officer or private contractor for "torture" or "war crimes" related to its occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, or the "war on terror."

"The heaviest sentence imposed on anyone to date for a torture-related death while in U.S. custody is five months," notes Curt Goering, Senior Deputy Executive Director for Amnesty International USA. "[That's] the same sentence that you might receive in the U.S. for stealing a bicycle."

The five month sentence resulted from the death of a 22-year-old taxi-driver, who had been hooded and chained to a ceiling, then kicked and beaten until dead.

"The U.S. government is not only failing to take steps to eradicate torture," he adds, "it is actually creating a climate in which torture and other ill-treatment can flourish -- including by trying to narrow the definition of torture."

The report argues that these cases are not isolated incidents, but part of an overall pattern condoned by U.S. officials.

"While the government continues to try to claim that the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody was mainly due to a few 'aberrant' soldiers, there is clear evidence to the contrary," said Javier Zuniga, Amnesty International's Americas Program Director. "Most of the torture and ill-treatment stemmed directly from officially sanctioned procedures and policies -- including interrogation techniques approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld."

Amnesty's findings have already been sent to members of the UN Committee Against Torture.

At its May 1-19 session, the Committee Against Torture will consider reports presented by Georgia, Guatemala, Republic of Korea, Qatar, Peru, Togo and the United States. With the exceptions of Korea and Peru, Amnesty has also provided reports about the actions of these nations.


Informant: NHNE

NEIL YOUNG'S "LIVING WITH WAR"

Streaming Audio
http://www.hyfntrak.com/neilyoung2/AFF23270/


NEIL YOUNG'S HARSH WORDS

By Chris Lee
Los Angeles Times
April 21, 2006

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-et-young21apr21,0,5676591,full.story?coll=la-headlines-politics

To anyone who's followed Neil Young's socially crusading, four-decade musical career, it was hardly a surprise to learn earlier this week that he's just recorded a 10-song collection that takes President Bush to task and sharply criticizes the war in Iraq.

The real surprise for Young loyalists is that it took him so long. As the veteran rocker explains it, he was finally moved to record the album, "Living With War," in a two-week burst of creativity after his patience with Generation Next ran out.

"I was waiting for someone to come along, some young singer 18 to 22 years old, to write these songs and stand up," Young said. "I waited a long time. Then, I decided that maybe the generation that has to do this is still the '60s generation. We're still here."

The album's explosive centerpiece is "Let's Impeach the President." Over an urgent, guitar-driven backdrop, Young sings:

"Let's impeach the president for abusing all the power we gave him and shipping all our money out the door.

Let's impeach the president for bending the facts to fit their new story of why we have to send our men to war."

In Young's view, the number is more than simply a political diatribe; it's an affirmation of free speech.

"You're always going to rub somebody the wrong way when you sing 'let's impeach the president,' " Young said. "But that's what this country's all about -- being able to express your views." Warner Bros. Records executives heard the 10-song set for the first time this week. Though news of the aggressive anti-Bush tone had already led to a flurry of comments on blogs. (Young's manager, Elliot Roberts, also played the CD for The Times.)

But "Impeach," with its mocking use of Bush sound bites, represents only one side of Young's emotional reaction to the war in the CD.

The collection is by turns empathetic toward soldiers' families and scornful of runaway consumer culture. With a nod to '60s protest music, Young shares his optimism and outrage -- at social ills including religious zealotry and patriotism run amok.

There is more anger, most notably the reference to Bush's famous 2003 "one victory" remarks against the backdrop of a "Mission Accomplished" banner atop an aircraft carrier deck, which the singer ridicules in the song, "Shock and Awe."

"Living With War" concludes with a deeply emotional version of "America the Beautiful," with Young backed by a 100-member choir. Young, a Canadian-born longtime resident of the U.S. whose career started in the '60s, joins other high-profile artists who've recently recorded politically minded pop songs. Pearl Jam's "World Wide Suicide" addresses "a world of pain" in which "war has taken over." The song recently topped rock radio.

The Dixie Chicks' new single, "Not Ready to Make Nice," takes up where group member Natalie Maines' 2003 anti-Bush comment (about the group being ashamed that the president was from Texas) left off. And next month, Paul Simon, another '60s crusader, will release his album "Surprise," which includes the song "Wartime Prayers," a disheartened meditation about psychic war wounds.

