World-News

http://www.fcnl.org/action/2006/lam0914.htm


Informant: Martin Greenhut

An official overseeing oil leasing says he was directed in the 1990s to remove a provision concerning royalty payments, leading to a financial windfall to oil companies. He also said that mid-level department officials covered up the mistake for five years and thus failed to deal with ethical missteps and conflicts of interest.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406P.shtml

"We have sacrificed our daughters and sons and our treasure in a war we didn't have to fight," said Ned Lamont. "We have ignored the real threats and security needs in the war we should be fighting, the one against the terrorists.... Senator Lieberman believes that President Bush has it right in Iraq. I believe that he's dangerously wrong."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406N.shtml



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

Brent Budowsky writes: "The Iraq Resolution in 2002, promoted through fear and falsehood, created a dark and unalterable road on the path to war and tragedy in Iraq. For the first time in the history of our Republic, the coming election in November is nothing less than a national referendum, in which the American people will be voting whether to pursue, or prevent, the next dark and unalterable road to tragic and unwise war."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406M.shtml

A group of Princeton computer scientists said they created demonstration vote-stealing software that can be installed within a minute on a common electronic voting machine. The software can fraudulently change vote counts without being detected.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406K.shtml

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Princeton prof raises alarm over electronic voting machines

A Princeton University computer science professor is adding new evidence to support claims that electronic voting machines can be hacked.

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?s=5406411


From Information Clearing House

--------

Princeton Study of Diebold Voting Machines: http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/


Diebold Election Systems Response to the Princeton University AccuVote-TS Analysis http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=72390 Diebold's Contact Info: Mark Radke of Diebold Election Systems, 330-490-6633


MY Response to Diebold's Response to Princeton's Examination of Diebold Voting Machines Subtitle: Doubletalk, Bosh, and Mumbo Jumbo

by Kathy Dopp


Diebold says:

"The unit [that Princeton studied] has security software that was two generations old, and to our knowledge, is not used anywhere in the country."

Yet:

In March, 2005 the same severe Diebold security problems were discovered in Emery County, Utah by BlackBoxVoting and Bruce Funk that had been originally discovered in the late 1990's and in early 2003 by RABA Technologies in MD and by others previously. (See http://www.blackboxvoting.org/BBVtsxstudy.pdf)

Diebold advertised dozens of non-existant office locations in the white pages in dozens of states, and originally delivered a mixture of used, rejected voting machines to Utah for the price of new ones. (See http://UtahCountVotes.org )

Why should we believe Diebold now? Diebold could prove its claims are true by allowing independent thorough examination of its voting system. (Not by The Election Center - an Association of Election Officials and Voting Machine Vendors favored by Maryland's Election Director, Linda Lamone because it includes the same election insiders who pushed through unauditable paperless, fundamentally flawed, hackable voting systems despite public and expert opposition).

The Princeton team noted that Diebold's hardware also needs to be fixed.

Diebold says:

"Normal security procedures were ignored. Numbered security tape, 18 enclosure screws and numbered security tags were destroyed or missing so that the researchers could get inside the unit."

Yet:

Diebold voting machines do not use available common-sense security measures and did not even remove the development tools from its operating system, making its system less secure than an electronic toy.

Insiders are always the biggest threat to any voting system. Insiders include all Diebold staff and election officials and workers.

The Princeton team demonstrated that election stealing software can be inserted without ignoring any security procedures, by simply accessing a memory card prior to an election. Princeton even showed that a savy voter could possibly buy cards and vote multiple times.

To anyone observing an election, election rigging would look exactly like a normal election. (See the Princeton film http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/ )

Diebold says:

"A virus was introduced to a machine that is never attached to a network."

Yet:

The Princeton team did not network the machines and the virus can be transferred from one machine to another on a memory card, such as whenever the software is updated or when an election supervisor installs the election definition files, or if someone like a poll worker has one minute's access to the machine.

Diebold says:

"The current generation AccuVote-TS software - software that is used today on AccuVote-TS units in the United States - has the most advanced security features, including Advanced Encryption Standard 128 bit data encryption, Digitally Signed memory card data, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) data encryption for transmitted results, dynamic passwords, and more."

Yet:

Edward Felten, director of the Center for Information Technology Policy and professor of computer science at Princeton, claimed that the new safeguards still don't ensure security. "Just because they use a digital signature, just because they use encryption, that's a check-box approach that doesn't pass muster in any security analysis," he said. Felten also noted that encryption doesn't prevent an attack of the kind used in the study because the encryption key is present in the machine.

"The malicious software has the full run of the computer. It has access to everything."

Diebold says:

"In addition to this extensive security, the report all but ignores physical security and election procedures. Every local jurisdiction secures its voting machines - every voting machine, not just electronic machines. Electronic machines are secured with security tape and numbered security seals that would reveal any sign of tampering."

Yet:

Malicious software can be most easily installed during the normal course of storing, maintaining, updating, or conducting elections without raising any suspicion. It is virtually impossible to secure these machines using the security procedures in use today in election jurisdictions.

