Donnerstag, 4. Januar 2007

War pimp alert: U.S. Finds Iran's 'Smoking Gun' in Iraq

American forces have found a "smoking gun” that proves Iran is supporting the insurgency in Iraq – captured Iranian documents showing the country is abetting both Sunni and Shiite terrorists.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/1/4/120012.shtml?s=ic



Iran War "In 2 Years"

A WAR against Iran could be launched within the next two years, a senior adviser to George Bush warned last night.

http://tinyurl.com/y953dl



Second U.S. carrier group to deploy to Gulf

The Pentagon will send a second aircraft carrier and its escort ships to the Gulf, defense officials said on Wednesday, as a warning to Syria and Iran and to give commanders more flexibility in the region.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/ts_nm/usa_gulf_navy_dc



US to launch campaign to isolate Iran financially: report

The United States is ready to launch a new diplomatic initiative with several European countries to try to isolate Iran financially.

http://www.spacewar.com/2006/070102175614.4r7b2m2o.html


From Information Clearing House

The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oil

Throughout history, " wars of religion" have served to obscure the economic and strategic interests behind the conquest and invasion of foreign lands. "Wars of religion" were invariably fought with a view to securing control over trading routes and natural resources.

http://tinyurl.com/sb6dq


From Information Clearing House

A promising Iraqi province is now a tinderbox

U.S. and Iraqi officials interviewed in recent days blamed the sharp downturn on a combination of U.S. neglect and abuses by the Iraqi army. U.S. troops largely disengaged from security here for weeks at a time, they say, handing the reins to Iraqi forces who proved to be abusive and ineffective.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes703.html


From Information Clearing House

Iraq Vets Left in Physical and Mental Agony

The number of injured has far outstripped the dead, with the Veterans Administration reporting that more than 150,000 veterans of the Iraq war are receiving disability benefits.

http://tinyurl.com/y4gx6p



More troops unhappy with Bush’s course in Iraq

For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president’s han dling of the war than approve of it. Barely one-third of service members approve of the way the president is handling the war, ac cording to the 2006 Military Times Poll.

http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2006_main.php


From Information Clearing House

Key Democrat might consider troop boost in Iraq

Michigan Democrat Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) also predicted the Republican president would soon find a way to end the "open-ended commitment" of U.S. troops to Iraq, even if Bush does propose a short-term boost in forces.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070104/pl_nm/iraq_usa_troops_dc_3



Bush could send more 40,000 US troops to occupied Iraq

News reports: increase of US forces in Iraq estimated to be between 9,000 and 40,000 extra troops.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=19036


From Information Clearing House

Freiburger Appell: Ärzte gegen Elektrosmog

http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Freiburger+Appell

Stundenlang verhört: Deutscher ohne Begründung tagelang in USA inhaftiert

04.01.07

Ein deutscher Staatsbürger ist in Las Vegas ohne Begründung drei Tage lang von US-Behörden festgehalten worden. Das bestätigte ein Sprecher des Auswärtigen Amtes am Donnerstag in Berlin. Der 62-Jährige syrischer Abstammung, der auf dem Weg zu seiner in Kalifornien lebenden Tochter war und dort auch einige Tage mit seiner amerikanischen Frau verbringen wollte, sei am 28. Dezember von den US-Behörden am Flughafen an der Einreise gehindert worden, berichtet der "Tagesspiegel".

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15042

Mehrere Tausend Straßenkinder in Deutschland

04.01.07

Das Kinderhilfswerk terre des hommes (tdh) sieht Straßenkinder als zunehmendes Problem in Deutschland. Geschäftsführer Peter Mucke sagte der "Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung" unter Verweis auf das Bundesfamilienministerium in Deutschland gebe es bis zu 7000 Straßenkinder. Seit gut zehn Jahren sei deren Zahl deutlich gewachsen, speziell in den größeren Städten wie Hamburg und Berlin.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15037



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

But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!

Representative-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran - especially from Virginia representative Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values. Yet the holy book at tomorrow's ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We've learned that the new congressman - in a savvy bit of political symbolism - will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407H.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Keith+Ellison
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Virgil+Goode

Sarasota County and the Debate Over "Paper Trails"

At issue are over 18,000 undervotes - votes that were lost or never recorded at all on the ES&S iVotronic touchscreen voting machines used for early and Election Day voting in Sarasota County, the largest of the five counties in the 13th District. After a mandatory recount, Buchanan held a razor-thin 369-vote margin of victory over Jennings but there has been no satisfactory resolution of the implausibly high undervote rate on the iVotronics.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407F.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sarasota
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=voting+machines
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=paper+trails
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=election

Old Guard Back on Iraq Policy

Ever since Iraq began spiraling toward chaos, the war's intellectual architects - the so-called neo-conservatives - have found themselves under attack in Washington policy salons and, more important, within the Bush administration. Now, a small but increasingly influential group of neo-cons are again helping to steer Iraq policy. A key part of the new Iraq plan that President Bush is expected to announce next week - a surge in US troops, coupled with a more focused counterinsurgency effort - has been one of the chief recommendations of these neo-cons since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407D.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neocons
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neoconservatives
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=surge

A Mother Fights for a Soldier Who Said No to War

Carolyn Ho is a mother on a mission. She came to Washington in mid-December to build support for her son, Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq. Barring some kind of miracle, he will be court-martialed on February 5 at Fort Lewis, Washington, about 45 miles south of Seattle. If convicted, he could be sent to military prison for six years. There will be a pre-trial hearing today.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407C.shtml



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

Democrats Divided on War Remedy

Democratic lawmakers can start to flex their newfound political muscles today. Their party is formally assuming control of Congress for the first time in 12 years, in one of the most-anticipated Congressional sessions in history. Setting aside the niceties for the time being, the 110th Congress's new Democratic leadership plans to get right down to business.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407A.shtml



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

Chance for say on mast plans

Residents have been urged to have their say over controversial plans for a phone mast near Oswestry. Mobile phone giant Orange wants to build the mast at Aston Moor, West Felton.

