World-News

Yesterday, I spoke in San Francisco about Iraq and Darfur -- two important foreign policy issues that weigh heavily upon me and all Americans. I'm extremely frustrated by the Bush Administration's inability to resolve either conflict, even in the face of tremendous human suffering.

It's time for real leadership and some fresh ideas to break the Bush Administration's gridlock. That's why I'm speaking out -- and I hope you'll join me.

Darfur

In September of 2004, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell called the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan "genocide" -- the first time any Bush Administration official had accurately described the more than 50,000 deaths and more than 1 million refugees at that point.

Since then, many of us in the Senate have called on President Bush to take action, to name a special envoy who would focus the world's attention on ending the killing of African ethnic groups by Arab militias in Darfur and supporting the millions of refugees.

Unfortunately, President Bush has failed to act. In the meantime, the killing in Darfur has continued, more than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes, and without sufficient funds, most of these refugees -- including many, many children -- will continue to be malnourished.

This is unconscionable. That's why I'm calling on President Bush to immediately name Bernice King and Martin Luther King III as special U.S. emissaries to Darfur. Both of the King children have already indicated their willingness to help. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has joined me in this effort, making this truly a bi-partisan proposal.

I urge President Bush to act swiftly, empowering Bernice King and Marin Luther King III as special emissaries in order to heighten worldwide awareness of this tragedy, compel foreign governments to increase aid, and bring hope to those that are suffering. What a fitting message of hope and non-violence we could send by building on the legacy of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King.

Iraq

After three long years, the deaths of more than 2,467 American troops, more than 18,000 wounded, and the deaths of more than 40,000 Iraqis, it's beyond time to bring our mission in Iraq to a close.

The Bush Administration misled us into an elective war that we didn't have to fight. But our brave men and women in uniform have performed admirably, successfully meeting every goal that was set for them -- from capturing Saddam Hussein and freeing the Iraqi people to training Iraqi security forces and fostering the creation of an Iraqi government. Now it should be up to the people of Iraq to decide what kind of future they want.

That's why I'll be introducing a resolution when the Senate returns to Washington next week, calling for U.S. forces to be redeployed from Iraq within 6 months or earlier, if practicable. My resolution also calls for a quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon Marine presence to be deployed in the region.

It is completely unacceptable to me to see our government paralyzed over a failed policy -- a policy that is bringing so much pain to so many. The Bush Administration's open-ended commitment in Iraq is not only causing death and destruction to our brave troops, it's also serving as a catalyst for further terrorist recruitment.

It's time to change course. That's why I'll be introducing my resolution in the Senate, which is very similar in impact to Congressman Jack Murtha's House legislation, when Congress reconvenes next week.

* * * * *

Thanks for taking the time to read this message. I thought it was important to lay out some of my latest thinking on Iraq and Darfur and provide some tangible solutions to the Bush Administration's gridlock.

I hope you'll join me in speaking out on these two critical foreign policy issues and help me bring about the change that is so desperately needed -- in America, in Iraq, and in Darfur.

In Friendship,

Barbara Boxer

P.S. Please forward this email to other friends and family members who may be interested in addressing the serious problems we face in Iraq and Darfur. Thanks for your continued help and support!

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4576/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://americanmonitor.blogspot.com/2006/05/terror-ops-underway-in-iran.html


Informant: Kev Hall

The US-led multinational force in Iraq is losing troops from two of its most important allies - Italy and South Korea - and up to a half dozen other members could draw down their forces or pull out entirely by year's end.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106I.shtml

"If you want an illustration of 'deafening silence,' it is what you hear in the corridors of official and corporate India after the judicial verdict in the US on Enron and its extraordinary crimes. The eerie silence is about the Indian part of the Enron story," writes J. Sri Raman.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106G.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Enron

Now, with polls showing a steady decline in public support and average Americans increasingly tuning out the war in Iraq, a new generation of veterans are warning that they, too, are at risk of the same kind of indifference that confronted Vietnam-era veterans.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106D.shtml

Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as "a renegade band of rightwing extremists."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106C.shtml

How high did the Republicans’ New Hampshire phone scheme reach?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106B.shtml

William Fisher writes, "Libya's 'rehabilitation' as a country that has renounced WMD and state-sponsored terrorism - for which it will soon be rewarded with a real live American ambassador - provides an exquisite illustration of how the Bush administration is replacing its 'spreading freedom' mantra with support for the 'Global War on Terrorism.'"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106A.shtml

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70914-0.html?tw=rss.technology


Informant: Scott Munson

The Tangled Web of American "Intelligence"

"From such a tangled web of intelligence organizations, fighting for turf, squirreling away money in black accounts, running covert operations (not to speak of secret prisons and interrogations, kidnappings and assassinations), surveilling everyone in hearing or sight, and monitoring the universe, undoubtedly comes a tangled mass of information, however computerized, beyond the ken of any set of human beings," writes Tom Engelhardt.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106P.shtml

In the first public testimony by a member of Jack Abramoff's inner circle, a former Congressional aide told a federal jury yesterday how the disgraced lobbyist identified his "champions" in government and then showered them with favors to get inside information and help for his clients.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106N.shtml