BlackBoxVoting, Princeton, and Avi Rubin, among others, have shown that Diebold's "security tape" is easy to tamper with, without leaving any noticeable evidence. New security tape is also available for purchase. Third, The security tape can be avoided altogether by removing a few screws. (See Avi Rubin's "day as a poll worker" http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2006/09/my-day-at-polls-maryland-primary-06.html )

Diebold says:

"Secure voting equipment, proper procedures and adequate testing assure an accurate voting process that has been confirmed through numerous, stringent accuracy tests and third party security analysis."

Yet:

Only persons uneducated in computer science would buy that logic. Diebold deliberately avoided having its modified operating system software federally tested. No amount of testing would assure a tamper-free election, as Princeton explained in its movie clip and is further explained in this testimony before the US Congress by DAVID WAGNER, PH.D. COMPUTER SCIENCE DIVISION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 in Question #1 of Responses to "Questions for the Record Submitted by Chairman Ehlers and Chairman Boehlert..." http://www.votetrustusa.org/pdfs/qfr-house06.pdf

Diebold says:

"Every voter in every local jurisdiction that uses the AccuVote-TS should feel secure knowing that their vote will count on Election Day."

Yet:

To secure the accuracy of election results we must audit - manually count - voter verifiable paper ballot records associated with sufficient vote counts to give a 99% probability of detecting any outcome-altering vote miscount.

Banks, businesses, and churches are subjected to independent audits. Election outcomes determine who controls budgets in the millions to trillions of dollars, yet are not sufficiently audited in any state.


Kathy Dopp
http://electionarchive.org
The National Election Data Archive Dedicated to accurately counting elections.

The National Election Data Archive will soon be publicly releasing a new mathematical method of calculating vote count audit amounts that will ensure election outcomes are accurate.

--------

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

Chris Floyd writes: "It may look and feel like a farce right now, but one day some future Shakespeare might write it as a tragedy: the fall of a powerful, popular leader broken on the wheel of war. For make no mistake: if not for the criminal folly of the Iraq invasion, British Prime Minister Tony Blair would not have been unceremoniously shoved toward the exit last week by his own party, including some of his fiercest loyalists."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406J.shtml

Bush is at it again. He's got an anti-regulation nominee named Susan Dudley for an unknown but very powerful administration which reviews many of our safety regulations. Our water, our air, or roads, will all be under her authority and hard-won safety regulations will be at risk, she's got a proven anti-regulatory track record. I wrote my Senators, please join me. We must stop Susan Dudley.

Go to: http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5188

From Marsha MCClelland

A message from NANCY

Original Message

Here are some new ones to please sign and cross post.

7 Brand New Animal Petitions

New Animal/Wildlife Petitions:

Justice for Greyhound Mix & Other Abused / Killed Dogs
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/451360147

Save Coyotes, Pheasants, Burrowing Owls, Etc.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/942461884

Stop Infashion Magazine's Use & Promotion of Fur
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/622403516

Save the Cogghall Park Geese
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/545457993

Tell President Bush To Help Alaska's Wolves
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/295248763


New Environment Petitions:

Take a Stand Against Global Climate Change - Pledge Action Today!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/975797477

Join The Million Bulb Swap Out to Fight Global Warming
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/916022327

Please sign/forward the petition to save our wetlands. Sponsor,- Judy E.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/925517279

Senator Schaefer of Georgia is now promoting our petition!

See here:
http://www.senatornancyschaefer.com/mental_screening.php?filter=4

We now going for 12,000 !!!!! Update on my Stop TeenScreen petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish: http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

The school year has started and the petition is being presented to school boards. I know of at least 5 states so far (that I know of) that have given the petition to school boards. And I also know it's going to be presented to school boards in Indiana and California very shortly. Also a large education group is perking up their ears on this and might just possibly be lending us a hand soon!! Can you please, please keep it going by sending the petition to everyone you know and get them to pass it on also? The children need our voices, lets keep the petition moving!!! The more people that this reaches, hopefully the more children we can help protect. Thank you for very much for your continued push on this.

Teresa Rhoades
Indiana
PATMOM (Parents Against TeenScreen Mom)


Informant: Marsha MCClelland

By: Vicki Weller

HEALTH and safety fears have triggered local objections to an O2 proposal to erect a mast at Hillsboro, just outside Newbridge town. The application was originally made by O2 in May but this was declared invalid after the site notice was deemed to insufficiently visible. It was then resubmitted, delaying the process somewhat.

O2 Communications Ireland has applied for the erection of the mast, antennae, equipment container and ancillary facilities at the Hillsboro site. Local resident James Conlon, who has objected to the application, states that he fears microwaves emitted by the mast could endanger the health of local people.

According to Mr Conlon, the proposed mast is to be located approximately 600 metres from his home, which he considers to be too close. “International studies indicate, and it is the policy of many councils, that such masts should be located at least one kilometre from residential housing.”