The company had originally erected a mast at New House Farm, near The Avenue, West Felton.

However, Oswestry Borough Council issued an enforcement notice to halt further work there as planning officers believed it was not being built in accordance with development rights.

Residents then formed the West Felton Mast Protest Group to campaign for the mast to be removed from near their homes amid fears of health risks and it being an eyesore.

Now Orange has applied to build another mast at Aston Moor and people met last night for an update on the new scheme.

Councillor Aggie Caesar-Homden, member for Ruyton and West Felton, said the meeting was to check everyone has been consulted on the proposals for the new site and, if they wanted to, write to Oswestry Borough Council with their views and opinions.

Carol Corbett, protest group spokeswoman, said: “The application went in on December 6 and members of the protest group have responded.

“I asked the council to check roll-out plans to ensure we are not going to be stuck with four or five other operators there as well and about the frequency they will operate on. The things we objected to at New House Farm, we can’t object to at Aston Moor. At 15.1m, Orange has got to get planning permission.”

The application will go before Oswestry Borough Council’s development control committee meeting on January 23.

© 2007 - all rights reserved

http://www.shropshirestar.co.uk/2007/01/chance-for-say-on-mast-plans/

Nach einem Pentagon-Bericht nimmt die Spionage vor allem im Bereich der Informationstechnik zu

Zunehmende Spionage

Nach einem Pentagon-Bericht nimmt die Spionage vor allem im Bereich der Informationstechnik zu, während man gleichzeitig mit der Hilfe von Hollywood-Filmen für einen Nachschub von US-Wissenschaftlern für die Rüstungsindustrie sorgen will.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24366/1.html

40% See 2007 War With Iran As Second Carrier Deployed

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2007/040107warwithiran.htm

Gerald Ford showed the difference between principled compromise and compromising our principles

A Bipartisan Civil Rights Legacy
http://ga3.org/ct/Ip20pgF1ORil/

Intelligence officials who lied about Iraq have escaped so far the consequences

CIA Immune System Still Working
http://ga3.org/ct/7d20pgF1ORip/

'Orange ruined our Christmas'

Jan 4 2007

By Glenn Pearson
glennpearson @trinitysouth.co.uk

ANGRY residents say their Christmas was ruined because an 80ft mobile phone mast has been interfering with their televisions.

The mast was erected in Godstone Road, Whyteleafe,in October 2005 and has been a bone of contention for residents ever since.

It was originally operated by O2 and during that time residents suffered problems with their TV sets.

After months of complaints the company diverted its signals from the mast and homeowners' TV picture quality was restored again in the Godstone Road area.

But in October last year the mast was taken over by mobile phone company Orange. The problem has now resurfaced, with some households finding that they get no TV reception at all.

Lin Betmead says she has had enough and that it is "unfair" that she and other residents are forced to pay £131.50 for a TV licence when they cannot get a picture.

She said: "Why should I have to pay so much for a television licence when I get a bad picture downstairs and not one at all upstairs?

"I am really fed up with this. O2 diverted the signal for us after admitting that it had caused a problem, but Orange will not return any of my calls.

"I wanted it done before Christmas so I rang two or three times a day from December 6, but Orange has still not got back to me.

"It has made me very angry.It is not fair and Orange does not give a damn."

Miss Betmead said that over the Christmas period she was unable to watch any programmes on one of her sets and the picture quality on the other has been greatly reduced.

She also complained that many people in her road have decided to sign up for Sky television because they are able to get a reception.

She said: "I do not want Sky television and I also cannot afford it.

"I am happy with what I have got now so why should I be forced into getting something that I don't want? I was looking forward to watching programmes at Christmas but I couldn't."

Joan Newman, 82, also of Godstone Road, can see the towering mast from her house.

She said: "We get horizontal lines going across the screen and a snowy background, which is a real problem because it makes it hard to watch for any length of time.

"It is also not very good for the eyes so I have to keep getting up and going for a walk before going back to it.

"It made me not want to watch programmes over Christmas, which is what I really like to do.

"It seems to have been even worse over Christmas because more people have been using their mobile phones."

A spokesman for Orange said the mast based just off Church Road is not in operation at the moment but work is being carried out for its future use.

She said: "The mast on Church Road is not switched on and is not yet live.

"We are progressing with it but it is still a long way off being used as the equipment is still being installed."

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Southern Limited 2007

http://tinyurl.com/yellcf

Phones good, masts bad

Most people can't survive without their mobiles, but many aren't so keen on the masts which support the technology. JANAKI MAHADEVAN looks at community concerns over their siting

There are more phones than people in the UK, according to the Mobile Data Association. But not everyone is happy about having the technology on their doorstep, judging by the response to a recent planning application by Orange to erect a phone mast in Furzehill Road, Borehamwood.

The plan met with strong opposition from residents and was rejected at a council meeting on December 19. Council officers stressed their decision to recommend refusal of planning permission was based on the appearance of the mast and the impact on trees.

Nevertheless, the volume of letters and petitions submitted to Hertsmere Borough Council showed that much of the opposition from the public was down to fears over health risks.

Although there have been many studies into the effects of mobile phone masts, a definitive answer has still not been produced over the possible health implications.

First published in 2000, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) report, chaired by Sir William Stewart, found that the risk of falling ill as a result of exposure to masts was low. But it also stated: "We recommend that a precautionary approach to the use of mobile phone technologies be adopted until much more detailed and scientifically robust information on any health effects becomes available."

The report, as part of its cautionary advice, suggested that base stations should not be placed near schools because children may be more vulnerable to any adverse affects of radiation.

Penny Swallow, 54 who lives in Howard Drive, Borehamwood, wrote to the chief executive of Orange objecting to the planned site for the mast.

She said: "The fundamental problem lies with planning regulations which were designed to kick-start the telecommunications industry 20 years ago, but which now only serve to override genuine local, environmental and safety concerns about where best to place phone masts.

"The council has very little discretion over the location of phone masts, and national planning diktats, issued from Whitehall, explicitly prevent the council's planning committee from taking health concerns into account.