"Among the mysteries still unsolved is what caused such a catastrophic collapse in the Marines' discipline," writes Michael Duffy. "So why did some men in Kilo Company apparently snap? Perhaps because of the stress of fighting a violent and unpopular war - or because their commanders failed them."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106M.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Haditha

Iran does not pose an immediate nuclear threat, and the world must act cautiously to avoid repeating mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said on Tuesday.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106L.shtml

"The Bush Family consistently acted to put Enron and its longtime CEO Ken Lay into a position to rip off investors and taxpayers," writes Robert Scheer. "Why is the mass media ignoring that fact now that Lay has been convicted in arguably the most egregious example of white-collar fraud in US history?"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106K.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Enron

31.05.06

Der Bundesvorsitzende der Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO), Wilhelm Schmidt, gerät wegen seiner Forderung nach Leistungskürzungen für Empfänger nach der Arbeitsmarktreform "Hartz IV" in heftige Kritik aus den eigenen Reihen. Schmidt habe klar gegen die Prinzipien der Arbeiterwohlfahrt verstoßen, sagte der Vorsitzende des Bezirksverbandes Niederrhein, Paul Saatkamp, der Chemnitzer "Freien Presse". Er sei entsetzt über die Haltung des AWO-Vorsitzenden. Alle vier nordrhein-westfälischen Bezirksverbände distanzierten sich von den Kürzungsforderungen ihres Vorsitzenden.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=13720



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hartz+IV

What do you think would happen if even one, just one of the Impeach Team candidates were to win their primary challenge for the soul of the Democratic party?

It would be an earthquake. It would demonstrate that our members of Congress are no longer able to blithely ignore the will of the people with impunity, that it will cost them their own nominations. And with your support, Marcy Winograd in the California 36th district, Bob McCloskey in the 29th and Charles Coleman in the 28th can ALL win.

Their amazing unity in running their positive, "call to action" radio spots is winning them massive local support. Already in prominent rotation on the Air America Radio affiliate in Los Angeles, tomorrow morning they will be added to KNX, the biggest news radio station in the city in drive time. And none of this would have happened without your generous donations.

You can hear the new radio spot anytime on the page at:
http://www.impeachteam.com/donations.php

There is a link on the page now where you can download the MP3 direct to your hard drive (just right click). Put it on your own site, podcast it, spread the word that there are three brave candidates standing together in unity and standing for accountability, calling for impeachment now.

Here in the last 6 days of the campaign, the Impeach Team needs to secure every possible available radio spot they can, so that nobody could possibly miss the message that we have positive and viable alternatives to make our democracy really work. If you can contribute just $25 dollars, you can put one of these magical 60 second spots on Air America Radio. If you can contribute just $120 we can move that spot into the heaviest part of their daily schedule.

http://www.impeachteam.com/donations.php

Join Marcy Winograd, Bob McCloskey and Charles Coleman in speaking out for what must be done, the immediate impeachment of both Bush and Cheney before they abuse their power and the public trust even further.

As the momentum for Charles Coleman, Bob McCloskey and Marcy Winograd continues to build, OpedNews.com, the premier digest of online progressive opinion, today AGAIN featured an article where even more people can hear the Impeach Team radio spot playing right on the page.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thepen_060530_the_hidden_atrocitie.htm

Nobody who is a witness to this should be surprised on June 6th to see a check mark next to the names of Charles Coleman, Bob McCloskey and Marcy Winograd on TV that night. It is only by being able to sustain successful primary challenges that we can rebuild our democracy from the inside. And that would be an earthquake in California of national magnitude.

If you can make any contribution at all, and have not taken advantage of the opportunity to do so, listen to the radio spot, imagine what it would be like to inspire people to take effective and real action to save our country, and then do it.

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 2006, Patent pending, All rights reserved



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

More than a dozen efficiency efforts are set for trims or elimination as the administration pushes long-term projects.

By Mark Clayton
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0531/p02s01-uspo.html

A few years ago a little-known US Energy Department program helped produce a design technology for lightweight cars and trucks that in 2004 alone saved the nation 122 million barrels of oil, or about $9 billion.

Even without that breakthrough, the tiny Industrial Technologies Program routinely saves the United States $7 worth of energy for each dollar it spends, proponents say.

So, with energy prices spiking and President Bush pushing for more energy research, the ITP would seem a natural candidate for more funding. In fact, its budget is set to get chopped by a third from its 2005 level. It's one of more than a dozen energy-efficiency efforts that the Energy Department plans to trim or eliminate in a $115 million cost-saving move.

The push to solve the nation's energy woes are bumping up against the federal government's budget problems. To be sure, the Bush administration is anxious to fund its new Advanced Energy Initiative - long-term research into nuclear, coal, wind, solar, and hydrogen power. But to accomplish that, it is cutting lesser-known programs like ITP whose payoffs are far more near-term.

"This is the worst time to be cutting these programs," says William Prindle, deputy director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a Washington think tank. "At this point in time, with high energy prices and pressures, you'd think maybe we'd want to invest in a suite of energy-efficiency programs that make a dent right away."

If Congress accepts the Energy Department's proposed 2007 budget, it will cut $152 million - some 16 percent - from this year's budget for energy-efficiency programs. Adjusting for inflation, it would mean the US government would spend 30 percent less on energy efficiency next year than it did in 2002, the ACEEE says.

