In der Arktis ist der Klimawandel in vollem Gang: Während die Ureinwohner dabei ihre Lebensgrundlage verlieren, wittert die Wirtschaft das große Geschäft.
Der Beklagte und seine Unterstützer befanden sich publizistisch in der Offensive: Im Zivilverfahren gegen den Berufsimker und Gentechnik-Gegner Michael Grolm vor dem Landgericht Neuruppin kam es am Donnerstag zu keiner Entscheidung. Grolm sollte erklären, in Zukunft die Felder eines Bauern nicht mehr zu betreten, der gentechnisch manipulierten Mais angebaut hatte. Der 35jährige Umweltschützer hatte im Frühjahr 2006 angekündigt, Genmaispflanzen im Rahmen einer "Feldbefreiung" unschädlich machen zu wollen. Die Felder nahe Badingen waren zum Schauplatz der Auseinandersetzung geworden. Statt dessen gestaltete sich der Prozess-Auftakt zu einer öffentlichen Demonstration gegen den US-Gentechnik-Konzern Monsanto.
George Bush announced his intention to escalate the war in Iraq by sending tens of thousands of more troops to pursue his flawed strategy. But if he wants to ignore the advice of the military and the findings of the Iraq Study Group, he's going to have to make his case and get the consent of the people through their elected representatives.
Thankfully, escalation is not President Bush's decision to make. He must have the people's consent.
Senator Kennedy has introduced legislation that makes the issue plain. It states that any substantial new commitment in Iraq requires a plan from the administration and explicit authorization from Congress.
Iraq has become George Bush's Vietnam, and it's up to every American to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself any longer. The Iraqi people need to take responsibility for their own future. But our only hope for change over there is if we, the American people, take control of our own destiny here at home.
FYI - There is a possibility that the second You and Yours programme on Wifi in schools will be on Monday (radio 4 at noon). Michael Bevington, the teacher from Stowe with ES, has been pre-recorded and there will be an establishment scientist.
Apparently there were complaints after the last programme of bias on our side! But actually they will have had 2 scientists speaking, and parents and teachers on our side. This bias needs pointing out.
Monday is also the day for the BBC Breakfast News to do its piece on Wifi/ES and this date seems fairly certain. Dr Fox and teacher husband, both of whom were made ill from wireless networks may be on it.
Plus the Times on Saturday on mobile phone study and cancer!
Three top international scientists, all of whom have done original research on ES and on WiFi effects on human health. Please quote these scientists, if and when you are interviewed on this topic, each of whom has been briefed and expects media interest.
Dr Oberfeld is in the Salzburg public health dept.It is their official advice not to put wireless computers in schools and nurseries.
Prof Olle Johansson Sweden +468-52 48 70 58 olle.johansson @ki.se Karolinska Institute, Sweden Prof Johansson has many papers on EMFs, ES, WiFi among other subjects. His advice is also that children should not be exposed to this radiation
Dr George Carlo glac44 @aol.com USA 571-277-1332 Dr Carlo headed up the $28 million USA phone industry brain tumour research programme from 1993 to 1999. On finding evidence of genetic damage and increase in brain tumours his contract was terminated! He also advises that schools should not put in WiFi but use cabled networks. WiFi in Schools
Basically all our children are being exposed now to radiation in their schools, which have installed WiFi. The transmitters (access points) emit radiation at 6 v/m as do the cards in the laptops. Emissions from a phone mast usually do not exceed 1 v/m in a building near a phone mast. The guidelines allow for a max exposure of 61 v/m. However since these guidelines only prevent heating effects, they are irrelevant when considering other effects at sub heating levels, such as cancer or headaches and concentration problems.
WiFi systems have never been pre market tested for safety.
The Stewart committee recommended that a school and parents have a right to refuse permission to allow the beam of max intensity from a phone mast fall on its grounds, as they did not want children to be exposed as they are felt to be more at risk than adults. This was reinforced in the Dept of Education Guidelines. However it is not included in planning law so has no teeth.
A panel of retired generals told a United States Senate committee today that sending 21,500 additional troops to Iraq will do little to solve the underlying political problems in the country. "A fool's errand," was the judgment of General Barry R. McCaffrey, who commanded troops in the first Gulf War. He said other countries had concluded that the effort in Iraq was not succeeding, noting that "our allies are leaving us and will be gone by summer."
FAMILIES are outraged by plans for a phone mast near their homes, saying it will be 'detrimental' to the area.
More than 120 people have signed a petition opposing T Mobile's plans for a 14.7m monopole and three antennae on a grass verge between Mold Road and Wharfdale Avenue, Connah's Quay.