"The end result is a feeling of powerlessness and frustration among our community, living under the threat of unwanted and badly located masts such as the one suggested for Borehamwood."

Planning officer Chris Lewcock said: "In one sense the Government has put a duty on us to assist the companies and to try and accomodate them.

"We have been quite lucky so far in Borehamwood with having big buildings to put masts on. But as the demand increases the operators are having to search for new sites.

"On health grounds local authorities are obliged by the Government to accept certification from the operators that they meet the requirements of the relevant national and international authorities. It is not our job to certify that.

"People are accepting the risks by using the phones themselves, which pose a much larger risk than the masts."

With the growth of new mobile technologies such as the 3G networks which allow users to download from their phone, have instant messaging and email exchange, it is inevitable that more technology will be needed in residential areas to support these services.

A spokeswoman for Orange said: "People are using their mobile phones for much more than voice calls and due to the low power of these masts, the infrastructure has to be placed where people are actually using the services.

"Orange complies fully with all regulations and, in fact, operates at hundreds of times below the set guidelines. People should not worry about living or working near this mast; they are safe and you can walk right up to them. We have to appreciate that in order to use mobile phone services, there is a network that needs to be in place to support those demands.

Omega people should worry about. See under:
http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Wissenschaft+zu+Mobilfunk/
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Cancer+Cluster
http://www.buergerwelle.de/body_science.html


"The current proposal did fail and Orange has not yet decided whether or not to appeal this decision. We will hopefully make a decision in the next few months."

Anxieties about health and visual impact are unlikely to be calmed.

Borehamwood councillor Frank Ward said: "We are here to protect the community not to comply with the edicts of Government.

"I accept that we all use mobile phones and that technology demands response.

"We have to accept that we have a part to play in the increasing technology. But as long as there is a modicum of risk I will not support the siting of this technology in a populated area."

© Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/features/newsfeatures/display.var.1104507.0.phones_good_masts_bad.php

Fresh bid to put up mast

PLANNERS are scheduled to visit a site tomorrow (Friday) to decide if a mobile phone mast can be built near a special school.

Telecoms firm, O2, wants to install the 10-metre structure at Andover Road in Winchester.

Its preferred site is a section of pavement near the railway bridge and around 75 yards south of the Jolly Farmer pub.

The company submitted an application to Winchester City Council in September.

It prompted eight letters of objection from residents near the site. They argued that the mast would be ugly and might pose possible health risks.

Neighbours also pointed out that the mast would be less than 100 yards away from Osborne School, which caters for around 170 children with special needs.

Council highways experts also raised concerns about potential problems with repairing the mast.

They argued that maintenance engineers would take up most of the pavement, and force pedestrians to walk in the road.

With these concerns in mind, planning officers advised members to throw out the scheme.

Councillors were due to inspect the site in November, but O2 withdrew its application a couple of days before their meeting was due to occur.

A few days later, it submitted new plans to build a slightly thinner mast further back from the road.

Residents objected once again, with another four letters landing on the council's doormat.

However, on this occasion, the authority's highways experts stated that the plans were now acceptable.

Planning officers also backed the scheme, arguing that the mast would not be a visual intrusion.

They added that O2 had investigated if the structure could be built elsewhere, but no other alternative sites were available.

A planning sub-committee of around half a dozen councillors is now due to make the final ruling.

They are expected to reach a decision following their inspection of the site tomorrow morning.

© Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/hampshirenews/display.var.1101236.0.fresh_bid_to_put_up_mast.php

U.S. Army trains troops for electronic war

http://washtimes.com/upi/20070103-125637-2548r.htm


Informant: Kev Hall

January 07 Execution Alert

January 9: Corey Hamilton, OK http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6378

January 10: Carlos Granados, TX http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6385

January 17: Johnathan Moore, TX http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6386

January 24: Larry Swearingen, TX http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6388

January 25: Ronald Chambers, TX http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6379

January 26: Marcus Reymond Robinson, NC http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6387

Petitions Concerning Puppy Mills

http://www.omeganews.bravehost.com/petitions_against_puppy_mills_and_more.htm



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

Guantanamo's Cost to Our Humanity

"January 11, 2007, will mark the fifth anniversary of the first detainees to be imprisoned in the US military prison at the US Naval Base, Guantanamo, Cuba." Ann Wright asks, "What are the costs to our own humanity when, after five years of imprisonment, only ten of 770 prisoners have been charged by the 'Guantanamo process' and most have suffered abuse at the hands of the American military and CIA?"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407N.shtml



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

Bush Extends Hand With Fingers Crossed

William Rivers Pitt responds to an editorial allegedly penned by Bush in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal: "In the final analysis, we see in this Bush editorial the same fantasies and empty rhetoric that have become the defining realities of this administration. He clings to the belief that we can 'win' in Iraq, even as the violence and chaos unleashed by his invasion makes any talk of victory a laughable exercise in fantasy. The hand he supposedly extends in bipartisan friendship comes with crossed fingers, carrying only the same fistful of failures and lies that inspired the November electorate to push him aside."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407J.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=William+Rivers+Pitt

Hartz IV: Nebensache Kinder, mehr Kinderarmut, weniger Bildungschancen

Das neue Elterngeld

„Das Jahr 2007 bringt erst einmal ein neues Gesetz: das Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz (BEEG). Es soll Anreize bieten, Nachwuchs in die Welt zu setzen. Wir meinen: darüber lässt sich reden, wenn kostenlose Kindergärten, ausreichend Hortplätze, Ganztagsschulen, genügend gut ausgebildete und motivierte Lehrer, Chancengleichheit in der Ausbildung, Ausbildungsplätze für alle, kostenloses Studium und frauen- bzw. elternfreundliche Arbeitsbedingungen und Arbeitsplätze geschaffen werden, z.B. ein Rechtsanspruch auf Teilzeitarbeit nach der Elternzeit. M.a.W.: Wer setzt schon Kinder in diese kinder- und familienfeindliche Umwelt, bloß weil es jetzt ein paar € mehr gibt? Da werden wohl die Deutschen weiter aussterben. Unser Mandanteninfo für Januar 2007 gibt einen kurzen Überblick über die wesentlichen Regelungen…“ So das Anschreiben im neuen Mandanteninfo von Bell & Windirsch Anwaltsbüro für Arbeits- und Sozialrecht, Familienrecht, Vertrags- und Mietrecht, Strafrecht vom 02.01.2007 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/elterngeld.pdf