Such cuts reflect a shift in priorities toward programs that could offer much bigger energy breakthroughs, the Energy Department says.

"Tough choices had to be made, and we had to realign priorities," writes Christina Kielich, a DOE spokeswoman in an e-mail. "Some programs within the energy- efficiency budget have reached a point to be considered mature technologies" that require less funding.

To others, it's a penny-wise and pound-foolish move, particularly ironic for a nation hard-pressed to reduce energy bills.

"Because of high gas prices and energy prices, I just wouldn't have expected a program that helps the little guy, small business, to take this kind of hit," says Michael Muller, a Rutgers University engineering professor and national coordinator for the ITP's Industrial Assessment Centers. "They haven't said it doesn't work. They say it's because of other higher priorities."

One energy-efficiency program on the chopping block is the Heavy Vehicle Propulsion and Ancillary Subsystems. It helps improve the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks, one of the nation's biggest oil consumers. That program is "zeroed out" in the 2007 budget request.

The same fate awaits the $4.5 million Building Codes Implementation Grants program. It helps states adopt more energy-efficient requirements for new buildings, the nation's largest consumer of electricity and natural gas.

The $8 million Clean Cities program has helped clean-fuel technologies, like buses that run on compressed natural gas, get to market. But it's slated for a $2.8 million cut.

Dr. Muller's Industrial Assessment Centers program annually conducts about 600 energy audits and trains a new crop of about 250 new energy-efficiency engineers. The $7 million program, which is estimated to save enough power to supply half a million homes each year, wins plaudits from the small businesses that have been able to reduce their costs.

But budget cuts slated for 2007 would trim the program by a third, slashing the number of its university-based auditing and training programs from 23 to 16. Savings: about $2.4 million.

"I hope the ITP cuts do get restored," says Larry Kavanagh, vice president of manufacturing and technology for the American Iron and Steel Institute, a Washington trade association. "It saved the auto industry a lot of weight in its cars - and the country a lot of energy."

These programs are minuscule compared with the big-ticket research programs envisioned by the White House. Mr. Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, for example, would cost $1.2 billion over five years.

Proponents of the small-scale efficiency programs point out that the ITP, with 1/20th of the budget, has already saved more oil than the hydrogen-fuel program would save, if successful, by 2025.

But others are skeptical of the value of most Department of Energy programs and especially energy-efficiency programs. They say the latter should be provided by the private sector, not government.

"When energy prices are high, you don't need to subsidize conservation efforts," says Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies for the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank. "These are subsidies that qualify as corporate welfare."

One of the nation's priorities is improving the security and reliability of the electric grid. One option for doing that sooner, rather than later, is the emerging technology of "distributed generation." Under that approach, the nation would build more but much smaller power plants so that small businesses and even individual homes could have them.

True, such systems would burn costly natural gas - but at twice the energy efficiency of today's grid - to produce both heat and electricity for homeowners. If such systems caught on, they could vastly reduce load demand on central power stations and slash the need to build new power plants.

But that vision of the future may be delayed, since the DOE's "distributed energy" program has been cut in half and the remainder is being heavily earmarked by federal lawmakers for specific projects that they favor. The program is slated to be terminated in 2008, observers say.

"Hurricanes, terrorism, and blackouts have given us so many reasons to emphasize distributed generation, and instead we're putting emphasis on new forms of centralized power," says John Jimison, executive director of the US Combined Heat and Power Association, a Washington advocacy group. "It's too bad it's getting cut because it was a very modest program."

There may be a glimmer of hope for energy-efficiency programs. The House Committee for Energy and Water Development subcommittee moved last week to restore some funding to ITP and hybrid technology for heavy trucks. The committee voted earlier this month to fully fund the president's $2.1 billion Advanced Energy Initiative.

Full HTML version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links

http://www.csmonitor.com

Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.


Informant: binstock

A message from Eleanor

Every year The high School in Gillett, ARK play's host the annual Coon supper. Let's put a stop to this event! Each year 600-800 pounds of Racoon meat are served at this event. This is considered a political event, every polition in Arkansas must attend this event and eat Racoon meat.

"In most places, a politician has to kiss babies in order to succeed. Arkansas politicians have to eat raccoon.

The small east Arkansas town of Gillett doubles its population on the second weekend of every year as candidates and political junkies gather for its annual Coon Supper.

More than 60 years old, the event has become a required stop for anyone seeking or holding political office in Arkansas. Originally started as a fundraiser for high school athletics, it's now the ultimate meet-and-greet for the state's politicians"

We the undersigned hereby urge Gov. Mike Huckabee, Mayor Layton Mattmiller, and Gillett School District Supt. Johnnie L. Johnson to immediately stop this "fundraiser" and find other ways to support their school.

STOP THE ANNUAL RACCOON SUPPER IN GILLETT ARK
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/885544126

It’s time to hold ExxonMobil responsible for putting corporate profits over protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat. Join Defenders of Wildlife in urging ExxonMobil to clean up its act.

