Donnerstag, 8. Juni 2006

Does Torture Matter to the US?

Liberation editor Antoine de Gaudemar suggests that the Council of Europe's report on CIA activities in Europe will serve as a warning to the US and its allies that human rights violations will not be tolerated in Europe, while Liberation reporter Laurent Mauriac suggests that US public opinion is largely indifferent to these same human rights issues.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806H.shtml

GOP Takes Aim at PBS Funding

"Dick Cheney and the Republicans have decided to go hunting for 'Big Bird' and 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' once again," said Representative Edward J. Markey, a Malden Democrat who led the successful effort to reverse the cuts last year. "PBS is right at the top of their hit list - always has been and always will be, until they can destroy it."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806G.shtml

GOP Corruption Found in Financial Link to Contractor

A political fundraising committee headed by a defense contractor has paid thousands of dollars in fees to the stepdaughter of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) at a time when the contractor has been lobbying Congress for funding.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806D.shtml

Blame for Haditha Lies at Bush's Feet

"There is a leadership deficit in the armed forces of the United States today, and it begins with the commander in chief, President George W. Bush, and his secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld. It extends to the entire U.S. Congress and onto the senior leadership of the uniformed armed services, the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Scott Ritter writes.


http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806C.shtml


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

Bush's Elimination of Income Survey Avoids Awareness of Poverty Levels

The Bush administration has proposed cutting the Survey of Income and Program Participation. It is the government's only survey that repeatedly questions thousands of people over time about how income changes affect their poverty status, health coverage and use of government services.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806B.shtml

Cheney Cuts Senator Out of Democratic Process

Cheney has cut Senator Specter out of discussions with all the other Republicans on his own committee about oversight of the administration's eavesdropping programs, a subject on which Mr. Specter has often been at odds with the White House.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806A.shtml

Rachel's News #858

http://www.omega-news.info/rachels_news_858.htm

Important issues

A message from Darlene

http://www.omega-news.info/important_issues.htm

Washington used the UN as a diplomatic tool

Top UN Official Clashes With Bolton

The UN's Mark Malloch Brown said Washington did not stand up for the UN against domestic critics and used the organization as a diplomatic tool. John Bolton called the remarks "a very, very grave mistake" and called on Kofi Annan to repudiate his deputy's speech.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806Q.shtml

Retirement Account of DeLay's Wife Traced

A registered lobbyist opened a retirement account in the late 1990s for the wife of then-House Whip Tom DeLay and contributed thousands of dollars to it while also paying her a salary to work for him from her home in Texas, according to sources, documents and DeLay's attorney, Richard Cullen.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806P.shtml

Markets And The Common Good

By Thomas Palley, TomPaine.com

Conservatives say that society must bow to the markets. Progressive economics show a way past that.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/06/08/markets_and_the_common_good.php

Future of the Internet in Jeopardy

The House of Representatives could vote as soon as this Friday to turn control of the Internet over to a few powerful corporations.

We can stop them. Tell your member of Congress to support strong net neutrality provisions.

http://www.commoncause.org/OurInternet

Under the COPE Act, we'll lose the Internet as our "town square" - where we talk to one another, exchange views, find information from many diverse sources of news and opinion, blog, contact candidates and engage in our democracy. We will be left with an Internet that is mostly about selling things - entertainment, TV, films, games and other goods - and that is no longer about citizen engagement.

http://www.commoncause.org/OurInternet

Please help by sending an email or making a phone call to Rep. John Campbell at (202) 225-5611 today. Say that you support net neutrality provisions like those proposed by Rep. James Sensenbrenner
(R-WI) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), and urge your Member to demand a vote on net neutrality.

http://www.commoncause.org/OurInternet

Don't let Congress squash freedom and innovation by putting the Internet in the hands of the telephone and cable companies.

Thank you for all you do for Common Cause.


Sincerely,

The Common Cause Media Reform Team
Lauren Coletta, Celia Wexler and Dawn Holian

P.S. Check out our Straight Talk on Net Neutrality feature if you have any questions about this issue: http://www.commoncause.org/StraightTalk.



Listen up! A key vote on the fate of the internet happens THIS FRIDAY in the House, and I need your help NOW to fight back.

If the web were turned into a toll road, and it suddenly were to take
5 minutes for the IAHF website to open because I can't afford whatever extorsionistic rate the telecommunications giants would like to charge so that it would even take people with high speed connections forever to get into my site, far fewer people would visit and we would have one hell of a harder time defending health freedom.