Nebensache Kinder. Mehr Kinderarmut - weniger Bildungschancen

Vortrag von Rainer Roth auf der Tagung "Tag der Bildung 2006“ der GEW Rheinland-Pfalz am 12. Dezember 2006 in Mainz (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/schulkind.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Januar 2007



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

Europäische Märsche gegen Prekarisierung von Mai bis Juni 2007

Die Einladung zu einem europäischen Vorbereitungstreffen am 03. und 04. Februar in der Fachhochschule Erfurt, Fachbereich Sozialwesen, Altonaer Straße 25 in 99085 Erfurt mit dem kompletten Programm und weiteren Infos
(pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/wipo/seattle/g8-07/maersche1.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Januar 2007



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Prekarisierung
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Prekariat
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=prekär

New rules for stating the obvious

Liberty For All
by Jonathan David Morris

01/03/07

George Bush recently described America's performance in the Iraq War like this: 'We're not winning, we're not losing.' This means we're losing. ... It's nice of George Bush to finally kind of, sort of admit what most of us have already known about Iraq for several years. Unfortunately, his remarks were designed to sound somewhat courageous, as if he was saying, 'Look, I was wrong about the weapons. I'm not sure why we invaded. This war is hard. And to be quite honest, it may well have been a mistake.' Instead, what George Bush is saying is basically this: 'I have to state the obvious now. I have no choice but to state the obvious because people are seriously starting to doubt my grip on reality'...

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=450


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Purge the urge to surge

Arizona Republic
by Robert Robb

01/03/07

The United States begins the year discussing whether to increase troop levels generally and in Iraq specifically. Unfortunately, there is virtually no discussion of the question that should precede that decision: What should be the role of the United States in the world and with respect to the elected government of Iraq? Let's begin with Iraq. President Bush is said to be contemplating a 'surge' of U.S. troops to achieve security in Baghdad and perhaps elsewhere in that country. Put aside for a moment the question of whether this strategy would work. It is not the direction that the elected government of Iraq wants to take...

http://tinyurl.com/yhv3am



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


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The Peace Party vs. the Power Party

The Weekly Standard
by Matthew Continetti

01/01/07

The great divisions in American life -- between low- and upper-income voters; those who attend religious services weekly and those who do not; people who are married and people who are single; voters with a postgraduate education and those without -- are often less predictive of voting patterns than one's stance on the use of American power abroad. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press concluded in 2005 that 'foreign affairs assertiveness now almost completely distinguishes Republican-oriented voters from Democratic-oriented voters.' Together, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the March 20, 2003, invasion of Iraq seem to have accelerated a shift begun some 30 years ago: The Democratic party is increasingly linked with the attitudes, tendencies, and policies of peace, whereas the Republican party is increasingly linked with the maintenance and projection of American military power...

http://tinyurl.com/ymw58x


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Stopping the surge

Salon
by staff

01/04/07

The so-called surge has earned serious consideration from some of the top U.S. commanders in Iraq, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff reportedly oppose it. The surge also pits the president against a majority of the American public; more troops in Iraq is presumably not what that public thought it was getting when it gave the Democrats control of both houses of Congress in November. The surge is not even a slam-dunk with Bush's once-compliant fellow Republicans. What is the likelihood that Bush will get the Iraq policy he wants, and is there any way the new Democratic Congress can stop him? Starting with the surge, here is a rundown of the various proposals for getting out of Iraq or getting in deeper, and the very unscientific odds of any of these plans becoming reality...

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/01/04/iraq_plans/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

House Democrats to toughen ethics rules

Vail Daily News

01/04/07

Don't look for members of Congress sharing box seats with lobbyists at an NBA game. Do look for more of them flying coach. The new Democratic-led House is scheduled to begin voting on Thursday on ethics rules that would expand current bans on some privately financed trips, eliminate gifts from lobbyists, prohibit travel on corporate jets and require greater public disclosure of targeted special interest legislation.

http://tinyurl.com/y9lr4m


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

A 10-Step Program for Democrats

"Will Democrats be willing to break from the false worship of the twin gods of the so-called 'free market' and so-called 'free trade?'" asks Jonathon Tasini, before giving Congress an economic to-do list.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010307LB.shtml

The risks of life on a genetically engineered planet

What the Public Needs to Know About Biotech Risks

In her new book, "Intervention," former New York Times technology columnist Denise Caruso talks about the risks of life on a genetically engineered planet.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010307HA.shtml

Bush Tipped to Talk Tough on Energy but Snub Kyoto

Energy will be a central theme of President Bush's state of the union speech this month, but his critics doubt that he will do much more than call for more spending on alternative fuels, and again fail to embrace international efforts to agree a post-Kyoto regime to tackle greenhouse emissions.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010307EA.shtml

Study Indicates Electronic Voting Systematically Flawed

Three advocacy groups created a report about last year's midterm election that focuses on 1,022 complaints regarding electronic voting equipment from 314 counties in 36 states. The 23-page report concluded that "electronic voting in its current form is systematically flawed..."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307T.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=election
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=electronic+voting

The testimony of a man who lost his leg and 11-family members in 2006

In Iraq Diaries today, eIraq features the testimony of a man who lost his leg and 11-family members in 2006. Abbas Dawood calls himself "an adult orphan." He writes: "I'm 29-years-old. I've been handicapped since 18 January, 2006, when I lost my leg in an explosion while I was working as a waiter in a Baghdad restaurant. I don't have anyone now. Neighbors are trying to help me find a place to live because the house was rented and I don't have money to pay for it, and all my relatives have been killed or are abroad. I would rather die and join my dead family members than go begging for food in the streets."