Last month at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Texas, conference organizer Roland Swenson recalled Young's "Ohio," written after the Kent State shootings. Addressing Young, who was the conference's keynote speaker, he said, "Mr. Young, we need another song."

And so he set out to do just that.

Rather than merely a protest, Young wanted "Living With War" to amplify the public sentiments he's encountered.

"It's the people I've been talking to: people in restaurants, people in cars," he said. "Whenever the talk gets around to what's going on in the world, people are saying what's on this record."

On his website he said he tried to draw upon the '60s folk protest tradition of writers such as Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs, only framing some of the songs in a harder "metal folk" style.

The album's "Flags of Freedom" is the most direct homage to that tradition, echoing the anthem-ish undercurrents of Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom."

In Young's song, he conjures the image of a girl listening to a Dylan song as she watches her brother march off to war.

"Have you seen the flags of freedom?

What color are they now?"

"Do you think that you believe in yours more than they believe in theirs?"

"I found Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan's protest songs of the '60s to be tremendously inspired," Young said. "These people were writing from their souls about something that was happening in the country at that time. Civil rights, the injustices in society -- they were huge. It's good to have a voice."

Or 100.

Young said he enlisted that many back-up singers because he liked the metaphorical weight of having "100 voices from 100 lands." One vocalist, Alicia Morgan, wrote about the atmosphere in the Los Angeles recording studio on her blog.

"The session was like being at a 12-hour peace rally," she writes. "Every time new lyrics would come up on the screen, there were cheers, tears and applause. It was a spiritual experience."

When Young and Roberts played the CD for the Warner Bros. staff, the closing "America the Beautiful" moved some of the group to tears, according to one executive present.

"Living With War" marks another turn in the restless rocker's long and varied career, arriving on the heels of recent dramatic events in his life. Young's 87-year-old father died last June, just as the singer was recovering from a brain aneurysm discovered in March 2005, which required emergency neuroradiology.

Asked about the difficulty of maintaining his idealism, Young remained sanguine -- and committed as ever to the democracy of ideas.

"I'm eternally optimistic," he said. "Change doesn't have to happen tomorrow. Maybe the day after tomorrow. The endgame is, when people hear it, it's up to them to think whatever they want. And I can say whatever I want. We seem to be losing track of that."


Informant: NHNE

--------

Neil Young's "Living With War" Shows He Doesn't Like It

Today, Neil Young has launched his most powerful album in years, a disc fueled by outrage at Washington. Young is the latest in a string of recording stars to take musical aim at US President Bush and his conduct of the war in the Iraq.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806N.shtml

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Neil Young joins the hate Bush bandwagon

Had Neil Young released a song titled Let's Impeach the President three years ago, he would have been exiled to the fringes of American music: just ask the Dixie Chicks.

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1763207,00.html


From Information Clearing House

--------

NEIL YOUNG'S CALL TO ARMS
http://counterpunch.org/jacobs04292006.html

Neil Young Clobbers the Thought Police
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0429-22.htm


Informant: Kev Hall

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Neil Young and the Restless
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0508-22.htm



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach

After Abu Ghraib, Impunity

by Jim Lobe, TomPaine.com

A new report details the widespread nature of detainee abuse and the severely limited response.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/28/after_abu_ghraib_impunity.php

Public scrutiny may yet beat industry dollars in the fight over net neutrality

Democracy 2.0

by Timothy Karr, TomPaine.com
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/28/democracy_20.php

Ending the War in Iraq

US Representatives Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) convened a forum on "Ending the War in Iraq" yesterday morning at 9:00 a.m. on Capitol Hill. The forum included testimony from Iraqis, a US veteran who shared his personal experiences, and Members of Congress who presented their plans for ending the war in Iraq.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806Z.shtml

Your Call Could Swing the Senate on Illegal Spying

http://tinyurl.com/kzt96

The eastern slope of the Andes and the Amazonian jungle lowlands are being stripped, sawed, plowed, and piped into a global barrel of politically cheap fossil fuels

Bungle in the Jungle

Big Oil has been pushing its pipelines into the Amazon rainforest frontier since the 1960s. Nowadays, prompted by high oil prices and militarization of the Middle East's fossil fuels, the eastern slope of the Andes and the Amazonian jungle lowlands are being stripped, sawed, plowed, and piped into a global barrel of politically cheap fossil fuels.

