World-News

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201763_pf.html


Informant: NHNE

23.06.06

An Bord der "Rainbow Warrior" brachten Greenpeace-Aktivisten am Freitag Morgen einen illegalen italienischen Treibnetzfischer auf und beschlagnahmten mehrere hundert Meter seines Netzes. Die "Piratenfischer" waren der Umweltorganisation zufolge 65 Kilometer südlich der italienischen Insel Ponza auf der Jagd nach Schwertfischen. Die Aktivisten konnten eine Meeresschildkröte aus dem Netz befreien und ihr so das Leben retten. "Treibnetze sind seit Jahren verboten", sagt Thilo Maack, Greenpeace Meeresbiologe. "Es ist skandalös, dass die italienische Regierung und die europäische Gemeinschaft es nicht schafft, ihre eigenen Gesetze durchzusetzen."

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=13877

23 June 2006

A COMMUNITY is fighting to uproot a six-month-old mobile phone aerial erected on Green Belt land without planning permission.

T Mobile took advantage of a planning loophole which allows phone companies to erect temporary aerials without planning permission in areas with little coverage.

Six months ago it built a 24-metre mast at the Cardrome site in Upper Rainham Road, South Hornchurch.

In May Havering Council told T Mobile to remove the aerial but instead the company has applied to retain the temporary aerial for two years and to add a second, 15-metre, mast at the site.

Cllr Georgina Galpin (Con, Hylands) last week she delivered around 250 leaflets to residents encouraging them to object to T Mobile's application.

She said: "Telecom-munications companies are really devious, they have no concern or thought for the local residents."

Read more in this week's Recorder.

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/m2omb

Since "George W. Bush (that is, the boss)" says he wants to close Guantanamo, Pierre Marcelle wonders when it's going to happen ...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306E.shtml



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

Polls, Pundits and Pols

"You'd never know it from some of the reporting and bloviating on the debate over an Iraq withdrawal, but all major polls show that the public favors withdrawals, with strong support for a timeline or total pullout within a year," writes Greg Mitchell. "But reading the latest poll results, one might conclude the opposite of what many reporters and pundits now seem to be suggesting: that, actually, the GOP faces an uphill fight on re-selling the Iraq war, now in its fourth year."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306C.shtml



Democrats Criticize Claim on Iraqi Arms

The assertion by two Republican lawmakers that a new intelligence study proves that chemical weapons were found in Iraq has triggered sharp criticism from Democrats that the GOP is distorting intelligence for political purposes. At issue is a classified overview of chemical munitions found in Iraq since 2003 that was completed in April by the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306D.shtml



State of Emergency Declared in Baghdad

The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew Friday after insurgents set up roadblocks in central Baghdad and opened fire on US and Iraqi troops outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306A.shtml

While dozens of lawsuits challenging the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance of Americans slowly move through the courts, the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to consider legislation that would effectively legalize the practice. Civil-rights advocates and Constitutional-law experts say several proposed bills attempt to "whitewash" executive wrongdoing before Congress has the opportunity to conduct hearings and gather the facts surrounding the National Security Agency's involvement in warrantless wiretapping and telecommunications data mining.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306B.shtml

PLEASE FORWARD

Do you believe we should investigate and hold impeachment hearings against President Bush for illegal wiretapping of citizens, torture of prisoners, signing a version of the Deficit Reduction Act not passed by Congress (therefore reducing the amount of time disbled seniors have access to medical equipment), providing false information to Congress leading up to the war in Iraq, and other abuses of power?

If so, here is a great start to reaching that goal. According to Jefferson Manual section 603, States can begin the process of impeachment.

Please sign the online petition in support of California Assemblyman Paul Koretz' Assembly Joint Resolution, AJR39, calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

We hope to reach at least 1,000 signatures by Friday of next week. With your help, I think we can do it.

You must reside in California to sign the petition. Go to:
http://www.gopetition.com/online/8849.html

Petitions will be delivered to Speaker Nunez' office and other appropriate CA state legislators on an ongoing basis.