Mr Conlon also points out that there are already five mobile masts in the immediate locality of the Hillsborough townland, three of which are O2 masts, and two erected by Vodafone. His submission to the council notes that there are already enough masts to service the area, since these masts can be shared between the mobile phone operators.

“There is no need for another mast,” he concludes.

Similar reasons for objection are cited by another resident, Oliver Murphy, who states that the proximity of the mast could result in illeffects to the health of his family.

The Hillsborough site earmarked by O2 is located close to the sandpit operated by local businessman Seamus Tougher. Mr Tougher has not, however, objected to the application, saying that he “does not want to get involved”.

“I am running a business here and I’m not really concerned about this. These masts are all over the place. I use a mobile phone myself. I also believe that the technology is changing and the masts might even be obsolete in a few years’ time,” he commented.

Kildare County Council spokesman Charlie Talbot said that the closing date for objections to the O2 application was Monday 28 August and a decision was now expected on 17 September.

© Kildare Nationalist, 2006.

http://www.kildare-nationalist.ie/news/story.asp?j=23845

Daniel Vernet writes: "The strategy chosen by the Americans to respond to [the 9-11 attacks] leaves a more chaotic, less secure world, lacking not only the implacable logic of the antagonism between two blocs that obtained during the Cold War, but also the somewhat pacific benefits attributable to the reign of international law."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406H.shtml

With "persistent legal perils" now confronting the press, the New York Times is conducting legal seminars, and Time Inc. will offer training sessions about legal and ethical issues for reporters.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406G.shtml

UN inspectors have protested to the US government and a Congressional committee about a report on Iran's nuclear work, calling parts of it "outrageous and dishonest."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406F.shtml

"With a growing majority of Americans opposed to the war in Iraq, even ardent hawks refusing to enlist in droves, and the Pentagon pulling out ever more stops and sinking to new lows in recruitment and retention, a new all-volunteer generation of UUUU's may emerge - the underachieving, unable, unexceptional, unintelligent, unsound, unhinged, unacceptable, unhealthy, undesirable, unloved, uncivil, and even un-American, all led by the unqualified, doing the unnecessary for the ungrateful," Nick Turse writes.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091406E.shtml

Die neuen Daten des Statistischen Bundesamtes weisen auf problematische gesellschaftliche Trends hin.

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/23/23553/1.html

http://news.web-hh.de/index.php?newsfull=1&lid=24338&rubrik=politik

Westliche Kriegspolitik zur Neuordnung des Mittleren Ostens
http://www.meta-info.de/?lid=24339

Two studies say global warming is responsible for a shifting coastline and visits from Arctic seals.

By Geoff Pingree and Lisa Abend
Correspondents of The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0914/p07s02-woeu.html

MADRID

The jellyfish arrived first, swarming Spain's Mediterranean beaches and stinging tens of thousands of sun-loving vacationers. Confused Arctic seals came next, washing up on Spanish coasts thousands of miles from home.

If any Spaniards still wondered whether they were seeing evidence of climate change, two recent scientific studies confirmed it: Not only has global warming already significantly altered Spain's natural environment, it is likely to continue to do so.

Years of drought here have suggested that something isn't quite right with Iberia's ecology. But this summer's changes have been more dramatic. "We're seeing evidence everywhere on the planet that climate change is a reality," says Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, the Environment Ministry's Secretary General for Climate Change, "but in Spain, it is manifesting itself with greater intensity."

During June and July, white flags with menacing blue blobs flew over many Spanish beaches to warn visitors of the fleets of jellyfish. The jellyfish, most Pelagia noctiluca, stung tens of thousands of bathers nonetheless, according to the Spanish Red Cross, forcing a temporary closure of some beaches.

The phenomenon, says Josep-María Gili, a professor at the Institute of Ocean Science at Spain's Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, had two causes. "The first is overfishing - with fewer sea turtles, tuna, and swordfish, the jellyfish has very few predators."

This allowed the jellyfish population to grow rapidly. The second cause, says Professor Gili, is climate change that has warmed the waters.

Warmer waters may also help explain why the Arctic seals made their way to Spanish coasts. While these seals normally reside in the waters between Canada and Greenland, at least 12 have been spotted this summer in Spain, including four in the northwestern region of Galicia.

The seals' arrival is not unprecedented; in 2001, six reached Spain. But their dispersion so far south is highly unusual, says Alfredo López, president of La Coruña's Center for the Study of Marine Mammals. Mr. López suggests that rising temperatures up north may have played a large role. "We think that because temperatures in the areas where young seals normally grow are higher, they go looking for colder waters further at sea," he says.

The invasions of sea creatures are not confined to Spain. Jellyfish have plagued Italian and French beaches as well this summer, and López reports Arctic seals sightings in Morocco and Mauritania.

But a study by the Center for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) in Great Britain and Munich's Technical University says that Spain is feeling the effects of global warming more than other European countries. Using data - compiled by scientists in 21 nations - that track the flowering rates of
561 plant species, it found that in Spain, spring comes two weeks earlier and lasts nine days longer than it did 30 years ago.