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/04/26/hearn/index.html


From Information Clearing House

Chávez calls on South America to unite

South American nations will have to choose whether they want continental unity or individual trade agreements with the United States -- but not both, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said on Wednesday.

http://tinyurl.com/l93uj


From Information Clearing House

Bush's Hypocrisy

http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/042706Parry.shtml

A lesson unlearned in El Salvador
http://tinyurl.com/rpxdh


From Information Clearing House

Guantanamo Bay prisoner 'tried to commit suicide a dozen times'

A prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, held without charge for more than four years, has tried to kill himself a dozen times in an attempt to escape the misery and isolation of his incarceration.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article360403.ece


From Information Clearing House

The Long War posture

The American public is being lulled into a false sense of insecurity. And insecurity, constructed or real, is what gives those in power - our purported protectors - their self-righteous aura of indispensability.

http://tinyurl.com/qt5pt


From Information Clearing House

Scott Ritter on Iran and the Return of a Draft

We shouldn't allow them to go out and die in a cause that's not worthy of the sacrifice. I just think it's a cop-out to say that we have to have a draft before America cares. America should care without a draft.

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/35517


From Information Clearing House

GIs, Beware Radioactive Showers

Depleted uranium (DU) is steadily taking down our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s time for the soldiers to follow the lead of their commanders in order to end the war.

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12861.htm



http://tinyurl.com/jsf3n

From That Pentagon Death Star, And The University That Poisoned The World

Two images changed my life when I visited the Peace Museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 2000, on my first trip to Japan. I had worked as a geoscientist in two U.S. Nuclear weapons labs – Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Lawrence Livermore National Lab – but I never knew what a nuclear weapon really was, nor the horrific effects of radiation on the environment and biological systems. Now I know.

http://lonestaricon.com/2006/CurrentIssue/17/14guest.htm


From Information Clearing House

House OKs sanctions against Iran

It states that weapons of mass destruction-related sanctions against Iran remain in effect until Iran has verified that it is dismantling its WMD programs. It requires that sanctions be imposed on any person who exports or supplies to Iran goods or technology that help Iran obtain WMDs.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/14436154.htm



“Diplomacy,” the smokescreen for savagery
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_742.shtml


From Information Clearing House

In Baghdad some killings get noticed, some don't

When gunmen killed a sister of an Iraqi vice president on Thursday, it grabbed world headlines. A few streets away, however, another slaying, typical of hundreds in Baghdad in recent weeks, went all but unnoticed.

http://tinyurl.com/pq57j



Widow numbers rise in wake of violence

More than 90 women become widows each day due to continuing violence countrywide, according to government officials and non-governmental organisations devoted to women's issues.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/0e9b19596e7ec143feaa10e2d4d2e996.htm


From Information Clearing House

America's rags-to-riches dream an illusion

study

By Alister Bull

America may still think of itself as the land of opportunity, but the chances of living a rags-to-riches life are a lot lower than elsewhere in the world, according to a new study published on Wednesday.

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12863.htm

The Passion of George W. Bush

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12864.htm

Destroying Paradise for Profit

An investigative report that answers the question: What role did Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff play in allowing American companies to profit by exploiting tens of thousands of female workers in the Northern Marianas Islands?

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/042706LA.shtml

Evangelical Christians Are Preaching Politics in Ohio

The wall between church and state is being stretched once again in Ohio, this time not just by politicians, but by church leaders themselves. So-called "patriot pastors" are mobilizing to deliver one-sided messages about social policy, secular laws and even political candidates before the state's May 2nd gubernatorial primary.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042706U.shtml

Judge Won't Dismiss Case Against Libby

A federal judge refused Thursday to dismiss charges against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former top White House aide who was indicted on perjury and obstruction charges last year in the CIA leak scandal. The judge turned down a motion that challenged the authority of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to handle the case.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042706T.shtml

Health Protection Agency - EMF Discussion Group (EMFDG)

Powerwatch News: 27/04/2006

http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20060427_hpa_emfdg.asp

Summary: At the personal request of Sir William Stewart, Chairman of the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA), a new discussion group has been set up to help develop suitable precautionary advice for the general public regarding exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The people invited to participate in this group have considerable expertise in relation to addressing possible health effects from exposure to EMFs. Sir William Chaired the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones which published “The Stewart Report” in May 2000.

The terms of reference for the work of the new discussion group are:

to provide a forum for considering possible health concerns related to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and to provide an input to the development of HPA advice.