Also, if you are a resident of the City of Los Angeles, please additionally sign the petition to introduce an impeachment resolution in the Los Angeles City Council:

http://www.gopetition.com/online/8852.html

Thank you for your support.

If you have any questions, please contact me at susieshannon@comcast.net or visit http://www.impeachbush.tv/impeach/bystate.html or impeachca.com

Warm Regards,

Susie Shannon
susieshannon@comcast.net


Informant: Roy Ulrich



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

According to Tom Englehardt, "The real adventure of my site, by the way, is all those e-letters pouring in. This wows me. I check the site e-mail and there's a convoy commander from Iraq telling me about his experiences, or an anti-imperial conservative from some southern state, or residents of small towns all over America."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306O.shtml

The New York Times editors say "bill would put $760 billion in new debt on the backs of Americans in the name of making a handful of extremely rich people even richer. Congressional leaders may know how to count votes, but otherwise their math is pathetic."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306N.shtml

Despite the use of private data brokers by federal and local law enforcement agencies, the FBI said Thursday that practices by such companies to gather Americans' private telephone records without warrants or subpoenas are almost certainly illegal.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306M.shtml

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on Thursday demanding that the US Defense Department publicly release its files on the investigation into the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. The Freedom of Information Act request also seeks records relating to any killing of civilians by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan since January 1, 2005, the ACLU said.


http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306L.shtml



Long Island Press

06/28/06

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on Thursday demanding that the U.S. Defense Department publicly release its files on the investigation into the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. The Freedom of Information Act request also seeks records relating to any killing of civilians by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan since January 1, 2005, the ACLU said in a statement. U.S. Marines have been accused of killing 24 unarmed Iraqis in the city of Haditha on November 19 in retaliation for the death of a fellow Marine from a roadside bomb...

http://tinyurl.com/fmr9w


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Congressman Bob Ney told Senate investigators he made no effort to help a client of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, despite extensive evidence to the contrary, a Congressional report said Thursday.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306K.shtml

Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday he might have to testify in the CIA leak trial of his former chief of staff. Cheney made the comment in a CNN interview, following last month's suggestion by prosecutors that the vice president would be a logical witness in the case of I. Lewis Libby, who is accused of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306J.shtml

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4702/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the September 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062306Z.shtml

Slate
by Dana Stevens

06/22/06

The Road to Guantánamo (Roadside Attractions), Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross' half-feature film, half-documentary about three British youths who spent over two years in military prison for no justifiable reason, is exhausting, depressing, slightly nauseating, and unfortunately necessary. It turns an abstract debate about human rights and the Geneva Conventions into a visceral experience of lived injustice: What if you were rounded up with friends on the eve of your own wedding; shipped to an American airbase to be shackled, beaten, and interrogated; and then sent without trial to languish in a cage in Cuba?

http://www.slate.com/id/2144198/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Star Tribune
by staff

06/22/06

America is a nation built on four flimsy sheets of parchment. They're not as thrilling to look at as Old Glory, but the brittle pages of the U.S. Constitution have done more to sustain American liberty than any flag ever could. It's too bad, really, that Americans don't pledge allegiance to the Constitution -- and don't revere it as they do the Stars and Stripes. If they did, they'd see the folly in defending a rectangle of cloth at the expense of the parchment's promises. Not that the flag really needs protection. It waves in the wind every day everywhere and is trampled underfoot rarely anywhere. But whenever an election draws near, lawmakers trot out a constitutional amendment to ban 'flag desecration.' Pandering to public fondness for the most colorful symbol of U.S. freedom, Congress is gunning once again for the amendment's passage...