They fear the proposal, which includes two equipment cabinets, would be an eyesore, distract motorists using Mold Road, attract further anti-social behaviour, de-value their properties and is a potential health risk.
Wharfdale Avenue residents Christine and Ian Gilbertson, both 45, were 'astonished' they never received a letter from Flintshire County Council about the prior approval application.
Mrs Gilbertson said: 'It's shocking they are considering putting it there. It's not been disproved, or proved, that it can cause health problems with adults and children. We have got an eight-year-old son.
'It's going to be an eyesore, it will distract motorists and there have already been two accidents there [the Mold Road/Llanarth roundabout] over Christmas.
'We already have quite a bit of anti-social behaviour by youths climbing on the phone box, trying to kick the glass out, they will find it [the mast] attractive to climb.
'There are fields nearby with two masts already, it could go up there.'
Their neighbours, Bob and Lynn Boyd, who live closest to the chosen site, said: 'I will see it from my bedroom, it will be a monster. It just devalues the area.
'They will be urinating on the equipment, banging on it and it will be right opposite my house. Why don't they put it in a field or something like that? It will be an eyesore.'
A spokesman for Flintshire County Council said: 'A site notice was posted and the council sent letters to the owners of properties adjacent to the site. However, the council is only obliged to post a site notice with regards to proposals such as this.'
The Project for the New American Century may have effectively closed up shop two years ago and its key neo-conservative allies in the administration, such as Scooter Libby and Douglas Feith, may be long gone, but the group's five-year-old Middle East strategy remains very much alive. This is not the "Wilsonian" strategy of transforming Iraq into a model of democracy and pluralism that will then spread domino-like across the entire benighted region of autocrats, monarchs and theocrats whose oppression and backwardness have, in the neo-con narrative, been the main cause of anti-U.S. Islamic extremism. On the contrary, that "idealist" vision has largely disappeared from the administration's discourse, particularly over the past year as Iraq slipped steadily into sectarian civil war, despite having been enthusiastically embraced by George W. Bush and his neo-conservative supporters after their early justifications for war in Iraq - Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda - proved unfounded.
Man fragt sich, woher dieser Junge die Kraft nimmt, sein Leben zu meistern und alle Drangsalierungen des Staates zu ertragen ? Von Geburt an hat er “Morbus Recklinghausen”, auch als “NF” bekannt. Sein gesundheitlicher Zustand verschlechtert sich kontinuierlich. Trotzdem ist man nicht gewillt, ihm eine angemessene Versorgung zukommen zu lassen.
Als Kind schon immer in die Ecke gestellt und von den normalen Unternehmungen gesunder Kinder ausgeschlossen, als Halbwüchsiger dann mit der gesammelten Erfahrung, auch die Bestätigung von der Umwelt und der Gesellschaft zu bekommen und als junger Erwachsener seine Krankheit als Last der Gesellschaft zu spüren, dass muss eine harte Erfahrung sein ! Doch was kann der Behinderte, der von Geburt an oder durch andere Umstände sein Leiden bekommen hat dafür ? Kann es nicht jeden Einzelnen von uns treffen ? Ein Autounfall, eine falsch behandelte Krankheit oder ein Wink des Schicksals, vor einer Behinderung ist niemand sicher.
Doch müssen Drangsalierungen und Ausgrenzungen sein ?
- Muss es wirklich sein, dass diese Menschen am unterstem Existenzminimum leben und um eine neue Hose betteln mÜssen? - Verschwendet unsere Gesellschaft nicht Milliarden für unnütze und belanglose Sachen ? - Sollten wir uns nicht gemeinsam für die Belange von Behinderten stark machen ? - Warum schaut man weg? - Hat man Angst davor, einmal selbst an dessen Stelle zu sein ?
Die Arbeitsagentur versuchte sogar, den Jungen in eine Mosaikwerkstatt zu integrieren, obwohl er nicht einmal richtig sitzen kann. Die Pflegeperson (seine Mutter) wurde ebenfalls schon darauf vorbereitet, einen evtl. EEJ annehmen zu müssen, da sie lt SGB II, angeblich erst bei Pflegestufe III davon befreit sei !
Aber gerade deshalb, sollte man aktiv werden.