http://electroniciraq.net/news/2791.shtml

Deutsches Imperium Europa

Wie Berlin die EU-Ratspräsidentschaft durch die "Großgliederung Europas" vorbereitet

“Am Vorabend der neuen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft werden deutsche Kartenwerke für eine "Großgliederung Europas" bekannt. Die Kartierungen sind aufgrund einer Anforderung des Auswärtigen Amtes entstanden und sind für politische und administrative Zwecke deutscher Behörden gedacht. In den Darstellungen beherrscht Deutschland als bevölkerungsreichster Staat das kontinentale Zentrum, das "Mitteleuropa" genannt wird. Davon ausgegrenzt sind Großbritannien, Frankreich, Belgien und die Niederlande…“ Artikel von Hans Georg als Online-Flyer von Neue Rheinische Zeitung Nr. 76 vom 26. Dezember 2006 http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=10441


Die Illusion der Woche

«Ich fordere Bundeskanzlerin Merkel auf, während ihrer EU-Ratspräsidentschaft die Weichen in Richtung einer Erneuerung des Europäischen Sozialmodells zu stellen»
Der IG-Metall-Vorsitzende Jürgen Peters lt. Meldung der Nachrichtenagentur AP vom 27. Dezember 2006 http://de.news.yahoo.com/27122006/12/gewerkschaften-verlangen-sozialeres-europa.html



Militärpolitik

Ohne Kontrolle

Die europäischen Rüstungskonzerne wollen in Zukunft stärker von den neuen Kriegen profitieren. Die EU bereitet ihnen politisch den Weg dazu und finanziert diesen Wirtschaftssektor hinter dem Rücken der Öffentlichkeit, Artikel von Martin Hantke in junge Welt vom 28.12.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-28/020.php


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Januar 2007

Überwachte Gesellschaft - EU-Kommission: Datenschutz in Deutschland muss vom Staat unabhängig werden

„Die Europäische Kommission verlangt von den deutschen Bundesländern, innerhalb von zwei Monaten die "völlige Unabhängigkeit" ihrer Datenschutzbehörden herzustellen. Andernfalls droht sie mit einer Klage vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof. In einem nun bekannt gewordenen Schreiben vom 12.12.2006 teilte die EU-Kommission der Bundesregierung mit, es verstoße gegen Europarecht, dass die deutschen Datenschutzbehörden derzeit einer staatlichen Aufsicht unterliegen…“ Pressemitteilung Patrick Breyer (daten-speicherung.de) vom 22.12.2006 http://www.daten-speicherung.de/index.php/eu-kommission-datenschutz-in-deutschland-muss-vom-staat-unabhaengig-werden/

Siehe dazu: Benachrichtigungsschreiben der Kommission vom 14.12.2006 im Wortlaut (pdf): http://www.daten-speicherung.de/data/Kommission_2006-12-14.pdf



Kommunikationsfreiheit und Datenschutz: Informationsfreiheitsgesetz

Teurer Rechtsanspruch

Ein Jahr Informationsfreiheitsgesetz: Nichtregierungsorganisationen und Sozialinitiativen ziehen verhaltene Bilanz. Artikel von Jan Eisner in junge Welt vom 22.12.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/011.php?sstr=Informationsfreiheitsgesetz


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Januar 2007

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Überwachte Gesellschaft

Video-Serie "Alltag Überwachung"
Die digitale Technik macht es möglich: Immer mehr Informationen werden über den Einzelnen gesammelt, gespeichert und verknüpft. Stärkt dies die Sicherheit der Buerger oder befinden wir uns auf dem Weg in den modernen Überwachungsstaat? Für tagesschau.de haben sich Roman Mischel und Fiete Stegers auf Spurensuche in Deutschland begeben.
http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID6211046_TYP6_THE_NAV_REF1_BAB,00.html

23C3: "Sind wir paranoid genug?" / von Stefan Krempl
heise.de, 28.12.2006
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/83002 .

23C3: Netzbürger sollen "Problempolitiker" überwachen / von Stefan Krempl
heise.de, 31.12.2006
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/83063 .

Der Grosse Bruder im privaten Computer
Jetzt dürfen dank FDP und CDU von Nordrhein-Westfalen ausgerechnet die Verfassungsschützer Computer hacken, auch wenn man technisch noch nicht so weit ist und einiger Wirrwarr herrscht / Florian Rötzer
telepolis, 21.12.2006
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24274/1.html .

23C3: Tor-Gründer beklagt staatlichen "Diebstahl" von Anonymisierungsservern : Der Programmierer der Software für das Anonymisierungsnetzwerk Tor hat Deutschland als Vorhut im "Krieg" gegen datenschutzfördernde Techniken ausgemacht / von Stefan Krempl
heise.de, 28.12.2006
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/83021 .

Wollsocken für die Freiheit
Das Verfassungsgericht in Karlsruhe berät über die Verfassungsbeschwerde des Magazins Cicero. Was ist höher zu bewerten: Beihilfe zum Geheimnisverrat oder der Freiheitsraum der Journalisten? / Von Heribert Prantl
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23.11.2006
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/artikel/502/92410/ .

Im Netz der Überwachung? Ohne mich!
Überwachung im Internet und was man dagegen tun kann und sollte! Zusammenfassung des Vortrages "Crashkurs Sicheres Internet - Ein Vortrag aus der Praxis, nicht nur für Journalisten", im Rahmen der Vortragsreihe Public Domain (mit weiterführenden Links) / von Albrecht Ude
http://www.ude.de/internet/vortrag-ueberwachung-im-internet-public-domain-144.html



Informationsfreiheitsgesetz (IFG).

Viele Behörden verweigern die Akteneinsicht
Von Christian Kerl, Braunschweiger Zeitung am 16.12.2006
http://www.newsclick.de/index.jsp/menuid/2053/artid/6202107 .