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/507549.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

USA Today
by staff

06/21/06

France, Germany and courts in Japan could teach America a thing or two about one essential aspect of democracy: Their governments are more willing to make sure that journalists have the means to act as watchdogs on the people in power. Several European nations guarantee that reporters cannot be forced to expose sources to whom they've guaranteed confidentiality. Just last week, Tokyo's high court upheld a Japanese reporter's refusal to reveal the sources of a 1997 news story about a U.S. health food company. This is just common sense. Those in power keep secrets -- sometimes to protect their power, sometimes for financial or political gain, and sometimes for more legitimate reasons, such as national security. The nation's Founders knew this. They created a free press in large part as a check on that sort of power. Reporters and commentators would serve as watchdogs...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-06-21-our-view_x.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://tinyurl.com/fgzxw


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Fox News
by Radley Balko

06/22/06

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in its 5-4 decision in the case of Hudson v. Michigan that when police conduct an illegal, no-knock raid, any evidence they seize in the raid can still be used against the suspect at trial, even though the raid was conducted illegally. I’ve spent the last year researching these types of volatile, highly-confrontational, paramilitary raids for a forthcoming report for the Cato Institute. The decision in Hudson is almost certain to lead to more illegal no-knock raids, more mistaken raids on innocent people, and more unnecessary deaths, both of civilians and of police officers. Experts on both sides of the ruling have debated the issue for a week now. I’d like to make another point. The Supreme Court split on this case, right down the middle. The four most liberal justices voted in favor of the defendant, while the five most conservative justices voted in favor of the police...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200495,00.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot

The U.S. government gained sweeping access to international banking records as part of a secret program to choke off financial support for terrorism, officials said Thursday. Treasury Department officials said they used broad subpoenas to collect the financial records from an international system known as Swift. Stuart Levey, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, called the subpoenas 'a legal and proper use of our authorities'...

http://tinyurl.com/h6wz8


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

MSNBC

06/22/06

Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday they have no evidence that Iraq produced chemical weapons after the 1991 Gulf War, despite recent reports from media outlets and Republican lawmakers. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan on Wednesday pointed to a newly declassified report that says coalition forces have found 500 munitions in Iraq that contained degraded sarin or mustard nerve agents. They cited the report in an attempt to counter criticism by Democrats who say the decision to go to war was a mistake...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13480264/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Houston Chronicle

06/22/06

President Bush, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hungary's bloody revolt against communist rule in this Eastern Europe nation, was urged today to make sure the U.S. fight against terrorism doesn't stomp on human rights. 'I am here to celebrate the 1956 revolution ... a revolution that celebrated the notion that all men and women should be free,' Bush said standing with Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom in a gilded room with red brocade walls at the Sandor Palace. Solyom paid tribute to his country's difficult emergence from communist rule and pledged to stand with America in today's battle against terrorism. Yet he said Hungary's commitment to democracy requires a respect for human rights...

http://tinyurl.com/ltfuz


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Las Vegas Review Journal

06/22/06

The Earth is running a slight fever from greenhouse gases, after enjoying relatively stable temperatures for 2,000 years. The National Academy of Sciences, after reconstructing global average surface temperatures for the past two millennia, said Thursday the data are 'additional supporting evidence ... that human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming.' ... The academy had been asked to report to Congress on how researchers drew conclusions about the Earth's climate going back thousands of years, before data was available from modern scientific instruments...

http://tinyurl.com/ml3bo


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Miami Herald

06/23/06

The Bush administration and The New York Times are again at odds over national security, this time with new reports of a broad government effort to track global financial transfers. The newspaper, which in December broke news of an effort by the National Security Agency to monitor Americans' telephone calls and e-mails, declined a White House request not to publish a story about the government's inspection of monies flowing in and out of the country. The Los Angeles Times also reported on the issue Thursday night on its Web site, against the Bush administration's wishes. The Wall Street Journal said it received no request to hold its report of the surveillance. Administration officials were concerned that news reports of the program would diminish its effectiveness and could harm overall national security...

http://tinyurl.com/jl5jh


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.bessereweltlinks.de/book73q.htm


Informant: Milo

http://www.betterworldlinks.org/book73q.htm


Informant: Milo

June 22, 2006, 10:10 AM

For those of you in the mood for an extensive recounting of Jack Abramoff's deeds, head on over to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee website and check out their new report (scroll down to "Recent Hearings"). We'll be reading through it, but if anything new catches your eye, we'd love to hear about it at: http://mparent7777.livejournal.com/9668616.html


Informant: MA PA

Video shows Rove spokesman at Libby fundraiser...at home of top Democratic strategist

June 22, 2006

Democratic strategist James Carville's wife, Mary Matlin, hosted a $500/plate fund-raiser for Scooter Libby's Defense Fund, former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney before being indicted in the CIA leak investigation. Libby has raised over $2 million for his defense fund.