On another note, IAHF and NHF have drafted a letter that we're getting around to members of the House Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee. We're trying to get someone to send this letter to the FDA Commissioner to ask a lot of questions about their Trilateral Cooperation Charter with Canada & Mexico. This is the first step toward getting an oversight hearing. Donations are needed to send John Hammell back to DC for lobbying on this. See http://www.nocodexgenocide.com/page/page/3113342.htm We now have copies of Byron Richard's new book Fight for Your Health- Exposing the FDA's Betrayal of America which I've had input into. We'll send this book to you for a donation of $25. If you'd like it and our existing Education Kit as shown on the website, we'll send both for a donation of $50. Additional donations beyond that are always helpful as trips to DC are expensive.

VERY EASY: WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW TO SAVE THE INTERNET

Please go here http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet to send a form letter to congress to save Network Neutrality so that the telecommunications giants don't force website owners (like me) to have to pay extorsionistic rates for our websites to open as quickly as those who can afford to pay these fees.

LATEST NEWS: Go to link below to see hypertext links that don't show up in my text here

http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/2006/06/06/will-the-house-get-a-vote-on-internet-freedom

Will the Full House Get to Vote? The tech companies are wading into the fight, gingerly (with eBay as the most effective) writes Matt Stoller. But their pro-Net Neutrality campaign is still dwarfed by AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon’s legislative shopping spree.

The telcos are reportedly spending between ten and fifty million dollars in their campaign to control the Internet. Their ads are splashed across local TV in DC, Maine, Washington State, Wisconsin and other areas of the country. Their money is channeled through phony front groups like Hands off the Internet and TV4US (along with indirect costs, such as money to think tanks) in a campaign to paint Net Neutrality as big, bad government regulation — bad for consumer Joe’s like you and me.

This deceptive campaign also includes canned telephone appeals and beltway radio spots. These Astroturf pitches fail to mention that every major consumer advocacy group is in our coalition and opposed to the telco cartel on this — or that their real plan is not to free net-users from regulation but to write new laws that clear the way for AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth to seize control of content.

Telco money has bought a lot of support in the House, though less in the Senate. The House telecom bill that’s on deck this week is called the COPE Act. As it’s currently written it eviscerates net neutrality.

It’s now up to the House Committee on Rules to allow an amendment onto the floor that would put meaningful and enforceable Network Neutrality language into the Act. The 13 members that play gatekeepers at Rules are meeting 3:30pm, Wednesday. They could stand a call from you. Tell them that we need the full House to vote on Net Neutrality. Every representative’s stance on the future of the Internet should be put on the record.

If Rules allows Net Neutrality to the floor, we expect a full House vote as early as Friday.

The House fight is in its final throes. After this week, the Net Neutrality debate will shift to Congress, where we have good momentum behind a bipartisan bill offered by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D- North Dakota).

Stay tuned.

For Health Freedom,
John C. Hammell,
President International Advocates for Health Freedom
556 Boundary Bay Road
Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702
USA
http://www.iahf.com
jham at iahf.com
800-333-2553 N.America
360-945-0352 World


Informant: Scott Munson


Save the Internet: Click here

GERMAN COMPANY TAKING OVER U.S. DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

As municipal water supplies across the U.S. are taken over by corporations, citizens who were once proponents of water privatization are stepping up to the tap to figure out if there's any way to take back control of their water. Freshwater, a resource that has been considered publicly owned for thousands of years, is now considered "blue gold," and as such, is quickly becoming a privately owned commodity. Some quick facts: -A German company, RWE, now owns the water in over 1,100 U.S. cities. -In Illinois alone, more than one million people now have their local water supply owned by that same German company. -15% of the U.S. business water supply is now privately owned... a figure that has more than tripled in the last decade.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_658.cfm

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED COTTON KILLING SHEEP AND GOATS

In India's Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, government officials have ordered an investigation into the deaths of hundreds of sheep and goats who appear to have been poisoned by eating genetically engineered (GE) cotton. "They just became very dull and lifeless and died," said one shepherd, Pendala Venkatamma. Sheep and goats regularly graze on traditional cotton, but after 4-5 days of eating Monsanto's genetically engineered bT cotton, the animals'stomachs swelled, and they died. Although Monsanto denies its cotton could have this effect, government officials have launched a scientific investigation. "We have immediately alerted the animal husbandry department to give us the details of villages where this has happened and... their findings regarding this" said Poonam Malakondaiah, Agriculture Commissioner.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_646.cfm