It was agreed that the work of the Group would involve discussion of areas of public concern that relate to the work of HPA Radiation Protection Division and the development of its advice. It needs to ensure that its work concentrates on topics of direct relevance to HPA-RPD and that it does not duplicate the work of other Groups and Committees. The RPD has a primary responsibility to provide a scientific view of how various radiations across the EMF spectrum can affect public health. RPD also has a responsibility to ensure that when information is presented to the public, it should be informative and address any concerns.

Three main topics were discussed at the first meeting, held on the 2nd of March 2006. These were:

A recent RPD report on Electrical Sensitivity Exposures to Magnetic Fields from Power Frequencies A report from the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) on Power Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, Melatonin and the Risk of Breast Cancer.

Minutes for this first meeting have now been published by the HPA RPD and are available from here.
http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/radiation_topics/emf/emfdg/index.htm

Current Membership consists of:

Sir William Stewart, Chairman (Health Protection Agency)
Dr John Stather, Secretary (Health Protection Agency)
Mr Mike Bell (Chairman, EM Radiation Research Trust)
Dr Mike Clark (Health Protection Agency)
Mr Andy Davidson (Tetrawatch)
Mr Michael Dolan (Mobile Operators Association)
Professor Denis Henshaw (University of Bristol)
Mr George Hooker (Department of Health)
Dr Myron Maslanyj (Health Protection Agency)
Dr Jill Meara (Health Protection Agency)
Mr Alan Meyer (Mast Action UK Services)
Professor Mike O‚Carroll (Chairman, Revolt)
Mrs Eileen O‚Connor (EM Radiation Research Trust)
Mr Alasdair Philips (Powerwatch)
Professor Alan Preece (University of Bristol)
Mr Lee Searles (Local Government Association)
Dr Zenon Sienkiewicz (Health Protection Agency)
Mrs Anne Silk (Independent Consultant)
Dr John Swanson (National Grid Transco)
Mr Chris Woollams (CANCERactive)

Source: http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=446

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The HPA acknowledged the condition of hypersensitivity exists and that it affects some people in the population
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/1878998/

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First Meeting of the HPA - Radiation Protection Division EMF Discussion Group

From Sylvie Hsem:

See full report at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/radiation_topics/emf/emfdg/emfdg_minutes_2_3_06.pdf

Chilton Thursday, 2 March 2006 Those Attending Sir William Stewart, Chairman (Health Protection Agency)…

Welcome and Work of the EMF Discussion Group…

Three main topics had been identified for discussion at the meeting. These were:

1 A recent RPD report on Electrical Sensitivity
2 Exposures to Magnetic Fields from Power Frequencies
3 A report from the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) on Power Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, Melatonin and the Risk of Breast Cancer

Each item was introduced by a member of HPA-RPD staff who summarised key points in the published reports. They were then opened for discussion by member of the EMFDG…

http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=510

Senator Specter Threatens to Block NSA Funds

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Thursday he is considering legislation to cut off funding for the Bush administration's secret domestic wiretapping program until he gets satisfactory answers about it from the White House.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042706S.shtml

Taking the President to Court

This is very very interesting. Let us hope good things can indeed come out of it.

Alan Dicey Miami, Florida


Taking the President to Court

by Congressman John Conyers

Thu Apr 27, 2006 at 02:46:24 PM EST

As some of you may be aware, according to the President and Congressional Republicans, a bill does not have to pass both the Senate and the House to become a law. Forget your sixth grade civics lesson, forget the book they give you when you visit Congress - "How Our Laws Are Made," and forget Schoolhouse Rock. These are checks and balances, Republican-style.

As the Washington Post reported last month, as the Republican budget bill struggled to make its way through Congress at the end of last year and beginning of this year (the bill cuts critical programs such as student loans and Medicaid funding), the House and Senate passed different versions of it. House Republicans did not want to make Republicans in marginal districts vote on the bill again, so they simply certified that the Senate bill was the same as the House bill and sent it to the President. The President, despite warnings that the bill did not represent the consensus of the House and Senate, simply shrugged and signed the bill anyway. Now, the Administration is implementing it as though it was the law of the land.

Congressman John Conyers's diary :: :: Several public interest groups have sought to stop some parts of the bill from being implemented, under the theory that the bill is unconstitutional. However, getting into the weeds a bit, they have lacked the ability to stop the entire bill. To seek this recourse, the person bringing the suit must have what is called "standing," that is they must show they were injured or deprived of some right. Because the budget bill covers so many areas of the law, it is difficult for one person to show they were harmed by the entire bill. Thus, many of these groups have only sought to stop part of it.