Con't with video at: http://mparent7777.livejournal.com/9670570.html


Informant: MA PA

What if the next burger you ate was created in a warm, nutrient-enriched soup swirling within a bioreactor?

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71201-0.html?tw=wn_index_1


From Information Clearing House

Former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, speaking at the opening of a new RAND Corp. office, said the war on terror is likely to last for decades, much like the Cold War.

http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/6/22/122808.shtml?s=ic


From Information Clearing House

Russia's fleet is returning to the Mediterranean as the Kremlin sends military advisors and weapons to Syria.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,422911,00.html


From Information Clearing House

The amendment indicates that few in Congress have received access to US intelligence on Iran. Democrats' comments also signal that key lawmakers have yet to be briefed with regard to Administration policy.

http://tinyurl.com/qckrs



Iran must respond before August to N-proposals: US

US President George W. Bush warned yesterday that Iran must respond before August to a proposed deal to stop making nuclear fuel amid fears that it wants to build atomic weapons.

http://tinyurl.com/romfp


From Information Clearing House



Iran rejects US 'pressure' on nuclear issue

The US is determined to topple Iran's Islamic government whether or not the crisis over the country's nuclear activities is resolved, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said today.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13729.htm

The Army has again raised its age limit for active-duty and Army Reserve recruits in hopes of expanding its pool of potential soldiers.

http://www.armytimes.com/print.php?f=1-292925-1886067.php


From Information Clearing House

By Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.

The “War on Terrorism” is flourishing business for the corporate world - a 21st century fantasy on its own, where facts live in denials and predetermined dogmas cover all aspects of Muslims and Islam.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13720.htm

--------

The Myth of Terrorism
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070306A.shtml

Video - Runtime 90 Minutes

The damning 90-minute exposé stops short of laying those bodies at Vice President Dick Cheney's feet. But it does finger Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — through more than 40 interviews with CIA veterans, journalists, politicians and others — as the ones who ignored, suppressed and manipulated intelligence after the 9/11 attacks to lead us into war with a country that had nothing to do with our attackers.

Click here to watch
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13728.htm

By William Blum

I was moved to compile a list of the many kinds of misfortune which have fallen upon the heads of the Iraqi people as a result of the American liberation of their homeland. It's depressing reading, and you may not want to read it all, but I think it's important to have it summarized in one place.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13719.htm

Kicking Open the Gates of H...

By Mike Whitney

In 3 years of unrelenting bloodshed, the Bush administration has never pursued a political solution. No dialogue, no diplomacy, no negotiations. There’s still the naïve belief that violence alone can achieve their objectives and that America will prevail in any conflict. The administration’s arrogance has set them up for a crushing defeat.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13721.htm

General Motors' historic offer to every employee - take the cash and walk away. The biggest employee buyout in American history. This time on NOW.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062206U.shtml

First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to the Iraq war at 2:30 this morning. Hours before his refusal, Lieutenant Watada confirmed his steadfast opposition to the Iraq war.


http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062206S.shtml



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

"The question today is whether that war-decision-then-intelligence sequence remains in effect as President Bush's advisers weigh whom to attack next," writes Ray McGovern, former analyst for the CIA.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062206R.shtml

From: Sharon J. Lettman,
PFAW Foundation
alerts@pfaw.org

Forward this information

So far, over 13,000 people have signed our petition against Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell’s new regulations that severely restrict voter registration. We’re looking to get at least 25,000 by Monday when the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) will vote to accept or reject the regulations. Please help us reach our goal!

The voter suppression going on in Ohio will have an impact on traditionally disenfranchised communities that could last for several election cycles. And if these kinds of tactics are accepted as “fair game,” they are sure to be employed in other states soon.

If you have not signed the petition, please do so now at http://www.pfaw.org/go/OHSuppression.

If you’ve already signed, please forward this alert to your friends and ask them to sign as well.