Fill out the form below to let ExxonMobil know that you will not buy ExxonMobil gasoline unless -- and until -- ExxonMobil abandons its lobbying efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge up to harmful drilling and takes meaningful action to curb global warming, to invest in renewable energy, and to pay for the damages done by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

Take action under:
https://secure2.convio.net/dow/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr002=dkn75njk75.app20a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=271

--------

Take Action on ExxonMobil today!

Dressed in big oil barrels bearing bold white messages like, “Exxon Funds Global Warming Skeptics!” Exxpose Exxon activists are gathering in Dallas today to protest outside ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting.

Even if you can’t be there in person to show ExxonMobil how fed up you are with its dirty practices, you can still participate in the protest by sending a letter to your members of Congress today http://ga3.org/campaign/EE_AGM_May2006 . Ask them to reject any bill that lines ExxonMobil’s pockets with more tax breaks and more oil drilling of our pristine lands and shorelines. The message is simple: If it’s good for ExxonMobil, it’s bad for the country. Your letter will help Congress put every bill before it in the right perspective.

Click here to participate in today’s protest by sending your message to Congress now. http://ga3.org/campaign/EE_AGM_May2006

Right now Congress is buzzing with talk about price gouging at the gas pump and ExxonMobil’s excessive profits and CEO pay packages. This is a crucial moment and it’s very important that your members of Congress hear from you today regarding your feelings about bills that benefit ExxonMobil instead of the American public.

As you likely know, we cannot drill our way out of global warming or our current energy crisis. Unfortunately, ExxonMobil refuses to accept this simple fact and is actually stepping up its efforts to lobby for more drilling in protected places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In fact, just this month, after a private meeting with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, House Speaker Dennis Hastert called on Congress to concentrate on prying open the Arctic Refuge for drilling.

Whether your concern is about global warming, clean air and water, social and environmental justice, human rights, wildlife and pristine land protection, peak oil, or national security – the solution is the same.

Our country must end its dependence on oil and begin the transition to clean and affordable renewable energy sources. ExxonMobil is using its profits and influence to stop that from happening. But we have something greater, we have the powerful voice of the people.

Please join today’s protest by clicking here to send a letter about ExxonMobil to your members of Congress now. http://ga3.org/campaign/EE_AGM_May2006

Then forward this message to all of your friends, family, and co-workers and ask them to do the same.

Thank you for your help.

Best,

Shawnee Hoover
Campaign Director, Exxpose Exxon

--------

Consumer, Environmental Fury Kicks Off Exxon Meeting

Simmering consumer fury over soaring gasoline prices and angst over ExxonMobil Corp.'s environmental policies converged on a Dallas symphony hall on Wednesday as the company kicked off its annual shareholders' meeting.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/060106EB.shtml

Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 11:27 AM
Subject: Stand Up for Internet Freedom

The telephone and cable companies who want to control the Internet underestimated us. Late last week in a strong bipartisan vote, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill - over industry lobbyists' objections - called HR 5417, the Internet Freedom and Non-Discrimination Act. Now we need to make sure that the full House of Representatives has a chance to consider this critical legislation. http://www.commoncause.org/InternetFreedom

Tell the House not to block a vote on a free and open Internet. HR 5417 ensures that we will continue to enjoy net neutrality, the right to access whatever we want on the Internet, and to use any lawful application, without interference from our Internet service provider. http://www.commoncause.org/InternetFreedom

Congress needs to hear that you care about the future of freedom and innovation on the Internet. Please send an email today. http://www.commoncause.org/InternetFreedom

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely, Chellie Pingree
President Common Cause

P.S. Check out our new feature,
Straight Talk on Net Neutrality: http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1709777
It answers some of the most commonly asked questions on this issue. If you have other questions you'd like to us to answer, let us know on CommonBlog: http://www.commonblog.com/story/2006/5/25/161042/990
Forward this message: http://www.commoncause.org/TellFriends
Support media reform: http://www.commoncause.org/SupportMediaReform
Discuss this message: http://www.commonblog.org/


Informant: Alan Dicey

Hawaii Reporter
by Alex Epstein

05/29/06

Every Memorial Day, we pay tribute to the American men and women who have died in combat. With speeches and solemn ceremonies, we recognize their courage and valor. But one fact goes unacknowledged in our Memorial Day tributes: all too many of our soldiers have died unnecessarily -- because they were sent to fight for a purpose other than America's freedom. The proper purpose of a government is to protect its citizens' lives and freedom against the initiation of force by criminals at home and aggressors abroad. The American government has a sacred responsibility to recognize the individual value of every one of its citizens' lives, and thus to do everything possible to protect the rights of each to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. This absolutely includes our soldiers...

http://tinyurl.com/r28c5


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The American Conservative
by Charles V. Pena

If gas breaking the $3/gallon barrier could dominate the evening news and send Congress into a frenzy, imagine Americans' horror if oil, now $75/barrel, suddenly tops $200. Neither our political will nor our wallets are prepared, but a few stalled SUVs may be the least of our concerns if the U.S. makes good on its threats against Iran... (for publication 05/05/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_06_05/feature.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

TechCentralStation
by Pejman Yousefzadeh

05/30/06

Remember, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives staked their claim to power twelve years ago via the 'Contract with America,' the first article of which said that 'all laws that apply to the rest of the country [should] also apply equally to the Congress.' It was a good idea back in 1994. It is a good idea now. Let's enforce it...