After consulting with some of the foremost constitutional experts in the nation, I determined that one group of people are injured by the entire bill: Members of the House. We were deprived of our right to vote on a bill that is now being treated as the law of the land.

So, I am going to court. With many of my Democratic Colleagues (list appended at the bottom of this diary), I plan to file suit tomorrow in federal district court in Detroit against the President, members of the Cabinet and other federal officers seeking to have a simple truth confirmed: a bill not passed by the House and Senate is not a law, even if the President signs it. As such, the Budget bill cannot be treated as the law of the land.

As many of you know, I have become increasingly alarmed at the erosion of our constitutional form of government. Whether through the Patriot Act, the President's Secret Domestic Spying program, or election irregularities and disenfranchisement, our fundamental freedoms are being taken away. Nothing to me is more stark than this, however. If a President does not need one House of Congress to pass a law, what's next?

The following is a list of co-plaintiffs on this lawsuit. I would note that I did not invite every Member of the House to join in the suit, and I am certain many, many more Members would have joined if asked. However, this was not possible for various arcane legal reasons.

The other plaintiffs include Rep. John Dingell, Ranking Member on the Energy and Commerce Committee; Rep. Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Committee; Rep. George Miller, Ranking Member on the Education and Workforce Committee; Rep. James L. Oberstar, Ranking Member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rep. Barney Frank, Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee; Rep. Collin C. Peterson, Ranking Member on the Agriculture Committee; Rep. Bennie Thompson, Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee; Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, Ranking Member on the Rules Committee; Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee; Rep. Sherrod Brown, Representing Ohio's 13th District.



Taking the President to Court

John Conyers announced today that he and other House members are suing the President for signing a budget bill that was not passed by the House. The House and Senate passed different versions of the budget bill last year, but the Republican leadership did not bother to secure the final House vote needed to officially pass the bill.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042706R.shtml



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach

WHY NUCLEAR POWER CANNOT BE A MAJOR ENERGY SOURCE

http://www.feasta.org/documents/energy/nuclear_power.htm or
http://www.feasta.org/documents/energy/nuclear_power.pdf


Informant: Hopedance

House Blocks Consideration of Strengthening Amendments Critical for Serious Lobbying Reform

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0427-04.htm

Hundreds of Detainees Abused

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0427-07.htm

Gorbachev Urges G8 to Back Solar Power, Not Oil or Nuclear

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0427-03.htm

SPYCHIPPED LEVI'S BRAND JEANS HIT THE U.S.

http://www.newswithviews.com/McIntyre/Liz4.htm

Vodafone refuses to turn off mast

BBC NEWS

A mobile phone company is refusing to turn off a mast that is at the centre of a row over claims it was wrongly erected on council-owned land.

Vodafone has been told to de-activate the mast in Fisherman's Walk, Bournemouth, Dorset, by the council.

But the company has maintained the site is on a public highway and says no decision will be made until after talks have been held with the authority.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are not asking them, we are telling them."

Campaigners have also previously called for the mast to be turned off immediately.

We do not intend to switch off the mast because it would deprive local people of our service Vodafone spokeswoman

Protestor Charmaine Despres said: "I would much prefer it was off but I understand that formalities and procedures have to be followed."

The mast first caused controversy when it was revealed the council had failed to inform Vodafone of its objections within the 56-day statutory time limit.

Last week, campaigners discovered that the mast was actually sited on land owned by the council, which has a policy of not approving phone masts on its property.

Joint talks

A spokeswoman for Vodafone said: "We are looking into the suggestion that they own the land.

"As far as we are concerned the land has been used as a highway for over 20 years.

"We are happy to talk to the council about it but we do not intend to switch off the mast because it would deprive local people of our service."

Talks between Bournemouth Borough Council, Vodafone and local resident representatives are due to held on Thursday.

The current council policy of not allowing masts on its land is to be reviewed on 17 May.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/dorset/4942676.stm

Published: 2006/04/25 11:53:56 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Monsanto - GENial daneben!