A Sea of Sand Is Threatening China's Heart

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/world/asia/08desert.html


Informant: Teresa Binstock

New Impeachment Resources

http://mhpbooks.com/actnow.html


Informant: John Calvert



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

Pro-war pols don't deserve a political future

UExpress
by Ted Rall

06/07/06

The congressmen and senators who lined up to cast their yeas and nays on October 11, 2002 knew that they were casting one of the most, if not the most, important votes of their political careers. Public Law 107-243, 116 Stat. 1497-1502, the result of the vote to authorize the Bush Administration to attack Iraq, would have incalculable moral, economic and geopolitical implications for the long-term future of the United States. But not every congressman put the interests of his country ahead of his career prospects. With George W. Bush still riding high in the polls less than a year after 9/11, it took courage and foresight -- the ability to see a future in which the public would sour on Bush and his wars -- to defy him. As is often the case during times of crisis, when history tests the mettle of men and women, courage and foresight were in short supply. Fewer than a third -- 156 out of 529 -- dared to vote no. ... On October 11, 2002, 156 congressmen and senators stood up for decency and common sense. The others, who proved they were too stupid and short-sighted to do the right thing when it counted, should resign. They don't deserve our votes, much less a shot at the White House...

http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Bush Sr. v. Rumsfeld

Salon
by Sidney Blumenthal

06/08/06

Former President George H.W. Bush waged a secret campaign over several months early this year to remove Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The elder Bush went so far as to recruit Rumsfeld's potential replacement, personally asking a retired four-star general if he would accept the position, a reliable source close to the general told me. But the former president's effort failed, apparently rebuffed by the current president. ... The elder Bush's intervention was an extraordinary attempt to rescue simultaneously his son, the family legacy and the country... [subscription or ad view required]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/06/08/haditha/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CIA gulag probe implicates EU nations

Morganton News Herald

06/07/06

Fourteen European nations colluded with U.S. intelligence in a 'spider's web' of human rights abuses to help the CIA spirit terror suspects to illegal detention facilities, a European investigator said Wednesday. Swiss senator Dick Marty's report to Europe's top human rights body was thin on evidence but raises the possibility of a cover-up involving both friends and critics of Washington's war on terror. It says European governments 'did not seem particularly eager to establish' the facts...

http://tinyurl.com/lvn9a


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Freedom Not Extended to Women in New Iraq

Across Iraq, a bloody and relentless oppression of women has taken hold. Many women have had their heads shaved for refusing to wear a scarf or have been stoned in the street for wearing make-up. Others have been kidnapped and murdered for crimes that are being labelled simply as "inappropriate behavior." The insurrection against the fragile and barely functioning state has left the country prey to extremists whose notion of freedom does not extend to women.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060806Z.shtml

Schluss mit den Refomen gegen uns

"Schluss mit den Refomen gegen uns!" bundesweite Demonstration in Berlin am 3. Juni

Demo gegen Sozialabbau in Berlin: "Wir wollen alles, aber nicht Hartz IV"

Fotoreportage beim Umbruch Bildarchiv http://www.umbruch-bildarchiv.de/bildarchiv/ereignis/030606berlin.html

Fotodokumentation über den 3. Juni 2006 bei „OWL gegen Sozialabbau“ http://www.demos.owlgegensozialabbau.de/


Zwölftes bundesweites Treffen und offener Ratschlag am 17. Juni in Leipzig

Themen, die auf der Tagesordnung stehen, sind z.B.: Der von Labournet, Tacheles und BAG-SHI zur Diskussion gestellte dezentrale Aktionstag
(vorgeschlagen: 27. 6. 2006); Eine größere Montagsdemonstration am 26.6., z.B. in Köln, anlässlich des WM-Achtelfinal-Spiels in Köln; Perspektiven für den Herbst für eine mögliche größere Mobilisierung, über die schon längere Zeit in Kreisen der linken Parteien und in Gewerkschaftskreisen gesprochen wird. Für Details siehe Rundmail nach der Demonstration 3. Juni und Einladung nach Leipzig (pdf) http://www.die-soziale-bewegung.de/mails/Anschreiben_07-06-2006.pdf