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=053006G


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=20882


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Free Market News Network
by Joel Skousen

05/30/06

Britain is notorious for its selective denial of free speech and a free press using its 'Official Secrets Act.' Americans used to be proud we were free from such sleight-of-hand maneuvers to restrict liberty. No more. It appears we have, compliments of our erstwhile 'conservative' government, using dubious legal interpretations, a de facto 'state secrets act.' Thinkprogress.org warned this week, 'Be careful what you read.' Not only is it viewed as unlawful to distribute classified material, you can be prosecuted for possessing it, even if you buy and keep a book or newspaper with illegal material inside...

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/230/5074/2006-05-30.asp?nid=5074&wid=230


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Reuters

05/30/06

Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday his patience was wearing thin with excuses from U.S. troops that they kill civilians by 'mistake' and said he would launch an investigation into killings at Haditha last year. 'There is a limit to the acceptable excuses. Yes a mistake may happen but there is an acceptable limit to mistakes,' Nuri al-Maliki told Reuters when asked about a U.S. investigation into the deaths of 24 Iraqis in the western town last November...

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=MAC048936


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp




http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Haditha

Yahoo! News

05/30/06

Concerned by rising stress levels in the ranks, the Defense Department has quietly started an online self-screening program in hopes that anonymity will help some service members and their spouses overcome reluctance to confront possible mental-health problems. ... The effort is among the latest of numerous military initiatives undertaken to cope with stress, depression and other mental-health problems that have proliferated since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan led to tougher overseas deployment schedules...

http://tinyurl.com/oso9y


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CNN

05/30/06

During a meeting last week with some of the nation's leading Internet service companies, the attorney general and the FBI director asked a variety of customer information and other data be kept for two years, much longer than the companies do now, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday. Companies have varying policies regarding what information is kept and for how long. One thing the Justice Department wants is some type of subscriber information, such as the Internet address assigned to a person when logging on to a service provider, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN...

http://tinyurl.com/lleeg


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CNN

05/30/06

A former congressional aide and lobbyist described Tuesday how he obtained insider information, advice and assistance from Bush administration procurement chief David Safavian to advance two projects for Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff, who then took the official on a lavish golf trip to Scotland. The aide, Neil Volz, who was a partner of Abramoff's at the time, also outlined how the Abramoff team received assistance from several Republican congressmen including, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio...

http://tinyurl.com/pavd7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

ABC News

05/31/06

Afghanistan's parliament has approved a motion calling for the government to prosecute the U.S. soldiers responsible for a deadly road crash that sparked the worst riots in Kabul in years, officials said Wednesday. The assembly passed the nonbinding motion Tuesday, after debating Monday's crash in which a U.S. truck plowed into a line of cars, killing up to five Afghans and sparking citywide, anti-foreigner riots, said Saleh Mohammed Saljuqi, an assistant to the parliamentary speaker. ... Hospital officials say most of the dead and wounded were shot...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2022820


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Ausgaben für Arbeitslosigkeit sind insgesamt nicht gestiegen, sondern gefallen

Hintergrundinformation zum Mythos der Kostenexplosion bei Hartz IV vom 30.05.2006 vom Büro Katja Kipping, MdB (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/kostenex1.pdf


Prognose (bzw. Schätzung) der SGB III- und SGB II-Ausgaben 2006 im Vergleich zu den veranschlagten Ausgaben

Info des Bremer Institut für Arbeitsmarktforschung und Jugendberufshilfe
(BIAJ) vom 24.5.06 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/kostenex2.pdf

Aus dem Text: „…Fazit aus Prognose I und II und Schätzung: Auch wenn man die geschätzten Mehrausgaben der Kommunen mit einbezieht, wird 2006 voraussichtlich (geringfügig) weniger ausgegeben als in den Haushalten (BA, Bund, Kommunen) veranschlagt. (-0,8 Mrd Euro) Die Minderausgaben beim Wohngeld (für Arbeitslosengeldempfänger/innen) blieben hier unberücksichtigt.“


Armutszeugnis statt Kostenexplosion

Stellungnahme, die auf dem Abschlussplenum des Bundestreffens der Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Erwerbslosen- und Sozialhilfeinitiativen
(BAG-SHI) einstimmig verabschiedet wurde, als Pressemitteilung der BAG-SHI vom 28.05.2006 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/kostenex3.pdf


Union der Lüge bei der Kostenexplosion beim ALG-II bezichtigt. Aufruf an alle Erwerbslose sich gegen die Politik des Sozialkahlschlags am 3. Juni zu wehren

„Das Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland hat Teilen der Union vorgeworfen, dass sie bei der angeblichen Kostenexplosion durch Hartz-IV lügen würde, um weitere Einschnitte bei Leistungen und Rechten von Arbeitslosen durch zusetzen…“ Pressemeldung des Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland vom 26.05.2006 http://www.erwerbslosenforum.de/nachrichten/union_der_luge_bei_der__kostenexplosion_beim_alg-ii_bezichtigt.htm