Teurer Rechtsanspruch. Ein Jahr Informationsfreiheitsgesetz
Jan Eisner, Junge Welt am 22.12.2006
http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/011.php .

Bundesgesetz ist schlechtes Vorbild. In vielen Bundesländern werden die
gesetzlichen Auskunftsrechte stark eingeschränkt
Junge Welt am 22.12.2006
http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/013.php .

Hintergrund: Rechtliche Kleinstaaterei
Junge Welt am 22.12.2006
http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/012.php .

Informationsfreiheit gilt nicht für Wowereits Terminkalender
Stefan Kempl, Heise.de am 15.12.2006
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/82614 .

Wowereits Terminkalender bleibt "geheim"
Tagesspiegel am 14.12.2006
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/nachrichten/urteil/84615.asp .

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern verteidigt hohe Kosten für Informationsfreiheit
Stefan Krempl, Heise.de am 28.11.2006
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/81702 .

Überwachung von Anwälten und Journalisten:
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/artikel/824/93731/ ,
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,452731,00.html ,
http://www.netzeitung.de/deutschland/469171.html ,
http://www.zeit.de/2006/51/Pressefreiheit?page=all ,
http://blog.zeit.de/bittner/2006/12/08/ein-abgrund-von-journalistenverrat_85

Informationsfreiheitsgesetz (IFG):
http://www.newsclick.de/index.jsp/menuid/2053/artid/6202107 ,
http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/011.php ,
http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/013.php ,
http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-22/012.php ,
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/82614 ,
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/nachrichten/urteil/84615.asp ,
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/81702 .

Journalismus und PR:
http://www.taz.de/pt/2006/11/29/a0183.1/text ,
http://www.nd-online.de/artikel.asp?AID=101227&IDC=19 ,
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24079/1.html .


Aus: Newsletter Netzwerk Recherche, #39, 05.01.2007

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Wie sichert man den eigenen Computer?
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/3144227/

-------

Technik bringt Verantwortung
http://quintessenz.at/d/000100003779



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

Himalaya's receding glaciers suffer neglect

Scientists monitor only a few of India's vital glaciers, which are receding by as much as 100 feet each year.

By Janaki Kremmer
Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p07s02-sten.html

NEW DELHI

Billions of people in China and the Indian subcontinent rely on South Asia's Himalayan glaciers - the world's largest store of fresh water outside the polar ice caps. The massive ice floes feed seven of the world's greatest Asian rivers in one of the world's most densely populated regions.

Yet as global climate change slowly melts glaciers from Africa to the Andes, scientists say the glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating at a rate of about 33 to 49 feet each year - faster than in any other part of the world.

In the Himalayas, the Gangotri Glacier, one of India's largest, is entitled to an even more dubious distinction. Recent studies reveal that the Gangotri, which forms a mass of ice about 18 miles long, is retreating at a rate of more than 100 feet a year.

But according to government officials and environmental groups like Greenpeace, very little has been done in the way of a rigorous scientific study. Scientists are monitoring glacial melting on only a handful of the
7,000 glaciers that cover the Indian Himalayas.

And at such a rapid retreat, a gradual increase in droughts, flash floods, and landslides are not the only issue to worry about, say environmentalists. Justwhen power companies are planning more energy sources to power India's growing economy, a rising level of sediment in regional rivers is creating havoc for many grids.

"The power grid in Uttarkashi is constantly breaking down and that's because of the rise in sediment in the water being used at the hydro-power projects," says Joseph Thsetan Gergan from the WADIA Institute of Himalayan Glaciology, a part of the Indian Department of Science and Technology. "When the power breaks down, the people blame the Geological Survey of India or the Central Water Commission for not doing its work properly, but that's like thinking of digging a well when your house is already on fire."

While the Gangotri has been retreating since measurements began in 1842, the rate of retreat, which was around 62 feet per year between 1935 and 1971, has almost doubled.

An added difficulty, says Mr. Gergan, is the lack of a sustained research effort since the 1970s. The Indian government's own recommendations, issued in March 2002 by the standing committee on Science and Technology, noted that glacial melting required immediate implementation of a program to measure and monitor the changes to the Gangotri and its impact on the Ganges river systems.

"It's not enough to just note the fact that the glaciers are melting," Gergan says. "The impact of that is not being focused on at all." India's moves in the right direction

Others say the news is not all bad for India. Suruchi Bhadwal of the Energy Resources Institute, in New Delhi says that India is the first country to have a ministry for nonconventional energy sources which has big plans for the future.

"[The government plans] to electrify 70,000 villages using renewable energy, promote the use of biodiesel, and use low-carbon development pathways," Mr. Bhadwal says.

India has the potential to generate up to 45,000 megawatts of wind energy, but the country has only been able to harness about 2,980 megawatts as of 2004.

None of these lofty goals assuages environmentalists' worries, but Bhadwal is optimistic when he compares India's glaciers with those of neighboring Pakistan.

"Although India's glaciers are retreating, in Pakistan there are some that are actually growning in size," says R. Rangachari, a research professor at the Center for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based independent think tank.

But despite such scientific ambiguities, Mr. Rangachari says India's retreating glaciers can no longer be ignored - regardless of whether they are the fault of climate change or population increases along the higher reaches of the river.

"The Gangotri has been receding for about 500 years, and there is no doubt that things are worsening, whether it's climate change or anything else," Rangachari says. "But it's no good looking at recession in isolation, or population density in isolation, the problem as a whole must be urgently attended to by the government." A holy place in jeopardy

The Gangotri glacier terminates at a "snout," known to Indians as the Gaumukh, or cow's head. The snout forms an ice cave and becomes the source of the Bhagirathi river. Each year, millions of pilgrims take a swim in the freezing waters here in order to free themselves from their sins.

At 79, local holy man Swami Sundaranand, who lives in Gangotri - a temple town and destination for many trekkers - has been taking photos of the Gangotri glacier and the Gaumukh for more than 50 years. As a yogi, he has perfected 300 yogic positions or asanas, and climbed twice with Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Yet it is his photographic tendencies that have earned the Swami his nickname: " Sadhu Who Clicks," after the common name for an Indian ascetic.