Unsere Forderungen an Monsanto Deutschland:

1. Keine Terminatortechnologie - Weder auf dem Feld noch im Labor!

2. Vielfalt achten - Keine Systematische Unterwanderung der Landwirtschaft!

3. Ausstieg aus dem Risiko-Geschäft Gentechnik!

Zum Hintergrund: Der Gentechnik-Riese Monsanto

Der Gensaat-Konzern Monsanto hat eine Schlüsselstellung inne, was die Verbreitung der Agro-Gentechnik angeht. Er ist verantwortlich für 90% der weltweit verwendeten genetisch veränderten Eigenschaften, die entweder in eigene Saatgutsorten eingebaut oder an andere Unternehmen lizenziert werden. Das bedeutet, dass auch im Gen-Saatgut anderer Konzerne meist Monsanto seine Finger im Spiel hat. Bei der Ausbreitung der Gentechnik hat Monsanto ehrgeizige Ziele: Innerhalb der nächsten zwei Jahre will der Konzern ein Drittel der weltweiten Maisanbaufläche auf Gen-Anbau umgestellt haben. Laut Aussage des Vizepräsidenten von Monsanto soll es auf dem gesamten europäischen Maismarkt in 4 Jahren nur noch Gentechniok geben. Damit wäre keine Alternative zur Gentechnik mehr vorhanden.

Üble Geschäftpraktiken

Zur Umsetzung dieser ehrgeizigen Ziele ist Monsanto jedes Mittel recht. Um nur eine paar Beispiele für die unsägliche Geschäftspraxis des Konzerns zu nennen: Mit Klagen werden Kleinbauern, die sich nicht an die äußerst rigiden Verträge halten, an den Rand der Existenznot gebracht. Durch massives Lobbying, z.T. an der Grenze zur Korruption, wird wirksame Gentechnik-Regulierung verhindert. Schließlich führt Monsanto durch Propaganda Bauern über die vermeintlichen Vorzüge der Gentechnik in die Irre, meist mit vermeintlich neutralen Studien von hauseigenen Instituten. Diese Liste ließe sich beliebig weiterführen. Doch auch so schon wird am Beispiel Monsanto deutlich: Hinter der Einführung der Gentechnik stecken die Interessen großer Konzerne.

Zeit zum Handeln

Wenn Monsanto und Co. mit dieser Strategie Erfolg haben, befindet sich bald der Großteil der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion unter ihrer Kontrolle- und das gegen den erklärten Willen von 70% der europäischen VerbraucherInnen. Wenn auch in diesem Jahr wieder auf vielen Äckern Gensaat ausgesät wird, entscheidet sich ein Stück weit die Zukunft der Landwirtschaft in Europa und der gesamten Welt. Höchste Zeit zum Handeln also: Wollen wir die Einführung der Agro-Gentechnik auf unseren Äckern verhindern, müssen wir Monsanto stoppen.

Mehr dazu unter:
http://www.attac.de/oekologie/monsantokampagne.php

--------

Monsantobericht

Für alle, die ihn noch nicht haben: ganz unten ist ein Link zu der Monsanto-Studie, die Friends of the Earth anfang des Jahres rausgebracht hat - allerdings nur der Link zum 'executive summary' (20 Seiten). Wer das ganze Ding haben will, der kriegt es unter http://www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/gmcrops2006full.pdf (76 Seiten). Und wer nur die wesentlichen infos (key facts) haben will, bekommt diese unter http://www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/gmcrops2006factsheet.pdf (4 Seiten)

lg chrissi

Help save the Worlds Heritage

http://www.worldheritagealert.org/


Informant: George Chaplin

Permit Streamlining Act, SB 1627

http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=447

A Very Kind Master

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lora/m.lora19.html

Generals vs. Rumsfeld

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lind/lind92.html

Stand up against Bush's drive to war

http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan40.html

Defining Democracy Down

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_04_24/article2.html


Informant: Lew Rockwell

The 'Academic Bill of Rights': It's a trick to suppress dissent on US foreign policy

says Ron Paul
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul320.html

Law, Property Rights, and Air Pollution

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/air-pollution.html

The Lobby is on the march, and war is in the wind

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4419/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Bundesarbeitsgericht kippt Teilzeitbefristungsggesetz