Perspektiven der Proteste

»Proteste brauchen Verankerung in Betrieben«

Soziale Bewegung muß im Herbst an Stärke gewinnen. Gewerkschaften stehen in der Verantwortung. Ein Gespräch mit Tom Adler, Betriebsrat bei DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart und Redner auf der bundesweiten Demonstration »Schluß mit den Reformen gegen uns« am Samstag in Berlin, von Wolfgang Pomrehn in junge Welt vom 08.06.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/06-08/010.php


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


WM 2006 für Ungehorsame mit und ohne Ball
http://www.labournet.de/aktuell/wm2006.html

Wir weisen darauf hin, dass diese Sonderseite zur WM laufend aktualisiert wird, auch ohne spezielle Erwähnung im Newsletter. Heute um unser Zitat zur morgigen WM-Eröffnung:

„Wenn große Meisterschaften beginnen, erschrecke ich über mich: Bis gestern harter und wohl auch unbestechlicher Kritiker des kapitalistischen Spielsystems, dem wir alle ausgesetzt sind, werde ich über Nacht zum Apologeten des Balls. Und denke: Arme Tröpfe, die noch immer mit Profitsummen und Wirtschaftsstrukturen um sich werfen, um mir den klaren Kopf zu retten. Aber ich will jetzt keinen klaren Kopf mehr, ich will mich jetzt hemmungslos diesen Millionären hingeben, die ja eigentlich ein Hohn auf den sozialen Zustand der Welt sind.“
Eduardo Galeano


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006

Von wegen Aufschwung: das prognostizierte Wirtschaftswachstum durch die Fußball-WM entpuppt sich bereits im Vorfeld als Luftnummer

„Folgt man den Prognosen der Bundesregierung und einiger Wirtschaftsinstitute, dann könnte die morgen beginnende Fußballweltmeisterschaft einen kräftigen volkswirtschaftlichen Wachstumsschub bringen und den Startschuß für einen selbsttragenden Aufschwung der Binnenkonjunktur bedeuten. Von bis zu 60000 neuen Jobs durch die WM wird ebenso fabuliert wie von einer Steigerung des Bruttoinlandsproduktes um 0,5 Prozent…“ Artikel von Rainer Balcerowiak in junge Welt vom 08.06.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/06-08/042.php


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006

11/2 Jahre „Beschäftigungsoffensive“ mit „Ein-Euro-Jobs“ in Berlin

Eine Bilanz

Ein Dossier des Vorstandes des Erwerbslosenausschusses von ver.di Berlin
(pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/euroberlin.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006

Eines Sozialstaates nicht würdig: Erwerbslose unter Pauschalverdacht

Humanistische Union kritisiert Änderungsgesetz zu Hartz IV

„Als Einschüchterungsversuch und unverhältnismäßigen Eingriff in die Rechte von Millionen erwerbsloser und hilfebedürftiger Menschen kritisiert die Bürgerrechtsorganisation Humanistische Union die geplanten Änderungen im sogenannten Fortentwicklungsgesetz für "Hartz IV"…“ Presseerklärung der HU vom 1.6.2006 http://www.humanistische-union.de/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=261&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0


Erklärung des Bündnis für Soziale Gerechtigkeit und Menschenwürde
(BüSGM) zum „Fortentwicklungsgesetz von Hartz IV“

Erklärung des BüSGM vom 07. Juni 2006 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/opti_busgm.pdf


Bundessozialrichter rügt Verschärfung von Hartz IV.
Jurist äußert Zweifel an Zulässigkeit der Regeln für eheähnliche Gemeinschaft und Stiefeltern / Kritik an Umkehr der Beweislast

„Die Verschärfungen im Hartz-IV-Gesetz für eheähnliche Gemeinschaften und Stiefeltern hat Bundessozialrichter Ulrich Wenner kritisiert. Die am 1. Juni vom Bundestag beschlossenen Änderungen seien "verfassungsrechtlich problematisch"…“ Artikel von Hans Nakielski in Frankfurter Rundschau vom 06.06.2006 http://www.fr-aktuell.de/in_und_ausland/politik/aktuell/?em_cnt=898652


»Eines Sozialstaates nicht würdig«. Neues Gesetz minimiert Arbeitsmarktchancen Obdachloser und verursacht Mehrkosten.