Armed with more than 100,000 photos as evidence of the glacier's shrinkage, the swami travels India holding press conferences to raise awareness of the Gangotri's rapid demise. "In 1949, when I first saw the glacier, I felt as if all my sins were washed away and I had truly attained rebirth," the swami says. "But now, it is impossible to experience that Ganga of the past."


Informant: binstock

CODEPINK to Guantanamo

http://tinyurl.com/ylpotg



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

World Can't Wait: BUSH MUST GO! Demonstration at Opening of Congress, 12 noon, Jan 4

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0103-57.htm

Dancing in the End Zone

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0103-54.htm

Free Press Takes on Corporate Ownership

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0103-52.htm

Networks' Foreign News Coverage Focused on Iraq

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0103-56.htm



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

End to Death Penalty is Urged

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0103-55.htm



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

ExxonMobil's Biggest Oil Spill? Look in Brooklyn, Not Alaska

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0103-53.htm



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

U.S. Faces Major Hurdles in Prosecuting Padilla

Even former Justice Department spokesman Corallo concedes that in hindsight, Padilla was a bit player. Corallo says the government faces a problem over its ever-changing claims about what Padilla did and whether he could be prosecuted in a civilian court.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6682846


From Information Clearing House

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In Padilla Wiretaps, Murky View of "Jihad" Case

Prosecutors say the government will rely largely on wiretapped conversations when it puts Mr. Padilla, Mr. Hassoun, and a third defendant, Kifah Jayyousi, on trial as a "North American support cell" that sent money, goods and recruits abroad to assist "global jihad."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407B.shtml



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

U.S. Joins Hunt For "Islamists" As Kenya Closes Border With Somalia

U.S. naval forces have joined the hunt for "Islamist militants" with suspected al-Qaida ties trying to flee Somalia after being defeated by Ethiopian-backed government troops, a top U.S. official said Jan. 3, as Kenya closed its border with its lawless neighbor.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2459148&C=mideast


From Information Clearing House



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

Pentagon plans no action on report of Guantanamo detainee mistreatment

The Pentagon plans no action as a result of a newly released FBI report on detainee abuse at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, a spokesman said Wednesday, asserting there is nothing new in the report.

http://www.kare11.com/news/national/national_article.aspx?storyid=145726



FBI Inquiry Details Abuses Reported by Agents at Guantánamo

The American Civil Liberties Union today released more than 200 pages of documents obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation detailing 26 eyewitness accounts by agents of detainee abuse, 17 of which the Bureau apparently chose not to investigate further.

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/27816prs20070103.html


From Information Clearing House



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

US Hypocrisy Reaches All Time High

By prosecuting Lt. Watada, the US military has demeaned the Nuremburg trials and demoted them to merely the revenge of the victorious. Watada’s prosecution demolishes the illusion that the Nuremburg trials established a civilized principle of international law. All it did was to reaffirm that might is right. Germany’s ideology of domination was a war crime, but America’s ideology of domination is not.

http://tinyurl.com/yjw8yn



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Paul+Craig+Roberts

Soldiers in Iraq escape prosecution despite video of punishment beatings

British soldiers filmed beating-up Iraqi rioters minutes after a mortar attack inside their camp are to escape prosecution.

http://tinyurl.com/yj325m


From Information Clearing House

Iraqi officials are making preparations to hang another two members of Saddam Hussein's former regime

Two more former Iraqi officials to be hanged tomorrow
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/middle-east/article2122121.ece



Iraq urged to reprieve Saddam aides

Louise Arbour, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, has appealed to Iraq not to execute two senior aides to Saddam Hussein.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3F045FA2-5DE9-4202-B350-7AE125867201.htm


From Information Clearing House



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

Where's the Outrage Over Escalation?

Is there any more plausible explanation for Bush's behavior than that he is willing to sacrifice more troops so he won't have to admit -- at least not yet -- that he made a mistake? Is that a good enough reason to ask even one more soldier to die?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/01/03/BL2007010301227.html


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=sacrifice
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=more+troops

How many soldier deaths will the public tolerate?

As Bush weighs options for a new "way forward,'' including the possibility of a "surge'' of more U.S. forces, the question about more casualties in a failed cause is just as vital as it was toward the end of the Vietnam War.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/editorial/16376346.htm


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=surge
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=3,000
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam

Iraqi PM Says He Wishes He Could Quit

Mr. Maliki said he would like to leave office before his four-year term is up. He said he will not seek a second term.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-01-03-voa37.cfm?rss=middle



Rattled America will find it can't spin itself out of this one

GEORGE Bush will be hard put persuading three, four or five thousand American soldiers, marines and reservists who have already been there to go back to Iraq this year, to face 4 million Sunnis displeased by the Saddam hanging. Hard put too to persuade Nuri al-Maliki to stay in office, and stay alive, till they get there.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/01/04/1167777215118.html


From Information Clearing House



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

Cooked in our own stew of cynicism and hopelessness

By J.D. Suss

Professional bureaucrats, installed by a corpocracy for half a century and more, bring colorless continuity to a national security state. Western techno-wizardry is exported and emulated and comprises a new, financial colonization. Inscribed within the fortresses of mega-buck global multinationals – the new area-wide demi-governments – are insatiable growth credos.

http://tinyurl.com/yg3jev

$2M settlement underscores loss of freedom

By Angus M. Thuermer Jr

“It’s a very frightening time in our country,” said Spence, who has made a career championing the cases of the common man and underdogs. “What happens is that the corporate king, or the government-corporate king, the two combined, [are] leading us into fascism.”

http://tinyurl.com/ykhfs3



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

Operation: Save Bush's Legacy

By Robert Parry

The President seems determined to put in place a military hierarchy that will fall in line with his edicts, rather than disagree with him.

http://tinyurl.com/ycnecm



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

Soldiers and Imperial Presidents

By Charles Sullivan

Military service is one of America’s sacred cows; it is something that is rarely questioned and is surrounded by an invisible aura of nobility. No one, especially those who serve, wants to think of their time in the military as anything less than honorable and worthy of glorification.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16058.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Charles+Sullivan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperial

Rescind the Papal Bulls

I have signed an online petition, Rescind the Papal Bulls.