Dieser Junge hat seinen Kampf gegen die Krankheit bereits seit 10 Jahren gewonnen, denn lt. Aussage der Ärzte sollte seine Lebenserwartung schon vor 11 Jahren gleich Null gewesen sein und er wird es bestimmt schaffen, noch sehr vielen Menschen Mut zu machen, durch öffentliche Selbstdarstellung, moralische Hilfe von weiteren Betroffenen zu leisten. Bewundernswert ist in seinem Fall, die völlige Kontrolle über seine Ziele und seine bescheidene Art. Er hat sich damit abgefunden, eben nicht, wie andere Menschen, agieren zu können und sieht seine Aufgabe in der Verbreitung von Lebensmut und Glauben an Menschlichkeit, Gerechtigkeit und an die innere Kraft jedes einzelnen Menschen. Denn er ist der Überzeugung, dass der Mensch viel größere seelische und körperliche Kräfte hat, als ihm bewusst ist.
Doch mit den deutschen Behörden und Ämtern hat er grausame Erfahrungen machen müssen, die man nicht einmal gesunden Menschen wünscht. So musste seine Familie jahrelang um einen Hauslehrer kämpfen, jahrelang kämpfen sie um die Höherstufung von der Pflegestufe I auf II. Bürokratismus verhinderte einen normalen E-Rollstuhl für die Strasse. Bei der Krankenkasse hieß es : “erst eine rollstuhlgerechte Wohnung, dann ein E-Rolli” und bei der Wohnungsgesellschaft hieß es : “Erst ein E-Rolli, dann eine rollstuhlgerechte Wohnung. Nur mit Hilfe vom “TV Sat1? ist es dann endlich gelungen, dem Jungen über eine Spendenaktion einen E-Rolli zu beschaffen und auch der Familie mit einer behindertenfreundlichen Wohnung zu helfen.
Doch mal ganz ehrlich ! Müssen solche steinigen Wege wirklich sein, nur um etwas menschlicher leben zu dürfen ? Wäre es nicht Pflicht der Krankenkasse und Pflicht der Behindertenbeauftragten gewesen, dem Jungen bei der Durchsetzung seiner Rechte zu helfen ? Wer setzt sich gerade jetzt, nach dem angefangenen Sozialraub, noch für ein würdevolles Leben dieser Menschen ein ?
Ich kämpfe für ein würdevolles Leben
Fragt man sich, wie behinderte Menschen von unseren Behörden behandelt werden, so haben Erfahrungen gezeigt, dass es schon fast unmenschliche Reaktionen einiger Bearbeiter gibt und dass man dieser Gruppe von Menschen eindeutig zu verstehen gibt, dass sie in diesem Staat keine Forderungen zu stellen haben ! Betrachten wir uns die Auszahlbeträge der Grundsicherungen, so werden wir feststellen, dass diese Summen weder zum leben, noch zum sterben reichen. Und dies in einer Wohlstandsgesellschaft mit vorgetäuschtem sozialem Charakter ?
- Das Bekleidungsgeld wurde lt. SGB XII gestrichen. - Einmalzahlungen für bestimmte Aufwendungen und Anschaffungen gibt es seit 2005 nicht mehr. - Zusätzliche Einkommen und selbst das Kindergeld werden angerechnet. - Zuzahlungsvorschriften wurden drastisch verschärft, - Telebusse abgeschafft und durch private Unternehmen ersetzt.
Stellen wir also fest: dass sich Behinderte dazu gezwungen sehen, selbst ihre “Unterwäsche” auf Pump zu kaufen, denn nötige Zahlungen gibt es nur darlehnsweise! Haben es behinderte Menschen nicht schon schwer genug, sich mit den täglichen gesellschaftlichen Einschränkungen und ihrer Krankheit abzufinden ? Muss man Ihnen das Leben nun zusätzlich durch Kürzungen von Sozialleistungen erschweren ? Eine Klage auf Höherstufung der jetzigen Pflegestufe II auf III, wurde am 18.01.2007 nach einer Bearbeitungszeit von 37 Monaten abgeschmettert. Eine Schande fürs deutsche Rechtssystem. Und gerade deshalb bekommt er die benötigte Kraft, weiterhin für sein Leben zu klagen und seinen Lebensweg der Öffentlichkeit zu präsentieren.
Bleibt nur die Hoffnung auf ein würdevollen Leben, oder stirbt diese mit diesem Kampf auch aus?
One way to look at the situation in Iraq is to try to identify variables, elements that could change. Without change, the war is likely to end with troops having to fight their way out, if they can. The military situation in Iraq is not a variable. All that can change is the speed of our defeat. Some actions might slow it, although the time for such actions, such as adopting an ‘ink blot’ strategy instead of ‘capture or kill,’ passed long ago. Other actions could speed our defeat, an attack on Iran chief among them...