Ein Gespräch mit Thomas Specht-Kittler, Geschäftsführer der Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe e. V. (BAG W), von Ralf Wurzbacher in junge Welt vom 3.6.06 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/06-03/014.php


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006



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

Petition: Verbot der Käfighaltung von Legehennen

http://tinyurl.com/rsgnw

Europe Colluded in CIA Prisoner "Spider's Web"

More than 20 states colluded in a "global spider's web" of secret CIA prisons and transfers of terrorism suspects stretching from Central Asia to Guantanamo Bay, a European rights watchdog said in a report on Wednesday.

http://tinyurl.com/h78zc



From logistics to turning a blind eye: Europe's role in terror abductions

The full extent of European collusion with the CIA during operations to abduct terrorism suspects and fly them to countries where they may be tortured is laid bare today by the continent's most authoritative human rights body.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329498686-110878,00.html



Europe 'aided US in CIA flights'

"...Spain, Turkey, Germany and Cyprus provided "staging posts" for rendition operations, while the UK, Portugal, Ireland and Greece were "stop-off points", the report says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5054426.stm



U.S. taxpayers financed human trafficking, report says

For the first time since Congress mandated its annual publication, a State Department report cataloging human trafficking across the globe includes allegations that American taxpayers financed such abuses.

http://tinyurl.com/zlp7n


From Information Clearing House

--------

The full extent of European collusion with the CIA during operations to abduct terrorism suspects and fly them to countries where they may be tortured is laid bare today by the continent's most authoritative human rights body. Several states have allowed the agency to snatch their own residents, others have offered extensive logistical support, while many have turned a blind eye, according to the Council of Europe.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060706K.shtml

The U.S. Role in Darfur, Sudan

Oil reserves rivaling those of Saudi Arabia?
http://tinyurl.com/flcex


From Information Clearing House

New U.S. rules allow force-feeding at Guantanamo

The U.S. military issued medical guidelines Tuesday for the treatment of prisoners, formally directing doctors at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere to force-feed hunger strikers whose lives are in danger and granting doctors a limited role in interrogations.

http://www.nwherald.com/MainSection/local/286952026823011.php



Physicians for Human Rights Condem New Rules

The guidelines released on Tuesday, which the military said formalise existing rules and policies, drew criticism from a human rights group that said the military should not interfere with detainees who use hunger strikes as a protest and should bar experts in psychology from having any role during interrogations.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1714897,00050001.htm


From Information Clearing House

Blair is only as guilty as the party that puts up with him

The question is not why the prime minister has drifted so far to the right, but why Labour MPs have followed him.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1791753,00.html


From Information Clearing House

Britain is the fall guy for the US retreat from Afghanistan

The attempt to assert Kabul's control over the country will fail - and our anti-Taliban mission is little short of suicidal

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13525.htm



U.S. dropping more bombs on Afghanistan:

The U.S. Air Force increased its bombing of Taliban and other insurgent targets in Afghanistan this spring, making about 750 airstrikes in May alone, Air Force officials said.

http://tinyurl.com/l5ys7


From Information Clearing House

Britons begin to turn away from alliance with America

Fewer than half the public believe that America is a force for good in the world, and nearly two thirds believe that Britain’s future lies more with Europe than with the US.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2214325,00.html


From Information Clearing House

U.S./UK Bases In Iraq

“It is important to remember, at this point, that the UN Security Council "mandate" for the occupation troops in Iraq ended by the end of 2005. Apart from ex-prime minister Jafari's "invitation", they do not have any "legal" cover to stay.”

http://tinyurl.com/zrf9p


From Information Clearing House

What Is The Mission?

The Iraqis are a fierce people. No elf is going to sprinkle fairy dust on them and make them fall in love with us. Why should they? We destroyed their country and caused the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children just with the sanctions, not counting the thousands we've killed since then.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13526.htm

White House abruptly cancels classified Iraq 'progress' briefing with senators

In the letter, four U.S. Senators call on the White House to "publicly and immediately commit to making senior Administration officials available" for questioning regarding the current state of Iraq.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Senators_write_Bush_after_classified_Iraq_0607.html


From Information Clearing House

Philippine Mercenaries Being Recruited by US Company

A US outfit, Blackwater, has set up shop at the Subic Freeport and is now recruiting active and retired soldiers, preferably combat veterans, to help fight America’s war against Iraq.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/jun08/edit.htm