"We found an average net change of six to eight days in Europe," says Tim Sparks, the scientist at CEH who helped conduct the study, which covered
1971-2000. "But in Spain the change was very strong. Spring temperatures there rose about 3 degrees C., which is an astonishingly rapid increase."

Mr. Sparks says he is not sure why the increase is so dramatic. "It may have something to do with Atlantic currents," he says. "We found that, in general, temperature increases were greater on the western coast of Europe than in the central part."

The change is already having repercussions. "Areas of the country that traditionally aren't dry are suffering heat waves and fires," Spark says. "And there have been changes in birds - particularly the white stork - that normally migrate to Africa; they're staying in Spain for the winter."

Last week, the Environment Ministry also released a study conducted by scientists at the University of Cantabria demonstrating that Spain's coastline is shrinking as sea levels rise an average of 2.5 millimeters a year. By 2050, beaches will have receded some 49 feet.

"I wouldn't buy a house in La Manga [a beach likely to be heavily affected]," Raúl Medina, director of the report, told the press. "I doubt my children will be able to enjoy it."


Informant: binstock

by Miriam Pemberton, TomPaine.com

The Bush administration's spending plan favors shiny new weapons over initiatives that work.

http://ga3.org/ct/vp20pgF1mmu-/

by Shadi Hamid, TomPaine.com

Giving Middle Easterners legitimate channels for their anger is key to defusing extremism.

http://ga3.org/ct/5720pgF1mmuK/

Paper on Nuclear Aims Called Dishonest

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 14, 2006; A17

U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document "outrageous and dishonest" and offering evidence to refute its central claims.

Officials of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter that the report contained some "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements." The letter, signed by a senior director at the agency, was addressed to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence committee, which issued the report. A copy was hand-delivered to Gregory L. Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna.

The IAEA openly clashed with the Bush administration on pre-war assessments of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Relations all but collapsed when the agency revealed that the White House had based some allegations about an Iraqi nuclear program on forged documents.

After no such weapons were found in Iraq, the IAEA came under additional criticism for taking a cautious approach on Iran, which the White House says is trying to building nuclear weapons in secret. At one point, the administration orchestrated a campaign to remove the IAEA's director general, Mohamed ElBaradei. It failed, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

Yesterday's letter, a copy of which was provided to The Washington Post, was the first time the IAEA has publicly disputed U.S. allegations about its Iran investigation. The agency noted five major errors in the committee's 29-page report, which said Iran's nuclear capabilities are more advanced than either the IAEA or U.S. intelligence has shown.

Among the committee's assertions is that Iran is producing weapons-grade uranium at its facility in the town of Natanz. The IAEA called that "incorrect," noting that weapons-grade uranium is enriched to a level of 90 percent or more. Iran has enriched uranium to 3.5 percent under IAEA monitoring.

When the congressional report was released last month, Hoekstra said his intent was "to help increase the American public's understanding of Iran as a threat." Spokesman Jamal Ware said yesterday that Hoekstra will respond to the IAEA letter.

Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), a committee member, said the report was "clearly not prepared in a manner that we can rely on." He agreed to send it to the full committee for review, but the Republicans decided to make it public before then, he said in an interview.

The report was never voted on or discussed by the full committee. Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), the vice chairman, told Democratic colleagues in a private e-mail that the report "took a number of analytical shortcuts that present the Iran threat as more dire -- and the Intelligence Community's assessments as more certain -- than they are."

Privately, several intelligence officials said the committee report included at least a dozen claims that were either demonstrably wrong or impossible to substantiate. Hoekstra's office said the report was reviewed by the office of John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence.

Negroponte's spokesman, John Callahan, said in a statement that his office "reviewed the report and provided its response to the committee on July 24, '06." He did not say whether it had approved or challenged any of the claims about Iran's capabilities.

"This is like prewar Iraq all over again," said David Albright, a former nuclear inspector who is president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. "You have an Iranian nuclear threat that is spun up, using bad information that's cherry-picked and a report that trashes the inspectors."

The committee report, written by a single Republican staffer with a hard-line position on Iran, chastised the CIA and other agencies for not providing evidence to back assertions that Iran is building nuclear weapons.

It concluded that the lack of intelligence made it impossible to support talks with Tehran. Democrats on the committee saw it as an attempt from within conservative Republican circles to undermine Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has agreed to talk with the Iranians under certain conditions.

The report's author, Fredrick Fleitz, is a onetime CIA officer and special assistant to John R. Bolton, the administration's former point man on Iran at the State Department. Bolton, who is now ambassador to the United Nations, had been highly influential during President Bush's first term in drawing up a tough policy that rejected talks with Tehran.

Among the allegations in Fleitz's Iran report is that ElBaradei removed a senior inspector from the Iran investigation because he raised "concerns about Iranian deception regarding its nuclear program." The agency said the inspector has not been removed.