You may wish to support this cause by clicking on the link below and following the instructions.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/rescind-the-papal-bulls.html

An action long overdue.

Thanks This will bring attention to patent land and the wrongs done by the Cabal , which is illegally holding us in slavery today.


Informant: Ben Noyes

HURRICANE CENTER CHIEF ISSUES FINAL WARNING

By Carol J. Williams

Los Angeles Times
January 3, 2007

http://tinyurl.com/y45l5g

MIAMI - Frustrated with people and politicians who refuse to listen or learn, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield ends his 34-year government career today in search of a new platform for getting out his unwelcome message: Hurricane Katrina was nothing compared with the big one yet to come.

Mayfield, 58, leaves his high-profile job with the National Weather Service more convinced than ever that U.S. residents of the Southeast are risking unprecedented tragedy by continuing to build vulnerable homes in the tropical storm zone and failing to plan escape routes.

He pointed to southern Florida's 7 million coastal residents.

"We're eventually going to get a strong enough storm in a densely populated area to have a major disaster," he said. "I know people don't want to hear this, and I'm generally a very positive person, but we're setting ourselves up for this major disaster."

More than 1,300 deaths across the Gulf Coast were attributed to Hurricane Katrina, the worst human toll from a weather event in the United States since the 1920s.

But Mayfield warns that 10 times as many fatalities could occur in what he sees as an inevitable strike by a huge storm during the current highly active hurricane cycle, which is expected to last another 10 to 20 years.

His apocalyptic vision of thousands dead and millions homeless is a different side of the persona he established as head of the hurricane center.

Mayfield attained national celebrity status during the tempestuous 2004 and 2005 seasons, appearing on network television with hourly updates as hurricanes Charley, Ivan, Frances and Wilma bore down on the Caribbean and the Southeast. His calm demeanor and avuncular sincerity endeared him to millions of TV viewers seeking survival guidance.

And he argues that his dire predictions don't have to become reality.

The technology exists to build high-rise buildings capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds and tropical storm surge more powerful than those experienced in the last few years. Much of Hong Kong's architecture has been built to survive typhoons, and hotels and apartments built in Kobe, Japan, after a 1995 earthquake devastated the city are touted as indestructible, he said.

What is lacking in the United States is the political will to make and impose hard decisions on building codes and land use in the face of resistance from the influential building industry and a public still willing to gamble that the big one will never hit, he said.

"It's good for the tax base" to allow developers to put up buildings on the coastline, Mayfield said in explaining politicians' reluctance to deter housing projects that expose residents to storm risks.

"I don't want the builders to get mad at me," he said, "but the building industry strongly opposes improvement in building codes."

Consumers also have yet to demand sturdier construction, Mayfield added. A builder gets a better return on investment in upgraded carpet and appliances than for safety features above and beyond most states' minimal requirements, he said.

As a senior civil servant, Mayfield was prohibited from making job inquiries in the private sector while still in the government's employ. But he said on Tuesday, his last day in office, that he hoped to launch a second career as a consultant in emergency planning and disaster response. He has particular interest in a potential public-private initiative to mine natural disaster scenes for their educational value.

He envisions a natural disaster assessment service like the National Transportation Safety Board, which probes the causes and consequences of aviation and other transport accidents.

"If the NTSB finds some structural problem is the cause of an air crash, you would never see that plane continue to be built with the same problems," he said.

With natural disasters, though, the same mistakes that put lives at risk are repeated year after year in unsafe construction and inadequate planning, he said.

Mayfield said he also was pondering collaboration with advocates of tougher building standards and land use rules.

"It's not just about the forecasting. Whatever I do, I want to help change the outcome," he said, conceding frustration with persistent public disregard of federal and local government campaigns to boost hurricane awareness and preparation.

Even after the devastating hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, he said, fewer than 50% of those living in storm-prone areas have a hurricane evacuation plan.

While he has been critical of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, he warns against depending on the federal government after natural disasters. He was dismayed to see federal agencies handing out water and ice in South Florida after Hurricane Wilma hit in October 2005, when stores were open and tap water was usable.

"You don't want the federal government to be your first-responders," he said. "The government can't do everything for people and it shouldn't, or else you create a culture of dependence."

Mayfield praises the Florida state government for its well-oiled disaster-response program and steps toward improving building safety, in contrast with other states along the Gulf of Mexico that he says still have no statewide building standards.

Though Mayfield's name and face recognition are the envy of some presidential hopefuls, he laughs out loud at the notion of running for office.

"Oh, good gosh, no! That is just not my thing," he says.

At the hurricane center on the Florida International University campus, Mayfield will be succeeded by Bill Proenza, the National Weather Service's director for the Southern region. Home to 77 million, the region has "the most active and severe weather in the world," according to the weather service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Proenza, 62, began his meteorological career at the Miami office as an intern in 1963. As director of 50 regional offices and 1,000 employees in the Southern region for the last eight years, he has long experience collaborating with the hurricane center staff on forecasts and tracking.

"That's why I don't have any problem walking out the door," said Mayfield, declaring himself fearful that the mild 2006 hurricane season left those in the storm zone ever more complacent.


Informant: NHNE



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

All power proceeds from the mobile phone

http://tinyurl.com/ychuea

Alle Macht geht vom Handy aus

http://www.heise.de/tr/blog/artikel/83162

Senator Barack Obama is a real louse

http://www.sobran.com/columns/2006/061214.shtml


Informant: Lew Rockwell



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

Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activists interrupt Democratic press conference

/>/>

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/CIndy_Sheehan_interrupts_Democrat_press_conference_0103.html


Informant: shane_digital

--------

Protesters disrupt press conference on lobbying reform
http://michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8852


Informant: Bob Banner

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