http://www.altersdiskriminierung.de/themen/artikel.php?id=1331

Bürger in der Neuen Zeile sehen ihre Gesundheit gefährdet

Mobilfunkantennen erzürnen Anwohner

28.04.2006, Allgäuer Zeitung

Bürger in der Neuen Zeile sehen ihre Gesundheit gefährdet

Neugablonz (fro). - Seit voriger Woche soll auf dem Gebäude des Bundesverbandes der Gablonzer Industrie eine weitere Mobilfunkantenne montiert worden sein, beklagen zwei AZ-Leser. Das hätten sie als Anwohner beobachtet. Dabei sei von Seiten des Bundsverbandes zugesichert worden, dass nach den ersten Antennen keine weiteren folgen sollen, so die Leser. Der Bundesverband hat als Vermieter die Arbeiten genehmigt, aber es sei nichts Neues hinzugekommen: „Der Mobilfunkbetreiber hat seine Anlage nur modernisiert“, erklärt der Geschäftsstellenleiter des Bundesverbandes, Thomas Nölle.

Die beiden Leser wohnen schon länger in der Neuen Zeile in Neugablonz. Vor über zehn Jahren seien bereits Antennen für Mobilfunk auf dem Gebäude des Bundesverbandes der Gablonzer Industrie installiert worden. In der Folgezeit habe der Verband aber versichert, dass keine weiteren Antennen auf das Dach sollen. Schließlich habe der Turm auf dem Gebäude ohnehin „die meisten Antennen in ganz Kaufbeuren auf dem Dach“, so ein Leser. Nun sei wieder auf dem Dach gearbeitet worden und die Leser argwöhnen, es könnte sich um weitere Mobilfunkantennen handeln.

Stimmung der Anwohner nicht gut „Die Stimmung unter den Anwohnern ist deshalb nicht gut“, erklärt eine Leserin. Denn bei Gesprächen mit Nachbarn habe sich herausgestellt, dass es ausgerechnet in der Neuen Zeile und Am Rehgrund eine bemerkenswerte Zunahme von Schlafstörungen, Kreislaufbeschwerden und sogar Krebserkrankungen in den vergangenen rund fünf Jahren gegeben habe.

Omega siehe hierzu auch „Krebshäufungen um Sendeanlagen in Thüringen“ unter: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1730505/

Außerdem seien drei Kindergärten und zwei Schulen im weiteren Umkreis. „Wir machen uns ernsthafte Sorgen um unsere Gesundheit“, so die Leserin weiter.

Bei den Arbeiten auf dem Turm seien keine neuen Antennen aufgestellt worden. Es habe lediglich eine „Modernisierung“ stattgefunden, so der Geschäftsstellenleiter des Bundesverbandes, Nölle. „Wir sind der Meinung, dass eine gut ausgebaute Mobilfunk-Infrastruktur wichtig für die Industrie und auch für Teile der Bevölkerung ist“, erklärt er. Der Verband habe vor über zehn Jahren deshalb die Flächen auf dem Turm an Mobilfunkbetreiber verpachtet. Und das soll auch noch einige Jahre so bleiben. „Aber wir nehmen die Bedenken der Anwohner ernst. Deshalb haben wir auch in der Vergangenheit öfter Informationsveranstaltungen zu dem Thema gemacht“, erläutert Nölle. Die Stadt weiß über die Modernisierung Bescheid. „Wir wurden benachrichtigt, dass der Mobilfunkanbieter seine Anlage aufrüsten will. Das muss uns reichen, da das genehmigungsfrei ist“, erklärt Baureferatsleiter Ralf Baur. Er verweist aber darauf, dass die Stadt ab und zu die Strahlenwerte von den Mobilfunkmasten misst. „Sie waren immer innerhalb der zulässigen Grenzwerte. In Kaufbeuren lagen sie sogar unter der weitaus niedrigeren Schweizer Norm“, so Baur.

Omega siehe hierzu „Die Schweizer Grenzwerte - Eine Mogelpackung erster Güte“ unter: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/283430/

http://www.all-in.de/redsys/c.php/allin/lokales/index.php?l=de&dom=dom1&id=609049

Save Whales From a Cruel End: Stop Whaling Now

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/446578966?z00m=82304

Say No to Drilling Off California's Coast

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/309435047


Informant: Scott Munson

„Der Mensch glaubt, er hält alles aus“

http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1730505/

Wir ernähren die Welt - We feed the World

http://www.3sat.de/kulturzeit/tips/91062/index.html
http://www.3sat.de/nano/astuecke/91375/index.html

--------

Das Imperium der Schande: der Kampf gegen Armut und Unterdrückung
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/1694438/

--------

Mobilfunksenderstrahlung und Agro-Gentechnik
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/1693238/

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