A suggestion that ElBaradei had an "unstated" policy that prevented inspectors from telling the truth about Iran's program was particularly "outrageous and dishonest," according to the IAEA letter, which was signed by Vilmos Cserveny, the IAEA's director for external affairs and a former Hungarian ambassador.

Hoekstra's committee is working on a separate report about North Korea that is also being written principally by Fleitz. A draft of the report, provided to The Post, includes several assertions about North Korea's weapons program that the intelligence officials said they cannot substantiate, including one that Pyongyang is already enriching uranium.

The intelligence community believes North Korea is trying to acquire an enrichment capability but has no proof that an enrichment facility has been built, the officials said.


Informant: Jackie Cabasso

From ufpj-news

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The Nuclear Expert Who Never Was

By Scott Ritter

David Albright has a history of being used by those who seek to gain media attention for their respective claims. In addition to the Hamza and Obeidi fiascos, Albright and his organization, ISIS, have served as the conduit for other agencies gaining publicity about the alleged Iranian nuclear weapons program, the alleged Syrian nuclear reactor, and most recently the alleged Swiss computer containing sensitive nuclear design information.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20188.htm



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

http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/declaration.01.htm

The methods employed to STEAL Liberty and Freedom have become VERY SOPHISTICATED. Thank God for good men like Dr. Phillips. He and I have been friends for nearly 40 years and I assure you HE DOES NOT LIE.

Judson Witham

Truthdig
by Robert Scheer

09/12/06

If representative government were alive and well in America, President Bush would not have dared to give the speech he made Monday on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. In a blatantly partisan screed, the president ripped off a nation's mourning for the 9/11 victims in order to justify his totally unrelated and disastrous invasion of Iraq. The president's shameless remarks on this solemn occasion were so rife with egregious distortions of fact and logic as to beg ridicule, let alone refutation by a free press, a sturdy political opposition party and an informed public. Sadly, those three essential pillars of a free society have been subverted by five years of willful presidential exploitation of our fears, mocking the Founding Fathers' historic dream of a government accountable to the public...

http://tinyurl.com/hwrp2


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Human Events
by John Stossel

09/13/06

Their arrogance is stunning. Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alas.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) are the acknowledged kings of pork-barrel spending. They bring billons of taxpayer dollars to their states to ensure their hold on power. But apparently, that's not enough. They also want to make certain that you and I don't see what they get away with. So secretly they tried to keep us in the dark. Fiscal hawks in the Senate, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), are sponsoring a bill to create a database that would keep track of government spending. You could search that database from your home and find out who got all that special-interest taxpayer largess. That seems like useful information for citizens who would like to keep their eyes on their spend-happy representatives. But what's good for the taxpayers is not necessarily good for the politicians who ladle out our money, or the feeders at the government trough who get all those contracts and grants. The power brokers would rather the people not look over their shoulders...

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17007


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Boston Globe
by Derrick Z. Jackson

09/13/06

Three and a half years and tens of thousands of bodies after the Great False War began, Vice President Dick Cheney still tells us it 'was the right thing to do, and if we had it to do over again, we'd do exactly the same thing.' In his address to the nation to note the fifth anniversary of 9/11, President Bush added his thoughts on why the Great False War was the right thing. 'I am often asked why we are in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks,' Bush said. 'The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat.' They still are trying to bamboozle us about the threat. These latest attempts came despite last week's report from the Senate Intelligence Committee that destroyed with exactitude every last major, hair-raising reason the White House gave to launch the invasion...

http://tinyurl.com/hfen2


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Aberdeen American News

09/13/06

The White House and three powerful GOP senators reached an impasse Wednesday over a Bush administration plan to allow tough CIA interrogations, underscoring election-season divisions among Republicans on the high profile issue of security. In a direct challenge to President Bush, Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said his panel would meet Thursday to finalize an alternative to the White House plan to prosecute terror suspects and redefine acts that constitute war crimes. Warner, R-Va., said the administration proposal would lower the standard for the treatment of prisoners, potentially putting U.S. troops at risk should other countries retaliate...

http://tinyurl.com/hx73c


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.dgb.de/aktionstag/index_html


Aus: LabourNet, 14. September 2006

--------

DGB mobilisiert in 5 Städten für den Herbstprotest

Die Sozialen Bewegungen werden dabei sein, die Gespräche zwischen denDGB-Regionen und Initiativen laufen.

Ein von den sozialen Bewegungen gemeinsam abgestimmter Aufruf wird Anfang der Woche erfolgen.

Am 21. Oktober wird der DGB einen Großaktionstag mit Großdemonstrationen in 5 Städten veranstalten. Die Sozialproteste müssen sich entscheiden, welche Rolle sie in diesem Zusammenhang spielen wollen. Ob und wie sie ihren Beitrag zu einer gesamtgesellschaftlichen Mobilisierung gegen die Regierungspolitik leisten wollen. Zur Zeit laufen Gespräche, in welcher Form der soziale Protest sein eigenes Bild zeigen kann.