George Bush’s Oval Office speech suggested it. And his 60 Minutes performance cinched it: The increased deployment of American troops to Iraq is principally about showing the world that George Bush is still in charge. Congress may have changed hands, but Bush has not changed his mind. On the surface this effort may look like clumsy agitprop. After all, inviting the old-guard yet still potent network news mag along for an exclusive walk in the woods with the president to hear the president insist he doesn’t care what anyone thinks is a little transparent. But the dodgy staging has had the desired effect on the rest of the world...
“Please … before you send our sons and daughters to die for causes and becauses … you should know something. It cannot be about hatred. It cannot be about lies, apprehension, greed, or deceit. It matters not the envy, the craftiness, the treachery, or the despair. Of no consequence or purpose are cruelty, superstition, guilt, or revenge. Useless is anger, arrogance, and contempt. Let go of embarrassment, indifference, laziness, and doubt. But cling to love... (written 09/02; posted 07/03/09)
Poor Cully Stimson. Hypocrites have been having a field day at his expense. He’s given everybody — from editorialists to the Attorney General, not to mention the law school deans and establishment bar types — an opportunity to feel good about their own virtue, without addressing the real issues that his comments raise. What could be easier than denouncing clueless Cully? In case you missed it, Charles ‘Cully’ Stimson is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs who in a radio interview said out loud what a lot of people actually think: that the detainees at Guantanamo, some of whom have been held for years without charges filed against them, don’t deserve to be represented by the best law firms in America. He even suggested that the firms’ other clients should put pressure on them to choose between their ‘pro bono’ clients and their paying ones...
From its inception, the US occupation was a lose-lose proposition. Simply rolling into Iraq — a society of which the Bush neocons had so distorted a conception and US occupation commanders and foot soldiers had no grasp at all — was a formula for doom. But US policy in the Middle East has now advanced to a new stage and the risk to the rest of us has changed. For stopping an attack on Iran, which is the only way to avert final regional disaster, may require action in Washington that falls outside the parameters of what is normally politically possible...
We do not need more military or political experts, more troops, more study groups or more money to solve the problems in Iraq. We need people willing to tell the truth and act on it! If our nation can only think about winning and losing, then we are committed to future participation in mass suffering. Our national mindset seems identical to the mindset of our national past time. The skills of both war and football are trickery, deception, endurance, stamina and brute physical strength. As a nation these skills do not serve us well.
Forget Vietnam, forget Korea. The best analogy for America’s misadventure in Iraq is the Opium War of the 19th century, when a small British naval force (read Iraqi insurgents) humiliated the Middle Kingdom (read United States). And like China’s defeat in the Opium War, the disaster in Iraq could lead the US into decline...
‘The people put us in power because they want an end to this war,’ Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich says. Kucinich is frustrated, and understandably so; He ran for president in 2004 on a crystal-clear anti-war platform, and was laughed off the stage by the city’s pundit class. He watched the Democrats wrestle Congress from Republicans in large part because of that war’s unpopularity. Two months later the White House is sending more troops to Iraq, he’s running for president on an anti-war platform, and he’s being laughed off the stage by pundits. ‘It’s almost as if the November elections never happened,’ Kucinich says. ‘The default position of the Democratic Party is to stay in Iraq. You win the election and then you take the war off the table? You promise not to defund the war, which you are constitutional [sic] empowered to do? I fundamentally reject that, and I will do everything in my power to stop this war.’ How much power does Kucinich have? Better question: Who actually has the power to contest the troop surge when Congress gets its next funding request in February?
Senators demanded details Thursday from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about new orders putting the government’s domestic spying program under court review — and questioned why it took so long to do so. Meanwhile, the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said she had no objection to disclosing legal orders and opinions about the program that targets people linked to al-Qaida, but the Bush administration would have to approve release of the information. Gonzales and National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said it was uncertain whether the court orders and details about the program will be disclosed. Negroponte, testifying before the House Intelligence Committee, said there may be separation of powers issues involved in turning over information to Congress about the program. At issue is how the secret panel of judges will consider evidence when approving government requests to monitor suspected al-Qaida agents’ phone calls and e-mails between the United States and other countries...
Senators Demand Details on New Eavesdropping Rules
Lawmakers demanded more information on new rules for governing a domestic surveillance program on Thursday, a day after the Bush administration announced that it had placed National Security Agency eavesdropping under court supervision. Senators from both parties who had long criticized the eavesdropping without court warrants said at a Judiciary Committee hearing that they welcomed the change but wanted details. They said they wanted to be sure that the new rules adequately protected Americans' privacy.