Geheime Verschlussache bei Hartz IV Verwaltungskosten

„Über die Kostenexplosion bei Hartz IV wurde oft berichtet. Im Mittelpunkt, stand neben den ALG II Leistungen auch der angebliche Missbrauch von Leistungen, welche verantwortlich sein sollen, dass bereits im ersten Quartal ein Anstieg der Kosten um 14,2 Prozent - gegenüber dem Vorjahr - zu verzeichnen ist. Eine detaillierte Kostenaufstellung bleibt die Regierung der Bevölkerung weiterhin schuldig…“ Meldung des Sozialticker vom 29.5.06 http://www.sozialticker.com/geheime-verschlussache-bei-hartz-iv-verwaltungskosten.html


Aus: LabourNet, 31. Mai 2006

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Mythos Kostenexplosion. Hartz IV: Um die Missbrauchsdebatte anzuheizen, ist jede Phantomzahl willkommen

Artikel von Hans Thie in Freitag vom 2.6.06 http://www.freitag.de/2006/22/06220503.php


Satirischer Zwischenruf zur Kostenexplosion durch Hartz IV

„Der Kampf gegen die durch die hohe Arbeitslosigkeit bedingte Kostenexplosion treibt äußerst seltsame Blüten. Da soll doch die Arbeitswilligkeit von Langzeitarbeitslosen in Zukunft durch "Sofortangebote" überprüft werden und selbstverständlich wird bei dreimaliger Ablehnung zumutbarer Jobangebote anschließend die Arbeitslosengeld II - Zahlung eingestellt. Unsere Sozialgerichte wird höchstwahrscheinlich schon bald die Frage beschäftigen, ob jemand etwas ablehnen kann, was es nachweislich überhaupt nicht gibt: Zumutbare Arbeitsperspektiven für Langzeitarbeitslose. Bezogen auf eine unzweifelhaft sinnvolle und nachhaltige Kostendämpfung sollte statt der Bestrafung der Betroffenen ernsthaft geprüft werden, ob die Entlohnung der „staatstragenden Menschen“ aus öffentlichen Kassen eingestellt werden kann (muss), die unermüdlich einen derartigen Schwachsinn verbreiten und gesetzlich verankern.“ Helmut Malmes


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006

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Hartz IV > Leistungen und Auswirkungen > Kostenexplosion?

BA-Überschuss 2006: voraussichtlich 9 Milliarden Euro – 7 Milliarden Euro mehr als veranschlagt

Eine aktualisierte Prognose des BA-Überschusses 2006 des Bremer Instituts für Arbeitsmarktforschung und Jugendberufshilfe (BIAJ) vom 11.8.06 (pdf) http://www.arbeitnehmerkammer.de/sozialpolitik/doku/01_aktuell/ticker/2006/2006_08_11_biaj.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 16. August 2006

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http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kostenexplosion

„Juni 2006, „panem et circenses“, Brot und Spiele bewegen die Menschen, nicht – oder noch nicht – oder besser: noch nicht wieder die weiteren Zumutungen, die die Politik unter dem Label der „weiteren Reform“ des „sozialen Netzes“ dem Menschen zumutet…“ Artikel von Karl-Ludwig Ostermann vom 27.05.2006 in Linkezeitung.

http://www.linkezeitung.de/cms/content/view/564/32/


Aus: LabourNet, 31. Mai 2006

Dossier Pathologies (nelle serie), aujourd'hui: Antennes relais et Saignements de Nez - avec un reportage vidéo (hypertension artérielle), des témoignages, et les réponses aux bonnes questions . . .

http://www.next-up.org/pages/nouvellesdumonde58.php

House Resource Committee Chair Richard Pombo now gets most of his campaign cash from the gambling, energy, and real estate development industries rather than the ranching and agriculture industries in his district. This reflects Pombo's increasing national prominence and agenda-setting role in Washington's "pay to play" system.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053006EB.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pombo

Richard Heinberg says that without a detailed knowledge of energy geopolitics, "The modern world affairs analyst is in little better position to discern the patterns and portents than was his or her ancient Roman counterpart, the reader of entrails."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053006EA.shtml

Granny D says that although we have yet to take the actions needed to save the planet, all is not lost because "the problems of the carbon age are not based on innate self-destructiveness, they are based on addiction, and all the enabling supports of that addiction are unsustainable and are now teetering."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053006S.shtml

Larry Johnson says that journalists have an obligation to disclose family connections that cause conflicts of interest. One example is Howard Kurtz, media reporter for the Washington Post, whose wife works as a Republican consultant.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053006R.shtml

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

31. Mai 2006

Zu den von SPD und Union geplanten weiteren Verschärfungen von Hartz IV erklärt die stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Katja Kipping (MdB):