Aufruf des SGB und Infos des DGB http://www.dgb.de/aktionstag/index_html


Mitfahrlisten

Die Liste zum Eintragen der Mitfahrer/Innen steht als RTF-Datei zur Verfügung und kann mit einer beliebigen Textverarbeitung geöffnet werden. Hier http://www.dgb.de/aktionstag/index_html

In diese Liste können sich Interessent/Innen eintragen, die zu den Demonstrationen am 21. Oktober fahren möchten. Dann wird der Bedarf an Bussen für die Fahrt zu den Demonstrationen deutlich. Vor dem Ausdrucken sollten am Computer noch zwei Dinge ergänzt werden, die von Region zu Region unterschiedlich sind und die mit "...." frei gelassen sind: - Wohin werden die Busse fahren? In welcher Stadt wird die Demo stattfinden? - Am Ende der Liste, in der Zeile unter der Tabelle, kann eingetragen werden, bei welcher Person oder Organisation die Listen mit Mitfahrer/Innen gesammelt werden sollen, an welche Adresse die gefüllten Listen gesendet werden sollen. Hier kann z.B. Name, Post-Adresse, Telefon-Nummer, Email-Adresse einer Person eingetragen werden, die später die gefüllten Listen zu dem Gewerkschaftsbüro bringen wird, welches die Busse vor Ort organisieren wird.

Wichtig! Diese Listen unbedingt in den örtlichen Gewerkschaftsbüros abgeben.

Lokale Bündnisse

Es wird Anschreiben des DGB-Bundesvorstandes an die DGB-Bezirke und -Regionen geben, in denen den DGB-Sekretär/Innen mitgeteilt wird, dass Bündnisse mit anderen gesellschaftlichen Kräften ausdrücklich erwünscht sind. Die Initiativen und Bündnisse der Sozialproteste sollten sich also bald bei den DGB-Geschäftsstellen melden, damit sehr bald zu solchen Vernetzungen aller gesellschaftlichen Kräfte an jedem Ort eingeladen wird. Weitere Infos über die Gespräche, Aufruf und unser Protest sowie die Aktionswoche vor der Demo am 21.10. erfolgen in Kürze.

Für den 28.09.2006 ist in Bonn vor der ARGE und dem Bundesministierum für Arbeit- und Soziales ein Aktionstag geplant. Eine Kundgebung veranstalten wir zusammen mit den Erwerbslosen des DGB in Bonn ab 10:00. Hierzu sind alle aus der Umgebung ausdrücklich eingeladen. Nähere Infos auch dazu in Kürze.

Das Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland

Weitere Infos unter: (werden ständig aktualisiert) http://www.protest2006.de/infos/allgemein/dgb_mobilisiert_in_5_stadten_fur_den_herbstprotest.html und http://www.erwerbslosenforum.de, http://www.protest2006.de

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DGB ruft zum Protest – wer kommt?

„Das geht besser“? Wir meinen: Das geht nur anders. Aber nicht mit dem DGB

Kommentar von Mag Wompel zum gewerkschaftlichen Co-Management des Sozialabbaus http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/2006/dgbwompel.html


"Für ein Ende der Demut vor der Wirtschaft": Einladung zu den Herbstaktionen

„Im Herbst gibt es Proteste gegen den Sozialkahlschlag. Attac möchte die Gewerkschaften nicht nur unterstützen, sondern eigene Schwerpunkte setzen…“ Attac-Aufruf vom 14. September 2006 http://www.attac.de/genug-fuer-alle/neu/pages/posts/fuer-ein-ende-der-demut-vor-wirtschaft-einladung-zu-den-herbstaktionen6.php


Eine Perspektive für gesellschaftliche Allianzen gegen neoliberale Politik

Brief von Attac Deutschland an FunktionsträgerInnen in den Gewerkschaften zur Verbindung gewerkschaftlicher Sozialproteste mit den Protesten gegen die G8 im Juni 2007 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/2006/dgbattac.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 18. September 2006

A bid to build a fourth phone mast close to a community centre has been angrily dismissed by councillors. Mobiles giant Hutchison 3G wants to put another street lamp style mono-pole on Spencer Road railway bridge despite fierce protests from fifteen neighbours

Two have already been erected on the south side of the West Coast Line crossing and another has been approved, but not yet erected on the north side of the structure.

And company agent John Tootill argued that a fourth mast would "balance" the aesthetics of the controversial structures – to the amazement of Wigan's planning and development committee this week.

The mast, which would allow video phone messaging and connection to the Internet for Whitley residents, would operate within internationally agreed radiation guidelines, and the mast would be partially screened by a woodland area behind, he insisted.

But the "minimalist" look of the equipment failed to convince Wigan Central Labour councillor Joe Shaw.

He said: "I would like to know just when did mobile phone masts become part of the street furniture as we know it?

"As far as I can see, they are an eyesore and a travesty for the environment and I think coming back and back with more masts in this one area is absolutely outrageous.

"If we allow this when is it going to stop? Presumably they will be back with three on one side of the bridge and then they will want to make things equal with three on the other!"