From Information Clearing House

Brutal Suppression of Workers' Rights Detailed in Worldwide Report

According to the ICFTU's Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights violations, published today, 115 trade unionists were murdered for defending workers' rights in 2005, while more than 1,600 were subjected to violent assaults and some 9,000 arrested.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/060706LA.shtml

Use of Antipsychotics by the Young Rose Fivefold

The use of potent antipsychotic drugs to treat children and adolescents for problems like aggression and mood swings increased more than fivefold from 1993 to 2002, researchers reported yesterday.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/060706HA.shtml

Big Brother für jeden: Handy-Ortung wird zur Massendienstleistung

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/73970

“Intimidated” staff won’t complain about mast

STAFF, parents and students at Villier’s School are afraid to complain about a proposed 3G Mast, which is to be constructed on the roof of their school because of alleged intimidation from the board of management.

Pat O’Donovan, PRO with Better Environmental and Safer Telecommunications said that he received numerous calls from concerned parents and staff about the possible adverse health conditions from the Hutchison 3G Ireland ltd mobile phone mast. But only a handful of people turned up at a meeting in the Davin Arms in Caherdavin earlier this week "because they said they were afraid they would be targeted”.

And Mr O’Donovan said that money is the driving force behind the plan as the school will get a windfall of thousands of euro, if the planning permission is approved.

And there are rumours that the school has been given an offer they can’t refuse from the mobile phone operators and that many more antennae could be added to the structure at a later date.

Principal of the North Circular Road private school, Thomas Hardy was not available for comment at the time of going to press. But a staff member said that "it was a board matter”.

All objections to the planning application have to be entered by June 19 and that is why BEST held the emergency in Caherdavin earlier this week.

The chairperson of BEST, John Cummins, who also attended the meeting said that the planning permission notice has been placed on a wall at the front of the school which is hidden behind a huge rectangular wheelie bin that is permanently placed there. A planning application is supposed to be fully visible, he added and this is just adding to "the whole cloak and dagger mentality”.

Cllr Michael Hourigan was the only public representative at the meeting and he told the Limerick Post that he was "totally opposed to the application” and that financial gain shouldn’t be put before people’s health. He also said that he will be recommending Limerick City Council to refuse this planning application.

Mr O’Donovan, who works as an auctioneer in Newcastle West said that it was one of the "strangest” BEST meetings he has ever attended because "people were really afraid to be seen to be against the project”.

© Limerick Post Newspapers 2006

http://www.limerickpost.ie/dailynews.elive?id=7397&category=Daily-Thu

A Shot Across the GOP Bow

In a race that unexpectedly became one of the most competitive in congressional history, Francine Busby sent a shot across the GOP bow and proved that even in the most reliably Republican district, the message of change and a new direction for the country is resonating with voters.

As an editorial in The Washington Post wrote this morning...

"If Republican were breathing easier this morning, they had few illusions about what lies ahead. The extraordinary effort to hold onto a seat that has long been safely in GOP hands underscored the challenges as they try to retain their congressional majorities in November at a time when President Bush's approval ratings remain weak, the party's coalition is fracturing and voters are repulsed by the taint of corruption in Washington."

Francine was a tough candidate who fought hard. She couldn't have come as far as she did without the support of our members like you in districts nationwide. She will have another opportunity to win this seat in November, when Republicans in her district will once again be divided. But, the truth revealed in this election is that voters are demanding change and new priorities. This November, in districts around the country -- many more moderate than Busby's -- we will be fighting for new priorities in Congress. The NRCC can't spend almost five million dollars in every district to keep their majority.

CA-50 is a district that President Bush carried by 11 points in both 2000 and 2004 - this race should not have been close. By all measures this was a safe Republican Congressional seat. Yet, Francine Busby forced the Republican Party to spend close to five million defending it - the most federal money the NRCC has spent on a House race, ever.

As Carl Luna [1], a political science professor at San Diego Mesa College put it...

"This race, of course, should have attracted almost no attention from anyone outside of the candidates' immediate families, let alone national news coverage and millions of dollars in national campaign money. The Republican candidate, be it Brian Bilbray or Zippy the Wonder Pup, should have been assured this seat hands down. And, as the Republican nominee, Bilbray should have been hanging ten right now to an assured, double digit victory.

"Key words: should have."