Blackwell’s new rules threaten criminal penalties for individuals registering voters if they do not exactly conform to complicated, burdensome procedures. The resulting intimidation of registration workers has the potential to bring to a screeching halt efforts to register poor, young and African American voters. Help us send a message to the Ohio Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review that this is unacceptable.

Shutting people out of the democratic process is not the American Way. Weigh in against this attack on voting rights by signing and forwarding our petition today!

Let’s nip this attempt at voter suppression in the bud before it wreaks havoc on democracy in Ohio and spreads to other states.

http://www.pfaw.org/go/OHSuppression

Together in the struggle,

Sharon J. Lettman
Vice President for External Affairs and Director of Election Protection 365 People For the American Way Foundation


Informant: Martin Greenhut

We recognize that this November may the last chance to save our country from the willful lies and dictatorial abuses of the Bush administration. We recognize that above all else the majority of the country want an END to the misuse of our military in the disastrous occupation of Iraq. And we recognize that if our candidates STAND UP for real accountability, the American people WILL turn out and vote for regime change in our own country.

THEREFORE, we need each and EVERY one of our participants to do the following:

1) If you have not already done so (and 6,000 of you already have), sign the Peace Pledge, that you will ONLY support candidates who commit to ending the occupation of Iraq, and to oppose any like wars of aggression. ALL our peace candidate action pages from now on will include signing on to the Peace Pledge as an additional option, for example, Stacey Tallitsch.

ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/stacey/pnum320.php

2) Each of our peace candidates will be running direct "call to action" radio spots in their own districts, calling for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq. If you have the ability to make a contribution to support these efforts, you can be assured that you are making an INVESTMENT in building a consensus on this issue, and letting the American people know that there ARE viable alternative candidates standing up for us now. You can hear the first of these inspiring new radio spots at this page.

CALL TO ACTION DONATIONS: http://www.usalone.com/stacey/donations.php

3) Even if you are not in a position to make a donation, we need to make 10 million phone calls to our fellow constituents between now and November. If you have not already done so, please sign up for the Blades of Grass initiative, and you can then participate to virtual phone bank in support of any of the peace candidates in any district

BLADES OF GRASS SIGNUPS: http://www.usalone.com/bladesofgrass.htm

If each of us were to make just 10 calls a week, we can make all those calls with just 100,000 dedicated virtual phone bank participants. Then we'll alert you to let you know where your help is most needed.

Whatever you want to call it, a war, an occupation, it has to START stopping now. The American people know it, they understand it, and they will support candidates with the COURAGE to say so. Six months ago John Murtha proposed redeploying by the end of the year. It should ALREADY be happening. And if we just get out there and say so NOW, the American people will trust in our leadership come November.

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://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0622-12.htm



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

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is destroying yet another family of Mexican gray wolves – even though the agency has identified the species as the most endangered mammal in North America. The male of the recently released Nantac Pack was just shot and killed, and the female is being hunted down right now. Both members of this pack were survivors of past predator control actions.

In 1996, an environmental analysis of the Mexican wolf reintroduction program projected that the population would reach at least 100 animals by the end of this year. However, it is believed there are presently fewer than 40 grown wolves in the wild plus an unknown number of pups born this year.

The federal predator control program wiped out wolves originally, and since reintroduction efforts began in 1998, the program has significantly contributed to the reduction of the census population of Mexican wolves in the wild, from 55 in 2003, to 44 in 2004, to 35 in 2005 – a 20 percent decrease each year.

Within the last month, federal agents killed 11 wolves, including six pups from one pack. A seventh pup was orphaned and likely died of starvation as a result of losing its parents.

Please help us put a stop to this cruel and senseless program! Contact Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to request an emergency moratorium on predator control directed against Mexican wolves until the population stabilizes and reaches its demographic goal. Send a copy of your letter to governors Bill Richardson (N.M.) and Janet Napolitano (Ariz.), who can both wield influence through their respective wildlife departments.

Read further and take action under:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/wolf_slaughter

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/22/D8IDB6500.html


Informant: NHNE

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10723


Informant: NHNE

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2006/06/the_attack_has_already_happene.html


Informant: Karl von Werther