He was backed by Whitley Methodists' Rev David Clowes who appeared before councillors as the protesters' witness.

The minister said the church prided itself on youth work in the community – and six groups were based there in the shadow of the profusion of masts, from babes in arms to young teenagers.

Rev Clowes said: "Many people are very afraid of the effect of these masts in our area.

"We have no knowledge of the long-term effect that radiation from these masts has on the brains of children, and their general health.

"The dangers from asbestos or lead in petrol were not known until years later and if the council approve this mast I would like to know how this can be guarding the well being of our young people, which is one of their main roles."

Community Action Party's Coun Jim Ellis is now calling for planners to produce a map with each new application showing all masts within a quarter of a mile radius, to try and prevent such proliferations.

The planning committee unanimously threw out the mast plan.

14 September 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.wigantoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=66&ArticleID=1768187

The Prairie Populist: Byron Dorgan

David Sirota writes: "North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan is a popular Democrat from a very 'red' rural state. He's remained a voter favorite not because he's tried to split the difference with Republicans or suck up to the Washington power structure, but because of the populist stands embodied in his new book 'Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America.'"

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306LA.shtml

The US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to reduce the amount of protected habitat for a small seabird, the marbled murrelet, by almost 95 percent. If finalized, the drastic reduction in critical habitat would harm the murrelet's chance of recovery in the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306EB.shtml

The Bush administration is objecting to a groundbreaking treaty that would set up a nuclear weapon-free zone in Central Asia. Arms control groups believe that the Bush administration is reticent to give up the option of deploying nuclear weapons at its military bases in the region.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306S.shtml

The highest criminal appeals court in the state of Texas said Wednesday that it would consider reinstating a conspiracy charge against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, further delaying his felony money laundering trial.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306R.shtml

14 September 2006

VICTORY: Residents celebrate mast triumph

PARENTS who locked horns with a mobile phone company over plans to install a mast near a primary school have claimed victory.

Bosses at mobile phone giant Orange have bowed to pressure from residents in Bedonwell Road, Belvedere, and revised their planning application to Bexley council.

The initial proposals outlined plans for a mast just 100 yards from Bedonwell Junior School.

Now, following an eight-month battle with campaigners, Orange has prepared an application for a mast at least 700 metres from the school grounds.

Alan Eaton, a leading member of action group Orange Squash, said: "We are obviously pleased Orange has reconsidered the application and decided to move the mast further away from the school.

"Our main concern was the potential health risk posed to the children.

"Residents are pleased with this result."

He added: "Orange Squash would like to say thank you to all who have helped with our campaign and a big thank you to Bexley Times for your support."

The phone company has had a mast on the school site since 1995, but its new plan is to remove it and put up a mast 700 metres from the school.

The original plans outraged parents, who feared for the healthy and safety of their children who attend the school.

Mr Eaton launched a campaign against the proposal, collecting 300 signatures from worried parents in just two days.

He went on to collect a further 500 signatures and gave the petition to David Evennett, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, who handed it to Parliament.

The Orange Squash campaign was also backed by veteran journalist Esther Rantzen, who was leading national campaign SHAME (Schools and Hospitals Against Mast Emissions).

An Orange spokesman said: "We have written to the residents informing them of the changes and will meet them in due course.

"Our aim is to strike a balance between the people who pay to have a good service and those who live near the mast. We feel this new site is suitable."

For more information on the SHAME campaign, visit http://www.shame.org.uk .

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/k9som

Like President Bush, influential pro-pain pundits have long cited the ticking-bomb scenario to defend torture as a necessary evil in the war on terror.

http://progressive.org/mag_mccoy1006


From Information Clearing House

The unexplained visit of Gulfstream N478GS to Romania isn't the only case in which European investigators appear to have been misled about the movements of an airplane suspected of playing a role in the CIA's clandestine transfer of terrorist detainees around the world.

http://tinyurl.com/jmup7


From Information Clearing House

Bush and Blair believe al-Qaida threatens our way of life. They are wrong, and the Tory leader seems to get it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1870909,00.html


From Information Clearing House

Lord Falconer has made his strongest attack yet on Guantanamo Bay by denouncing it as a "shocking affront to the principles of democracy".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5340104.stm



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

Poll reveals a hardening of opinions; many blame U.S. foreign policy for attacks.

http://tinyurl.com/gzez5


From Information Clearing House

The world's chief financial watchdog said the financial system had so far proved resilient in the face of recent price falls but warned the risk of a crash had increased. And when it comes to worrying about a crash in the financial markets that could deliver a body blow to the world economy, it seems that all roads lead to the US.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14953.htm

America’s would-be economic dictators strived mightily to "justify" their corrupt scheme by rewriting the history of the American founding.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo107.html


From Information Clearing House

Revie

US Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ) became the 38th Member of the US Congress officially listed as a supporter of H. Res. 635, a bill which could lead to recommendations to impeach President Bush.