"Wer nicht arbeitet, soll auch nicht essen." Diesen Satz von SPD-Arbeitsminister Franz Müntefering wollen SPD und Union nun in die Tat umsetzen. In einer Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktion haben die Regierungsparteien weitere Angriffe auf Hartz-IV-Betroffene verabredet, in deren Folge Erwerbslose verstärkt in die Obdachlosigkeit getrieben werden. Vom ursprünglichen Anspruch "fordern und fördern" bleibt für die Betroffenen dann nur noch "betteln und frieren". Bei den gestern von CDU und SPD eingebrachten Änderungsanträgen zum sogenannten Fortentwicklungsgesetz geht es im Kern um folgende Verschärfungen: Zukünftig soll "kein Anspruch auf Leistung bestehen, wenn sich der Leistungsberechtigte außerhalb des zeit- und ortsnahen Bereichs aufhält". Damit wird faktisch eine Residenzpflicht für ALG-II-Bezieher eingeführt. Von dieser Einschränkung der Bewegungsfreiheit ist es nicht mehr weit bis zur Einführung einer elektronischen Fußfessel. Um die Sanktionen besonders schmerzhaft zu gestalten, sollen zukünftig nicht nur die Leistungsbezüge um 100 Prozent gekürzt werden können, sondern auch die Kosten der Unterkunft. Damit wird das Recht eingeräumt, Erwerbslose in die Obdachlosigkeit zu schicken, wenn sie sich nicht willfährig verhalten und jede Maßnahme annehmen. Das "Aushungern" soll lediglich begrenzt werden, wenn der Hilfsbedürftige mit minderjährigen Kindern zusammen lebt. Diese erneuten Verschärfungen stellen einen Angriff auf Grundrechte von Erwerbslosen dar. Die Linkspartei.PDS wird diesem Ansinnen entschiedenen Widerstand entgegensetzen im Parlament und auf der Straße, zunächst bei der Demonstration am 3. Juni in Berlin.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=32855

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

31. Mai 2006

Zur Situation auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt im Monat Mai erklärt der Bundesgeschäftsführer der Linkspartei.PDS Dietmar Bartsch:

Trotz Frühjahrsbelebung sinkt die Zahl der Arbeitslosen in Deutschland nicht unter die 4,5 Millionen-Grenze. 255 000 Personen weniger waren im Mai arbeitslos als im Vormonat, das ist für jeden einzelnen ein berechtigter Grund zur Freude. Euphorie ist aber fehl am Platz, denn ein wirklicher Umschwung ist nicht in Sicht. Die Bundesregierung doktert wie ihre Vorgängerin auch an den Symptomen, ohne das Übel an der Wurzel zu fassen. Denn für die Bundesregierung sind das Grundproblem nicht fehlende Arbeitsplätze sondern "viel zu hohe" Ausgaben. Und so bekämpft man weiterhin die Arbeitslosen mit Leistungskürzungen und Reglementierungen und nicht die Arbeitslosigkeit. Dazu die Hiobsbotschaften vom Ausbildungsmarkt: Hier droht eine Versorgungslücke, die größer ist als im vergangenen Jahr. Statt Sanktionen für Unternehmen, die keine Ausbildungsplätze zur Verfügung stellen, beschränkt sich die Bundesregierung hier weiterhin auf Appelle. Die Linkspartei.PDS bleibt bei ihren Vorschlägen. Sie zielen auf eine gerechte Verteilung von Arbeit und die Schaffung Existenzsichernder Arbeitsplätze. Das beinhaltet sowohl die Forderung nach Einführung einer Ausbildungsplatzumlage, als auch die Verkürzung von Wochen- und Lebensarbeitszeit und die Einführung des gesetzlichen Mindestlohnes. Somit hätte Jugend in diesem Land wieder eine Chance, die gerechte Verteilung von Arbeit würde Arbeitslosen die Möglichkeit der Rückkehr aus dem Abseits der Gesellschaft in den ersten Arbeitsmarkt bieten.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=32854

In a country that spends so much time extolling the glories of democracy, it's amazing how many elected officials go out of their way to discourage voting. States are adopting rules that make it hard, and financially perilous, for nonpartisan groups to register new voters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/opinion/30tue1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin


From Information Clearing House

Gonzales and Mueller want to know what you're doing online.
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/deanna/36859


From Information Clearing House

Now Introducing, the Office of Iranian Affairs (Formerly Doing Business as the Office of Special Plans).

http://www.counterpunch.com/leupp05302006.html


From Information Clearing House

13 Minute Video: Narrated by Susan Sarandon. Windows media and transcript.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13436.htm

More than a half-century after hostilities ended in Korea, a document from the war's chaotic early days has come to light - a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that American soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13432.htm

Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday his patience was wearing thin with excuses from U.S. troops that they kill civilians by "mistake" and said he would launch an investigation into killings at Haditha last year.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13430.htm



Haditha Massacre

Was it an Isolated Event and Did the Military Try to Cover it up?

Audio and transcript
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13434.htm



New details found in deaths of Iraqis

Investigators say they have found drone video from the same day when Marines allegedly killed civilians after bombing.

http://tinyurl.com/oacv9



Marines Haunted By Killings In Haditha

Two Marines were severely traumatized after following orders to photograph corpses of unarmed Iraqi civilians whom members of their unit are suspected of killing, their families said Monday.

http://tinyurl.com/ne7ph



Murtha: Military Still Trying to Spin Haditha Massacre

Video

Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha appeared on CNN America Morning where he expressed outraged at military's handling of the massacre of innocent Iraq's by Marines in Haditha, Iraq.

http://tinyurl.com/oqr9x


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Haditha+

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13421.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Haditha+

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4573/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0530-21.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=enron

Marino Polvani meets me outside Via Carlo Alberto 53 with a briefcase in hand. It’s a Friday night and he has just got back from work but he wants me to see the outside of the building where one night almost two years ago – 14 July 2004 to be exact – workers came to install a mobile phone mast on the roof. Or rather, to erect a mast they had already laid out on the terrace with the help of an enormous crane.