After spending more than five million dollars - more than 20% of their reserves for November -- and using national Republican leaders like George W. Bush, John McCain and Laura Bush, and running viciously negative ads, Brian Bilbray and the NRCC were able to pull out less than 50 percent of the vote in a solidly Republican district. We've got them on the ropes, but we also know that they are not going down without a fight. The fact that the DCCC and Democrats across the country are already competitive or ahead of Republicans in campaign funds and polling numbers is unprecedented, but we need to keep up the momentum until November.

Francine Busby's hard charging campaign demonstrated that we can and will bring this message of change and new priorities to Americans across the country. Not just in Democratic or moderate districts, but deep into the heart of Republican territory. During these last five months, Democrats in Republican districts from Pennsylvania to Washington state will look to Francine's campaign as an example.

More Primaries, More Change:

And indeed, California's 50th was not the only Congressional district with a primary election:

* In Iowa, Democrat Bruce Braley came out strong and ready to fight against an avid Republican supporter of Social Security privatization Mike Whalen for a pivotal open seat in the first district.

* In New Mexico, Democratic candidate Patricia Madrid, currently New Mexico's Attorney General, emerged from her primary to take on Republican rubber stamp Heather Wilson.

* In New Jersey, Linda Stender came out of the primary in New Jersey ready to take on an increasingly vulnerable Republican Mike Ferguson, known by House colleagues for his fierce opposition to choice and stem cell research. Another of the most extreme Republicans in Congress, Scott Garrett, will face a stiff challenge from Democrat Paul Aronsohn, and former State Assembly Speaker Albio Sires showed solid support in his effort to keep Bob Menendez' seat in Democratic hands now that's he left for the Senate.

* In Montana, State Legislator Monica Lindeen emerged from today's primary with an overwhelming show of support from Montana voters who are increasingly sick and tired of Republican Denny Rehberg's brand of special interest leadership.

Thank you for all your support and all that you do. The field is taking shape, and our team is looking better than ever. Five months to go, buckle your seatbelt.


Sincerely,

Rahm Emanuel
Chairman, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

[1] "Wipe Out," San Diego Union-Tribune, May 31, 2006

Startling Corruption Revealed

http://tinyurl.com/odelm

Unzitat des Tages: „Man muß nicht alles rausholen, was geht“

Anstand gebietet menschenwürdiges Leben und nicht Diffamierung von Hartz-IV-Empfängern

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

08. Juni 2006

Der SPD-Vorsitzende Beck fühlt sich berufen, mehr Anstand von Hartz-IV-Empfängern zu fordern. Dazu erklärt die stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Katja Kipping:

Die Forderung von SPD-Chef Beck reiht sich ein in die derzeit von der SPD geschürte Diffamierungs-Kampagne von Langzeitarbeitlosen. Aber auch die von ihm angeführten Einzelfälle von Leistungsmissbrauch rechtfertigen nicht den Generalverdacht, dem ALG-II-Empfänger zunehmend ausgesetzt sind. Zumal es auch andere Beispiele gibt, von Familien, die ihre Wohnung verloren haben, weil das Amt die Kosten für die Miete nicht rechtzeitig überwiesen hat. Einzelbeispiele lassen sich schlecht verallgemeinern, es sei denn, man verfolgt wie der SPD-Vorsitzende einen politischen Zweck die Mitgliedschaft und die Klientel auf weiteren Sozialabbau einzuschwören. Alle Studien gehen davon aus, dass maximal 2 bis 5 Prozent der Betroffenen so genannten Leistungsmissbrauch betreiben. Wenn man dann noch berücksichtigt, dass es hierbei immer um relativ kleine Beträge geht, steht das in keinem Verhältnis zur derzeitigen Debatte um Verschärfungen bei der Leistungsgewährung. Vergleicht man das mit den rund 70 Milliarden Euro, die jährlich durch Steuerhinterziehung dem Staat verloren gehen, stellt sich die Frage des Anstands in ganz anderem Licht. Wenn nur die Hälfte eingetrieben werden könnte, wären beispielsweise die Gesamtkosten für das ALG II im vergangenen Jahr gedeckt. Mit Spannung erwarte ich deshalb den Gesetzentwurf der SPD, der die Steuerschlupflöcher schließt und Steuermissbrauch in Größenordnung verhindert. Das gebietet zumindest der politische Anstand.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=32908

--------

Unzitat des Tages:

„Man muß nicht alles rausholen, was geht“

SPD-Chef Kurt Beck im Interview: "Man muß nicht alles rausholen". SPD-Chef Kurt Beck fordert mehr Anstand von Beziehern staatlicher Hilfen, kritisiert falsche Vorbilder und verteidigt die Mehreinnahmen des Staates. Interview von Gisela Kirschstein und Nikolaus Blome in Die Welt vom 8. Juni 2006 http://www.welt.de/data/2006/06/08/906110.html


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006

4 Reps Charged with Voting to Protect War Profiteers like Halliburton

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0607-14.htm

Progressive State Leaders Promote Innovative New Policies

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0607-15.htm

(Another) War is Not the Answer

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0607-21.htm

Big Business, Not Religion, is the Real Power in the White House

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0607-29.htm

Post-9/11 America is Less a Land of the Free

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0607-28.htm

The Bloody Iceberg's Tip

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0607-30.htm



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

It is time to renew the American experiment, to rebuild its battered institutions on the solid foundation of empowered citizens and regulated corporations

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0607-31.htm

Bush Hawks Down

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0607-03.htm

Britain Named for Colluding in US Rendition Flights

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0607-05.htm

Size of Military Data Theft Grows to Affect Millions of Troops

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0607-06.htm

Die Bequemlichkeit geht vor

Wie die Konsumenten mit Gesundheitsrisiken im Mobilfunk umgehen
http://194.209.226.170/pdfarchiv/bund/2006/06/08/13111Wirtschaft20060608_1.pdf

--------

UMTS-Antennen stören Wohlbefinden nicht? Schweizer Replikation widerlegt TNO-Studie?
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/2130307/

Cyborgs, self-mutilators, and the future of our race

http://www.slate.com/id/2142987/nav/tap1/


Informant: Lew Rockwell

Society Without Security

http://www.csoonline.com/caveat/060606.html?source=csoupdate


Informant: Lew Rockwell

But Which Books Are 'Suspicious'?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/suprynowicz/suprynowicz42.html

Is the Greater Depression really inevitable?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/casey/casey11.html

The Land of the Licensed

http://www.sobran.com/columns/2006/060523.shtml


Informant: Lew Rockwell

The war on drugs is ridiculous as well as evil

http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard29.html

Fifty-four Dead Women

http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance82.html

The Power of Weakness

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lind/lind96.html

Spanish Speaking Countries Warned About RFID

by Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a controversial technology that uses tiny microchips to track everyday objects, animals, and even people from a distance. These RFID microchips have earned the nickname "spychips" because each contains a unique identification number, like a Social Security number for things, that can be read silently and invisibly by radio waves.

http://www.newswithviews.com/McIntyre/Liz7.htm

Close the School of the Americas

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is supporting the work of School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) to support a Congressional amendment to close the SOA/WHINSEC. SOA Watch is the organization that has brought this issue to the attention of the country and the world through its mobilizations of thousands of people in Ft. Benning, Georgia. During the course of these actions, many of its members and supporters have made great personal sacrifices, including going to jail for six month periods, to highlight the criminal nature of the SOA and demand its closure. Please read the message below and call Congress today or tomorrow.

A message from SOA Watch:

Tell Congress: Close the School of the Americas - Vote YES to cut its funding now!

This week (the week of June 5) Congress will vote on an amendment to close the notorious School of the Americas/WHINSEC. The School of the Americas, funded by our tax dollars and located at Ft. Benning, Georgia, has trained - for more than 60 years - over 60,000 Latin American Soldiers in torture, psychological warfare and war against civilian populations. Many of the tactics of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay began at the SOA to be used on civilians and those working for justice in Latin America. This school has graduated the worst human rights abusers in Latin American History. Rep. McGovern (MA) will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the SOA/ WHINSEC and stand up against the legacy of torture as a part of U.S. Foreign Policy!

We expect a close vote and need as many people as possible flooding the offices of the House of Representatives with calls, e-mails and faxes in support of a YES vote on the amendment every day through Thursday, June 8th. This is it! You can make a difference and it's the people power of our movement that will get this amendment passed!

Call Congress today or tomorrow!

Please take the time to call the DC office of the Representative from your district through the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or toll free at 888-355-3588. Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant.

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Act Now to Stop War & End Racism http://www.answercoalition.org/
info@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
New York City: 212-694-8720
Los Angeles: 323-464-1636
San Francisco: 415-821-6545
Chicago: 773-463-0311


Informant: Hopedance

Specter warns of 'confrontation' over NSA hearings

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/07/nsa


Informant: John Calvert

World-News

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