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0088.html


From Information Clearing House



Dave Lindorff: The Case for Impeachment

Video

The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14956.htm



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

http://www.house.gov/list/press/pa12_murtha/PRrummyres06.html


From Information Clearing House



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

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that most leaders in the Middle East believe the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath ``a real disaster'' for the region.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6077492,00.html


From Information Clearing House

By Clyde Wilson

Apparently millions continue to harbor the strange delusion that the Republican party is the party of free enterprise, and, at least since the New Deal, the party of conservatism. In fact, the party is and always has been the party of state capitalism.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14954.htm

Iran's supreme leader reportedly says the way to stop the violence in Iraq is for US forces to pull out.

http://snipurl.com/wdca



Iran says ready to help US leave Iraq

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday said he was told in Iran during his most recent trip that Tehran was ready to help the US leave Iraq.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=904749


From Information Clearing House

By Manuel Valenzuela

Every day more and more people from all walks of life, from all corners of the globe walk the giant path across the invisible bridge of truth, displacing long held brainwashing and conditioning, long held chains and shackles that prevented freedom to think and analyze.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14958.htm

CBC

Governments are wasting their time tracking down money that doesn't really exist. R.T. Naylor, a McGill economics professor, has been following the trail of the so-called "terror dollar". His new book is called, Satanic Purses: Money, Myth and Misinformation in the War on Terror , and Professor R.T. Naylor joined us from Montreal.

Click to listen. Real audio
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14957.htm

NASA
September 13, 2006

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/sep/HQ_06315_sea_ice.html

NASA data shows that Arctic perennial sea ice, which normally survives the summer melt season and remains year-round, shrunk abruptly by 14 percent between 2004 and 2005. According to researchers, the loss of perennial ice in the East Arctic Ocean neared 50 percent during that time as some of the ice moved from the East Arctic to the West.

The overall decrease in winter Arctic perennial sea ice totals 280,000 square miles--an area the size of Texas. Perennial ice can be 10 or more feet thick. It was replaced by new, seasonal ice only about one to seven feet thick that is more vulnerable to summer melt.

The decrease in the perennial ice raises the possibility that Arctic sea ice will retreat to another record low extent this year. This follows a series of very low ice-cover years observed over the past four summers from active and passive microwave satellite data.

A team led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., used NASA's QuikScat satellite to measure the extent and distribution of perennial and seasonal sea ice in the Arctic. While the total area of all the Arctic sea ice was stable in winter, the distribution of seasonal and perennial sea ice changed significantly.

"Recent changes in Arctic sea ice are rapid and dramatic," said Nghiem. "If the seasonal ice in the East Arctic Ocean were to be removed by summer melt, a vast ice-free area would open up. Such an ice-free area would have profound impacts on the environment, as well as on marine transportation and commerce."

The researchers are examining what caused the rapid decrease in the perennial sea ice. Data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Boulder, Colo., suggest that winds pushed perennial ice from the East to the West Arctic Ocean (primarily located above North America) and significantly moved ice out of the Fram Strait, an area located between Greenland and Spitsbergen, Norway. This movement of ice out of the Arctic is a different mechanism for ice shrinkage than the melting of Arctic sea ice, but it produces the same results - a reduction in the amount of perennial Arctic sea ice.

Researchers indicate that if the sea ice cover continues to decline, the surrounding ocean will get warmer, further accelerating summer ice melts and impeding fall freeze-ups. This longer melt season will, in turn, further diminish the Arctic ice cover.

Nghiem cautioned the recent Arctic changes are not well understood and many questions remain. "It's vital that we continue to closely monitor this region, using both satellite and surface-based data," he said.

This is one of three study results being released today by NASA. The findings are the result of a new study by NASA; the U.S. Army Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, N.H.; and the National Ice Center, Washington, D.C. Study results are published in a recent issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

For more information about QuikScat, visit:
http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/quikscat/index.cfm

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov


Informant: NHNE

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0913-02.htm

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Gingrich off his meds again?

AntiWar.Com
by Jim Lobe

09/14/06

Two years before the 2008 presidential election, Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, is trying desperately to grab the national spotlight by declaring he'd be a lot tougher than George W. Bush in prosecuting what he calls 'World War III.' ... According to the latest polls, Gingrich, who is widely credited with masterminding the stunning 1994 Republican landslide that gave the party control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years, ranks third behind Giuliani and McCain and appears to be making steady progress among the Republican faithful, who have, according to pollster Frank Luntz, forgotten the many controversies he generated during his four-year tenure as speaker...

http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=9695


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=2838


Informant: NHNE

14.09.2006

Eigentlich hätte die Strahlenwaffe im Irak bereits eingesetzt werden sollen, bekannt gewordene Testergebnisse lassen jedoch Zweifel an der Ungefährlichkeit entstehen und beim Pentagon rät man, die ersten Einsätze lieber in den USA zu machen, um ein mögliches mediales Fiasko zu vermeiden.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/23/23546/1.html

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Aktuelle Strahlenwaffen

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/78157
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/23/23546/1.html


Nachricht von Helmut Breunig



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