That night Polvani was woken at around 01.00 by a woman living in Via Carlo Alberto. She had come home to find the crane blocking the road and was immediately suspicious.

An Esquilino committee against the illegal and mass proliferation of mobile phone masts had been created a couple of months earlier after a huge white hut containing the mast’s engine and metal clasps had been fixed to the roof of number 53. “We were rather naïve. We didn’t think things could happen so quickly,” says Polvani.

On the night of 14 July, the committee members were the ones who moved quickly. Within minutes they had called the police and rounded up at least 50 local residents, who came out on to the street. The workmen, contracted by mobile phone operator TIM, claimed they had come to repair a mast, but Polvani and company knew very well that the mast in question had not yet been installed. After much wrangling they got the crane and workmen to go home, but not, ironically, because they were putting up a mobile phone mast without the consent of everyone in the building, and certainly not because those living closest to it were worried about the long-term health implications. “We got them to leave because they didn’t have all the right permits, among which was the right to park their crane on public property,” Polvani says.

That same night the committee members and other people living close to Via Carlo Alberto 53 (but no-one actually resident in the building itself) made a life-changing decision. They agreed that they would take turns to stay up all night, every night, in all weather, to make sure the mast was never installed. And they would use the entrance of no 63 just a few doors down (its terrace is attached to that of no 53) as their campaign base, sitting inside in bad weather, or outside when it was warmer.

Since that day Polvani and seven or so other zealous residents have done the majority of the shifts (“And let me tell you, being here at 04.00 in winter is no laughing matter,” he says), but at least another 20 people have occasionally helped out and done a shift or two. Some nights, inhabitants with windows looking out on to Via Carlo Alberto do their shift from home. “Are you sure they stay up all night?” I ask. “Oh yes,” says Polvani.

A few months ago, one young man who had done the lion’s share of the shifts along with Polvani suffered a potentially very serious epileptic seizure – his first. Doctors put it down to stress since otherwise he was in good shape. He has two young children, one of whom is just a few months old, and if the mast goes up the distance between it and his children’s bedroom will be just five metres. “He is the first one who will get fried,” Polvani exclaims, half-jokingly and within earshot of his campaigning and thankfully fully-recovered friend. Then, more quietly: “There is a proven link between electromagnetic radiation and infantile leukaemia.”

Polvani and the other 30 or so committee members now form just one of many citizens’ groups in Rome that belong to the “No Elettrosmogroma” campaign (see website below). The Esquilino group is the most visible merely because, as Polvani admits, “we are the only people crazy enough to do a nightly watch.”

There is a lot of work to be done in the daytime too. The group has hired a lawyer to help write reports, file complaints, and prepare so-called “self-protection” or autotutela procedures. It has also organised countless petitions and even outdoor lessons on electromagnetic radiation. And though so far it has managed to block the installation of the mast – thanks in great part to the help of a green party member of parliament, Paolo Cento, a green city councillor, Giuseppe Teodoro, and the ministry for fine arts and cultural heritage – the struggle is long and uphill.

There are plans to install a second mast, a Vodafone one this time, on the same building in Via Carlo Alberto, and yet another one in Via Principe Amedeo 148, also in the Esquilino. There are already several existing masts in the area, including one on Via Filiberto just metres from a primary school. “In Rome the installation of at least another 4,000 masts is planned,” says Polvani with a pained expression. “It will be like living in a microwave oven.”

But doesn’t everyone in a building have to agree for a mast to go up on its roof? In theory yes, says Polvani, but “building administrators approve their installation without the consent of every home-owner.” Why?

Because they and many apartment-owners – who may not even live in the building – are lured by annual rental fees paid by the mobile phone companies of anything between €20,000-€40,000. “So the few owners who don’t agree with the installation tend to be silenced or threatened,” explains Polvani. “This mast we are talking about here [at Via Carlo Alberto 53] was approved with just over half of the proprietors’ consent for example.”

The main problem, according to Polvani, is twofold: the infamous Gasparri law, which makes the bureaucratic procedure for putting up a mast much simpler than before and allows it to bypass the approval of the local health unit or ASL; and the advent of the third generation of mobile phones, the so-called UMTS phones, which can send images and data and be used to connect to internet. With the text and voice-only mobiles, masts could be several hundred metres away from one another, says Polvani; for the latest 3-G technology they need to be between 100 and 150 m apart. “We will need a mast on every street corner,” he adds.

Polvani ends on a wistful note: “What I have learnt is that citizens count for nothing. We are good for paying taxes and are useful on election days, but that is all.” He smiles as he says this but it is in fact a truly devastating indictment.

For more information on the Rome anti-mast proliferation campaigning groups see http://www.noelettrosmogroma.org . For more information on the Esquilino group Esquilino Senza Elettrosmog email: noagliantennati@yahoo.it .

http://www.wantedinrome.com/articles/complete_articles.php?id_art=369

http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs43.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Haditha