The United States criticized China on Thursday for conducting an anti-satellite weapons test in which an old Chinese weather satellite was destroyed by a missile. The Bush administration has kept a lid on the test for a week as it weighs its significance. Analysts said China’s weather satellites would travel at about the same altitude as U.S. spy satellites, so the test represented an indirect threat to U.S. defense systems...
China successfully carried out its first test of an anti-satellite weapon last week, signaling its resolve to play a major role in military space activities and bringing expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals, the Bush administration said Thursday. Only two nations - Russia and the United States - have previously destroyed spacecraft in anti-satellite tests, most recently the United States in the mid 1980s.
China’s apparent success in destroying one of its own orbiting satellites with a ballistic missile signals that its rising military intends to contest American supremacy in space, a realm many here consider increasingly crucial to national security.
Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites
China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons designed to disable American spy satellites by "blinding" their sensitive surveillance devices, it was reported yesterday.
The EM Radiation Research Trust are pleased to announce that Dr George Carlo has agreed to visit to the UK to address MPs at Westminster on Thursday 22nd February, 2007 and to meet Sir William Stewart, UK Health Protection Agency Chairman.
The meeting will be chaired by RRT Trustee - Dr Ian Gibson MP Committee Room 9 at Westminster, between 3 and 4pm on Thursday 22nd February, 2007.
Please encourage your MPs to attend this important meeting.
E-mail eileen@smokestackltd.co.uk to confirm attendance.
There is to be a meeting at Westminster with Dr George Carlo - this has been confirmed - Dr Ian Gibson MP has booked Committee Room 9 between 3 and 4pm on Thursday 22nd February, it will hold up to 95 people.
A Resolution will be proposed at the EM Radiation Research Trust (RRT) Meeting on 22 February 2007 to urgently reopen and update the Stewart Report.
Eileen O'Connor of the RRT is drawing up a list which includes members of the public who are key players in the campaign against the dangers of mobile phones/masts/wireless technology.
She is also inviting members of the media.
It is important to get as many MPs as possible to attend as Dr Carlo has a powerful message to bring and they need to be aware that the health problems associated with this technology are very real and this requires urgent action.
There has been a huge amount of interest from the public and the media as many people want to hear Dr George Carlo’s address to MPs at the meeting in Westminster on 22nd February, 2007.
In order to accommodate everyone, the meeting will now be held in the Attlee Suite in Portcullis House the meeting is scheduled to run from 3-4pm.
Please come to Portcullis House Reception, Westminster, SW1A 2LW. Portcullis House is the building across the road from the House of Commons (less queues and where the Attlee Suite is)! Nearest tube Westminster Station - come out of station turn left, then immediately left again and Portcullis House is on your left.
Assemble in the reception at least 15 minutes before and Joseph Moor will escort everyone to the Attlee Suite, you will still need to go through security (allow extra time for this), no ID needed, EVERYONE is welcome to attend!
It is important to write, phone or visit your MP to stress the importance of this meeting and request they attend as they are your local representative. Also ask your local councillors, planning officers, doctors and any member of authority to attend.
Not to be missed!
Dr George Carlo - Westminster meeting 22nd February, 3-4 pm
Attlee Suite in Portcullis House
Combating the dangers of wireless technology
We are inviting written questions from people attending the meeting, the authors name must be on the question.
Dr Carlo was head of the US phone industry's $28 million (WRT) Research Programme from 1993 to 1999.
He will talk about his research findings and will also be promoting the safe way forward for wireless technology which is a positive message.
Resolution to reopen the Stewart Report will be Proposed at the EM Radiation Research Trust Meeting on 22 February 2007.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE ALL MPS TO ATTEND THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT EVENT
Please forward this to all your friends and colleagues.
Look forward to seeing you all at this important event.
Eileen O’Connor
Trustee – EM Radiation Research Trust
Combating the dangers of wireless technology
Mobile phone masts, mobile phones, wifi
Dr George Carlo
Following the recent emergency announcement - Joseph Moor Research Assistant to Andrew Mitchell MP Shadow Secretary of State for International Development has sent message saying people can get to the Attlee Room on their own – reception at portcullis house will direct everyone where to go, the room will be open from 2.30 and the meeting is scheduled to run from 3 – 4pm
The meeting room is large and as a result I do not need to supply a list of names, it is free for anyone to attend.
A film company has agreed to film the event and a DVD will be made available for purchase, this is good news for all ES people who cannot attend.
This event is beginning to attract attention from around the world.
The Attlee Suite is the largest of the multi purpose rooms in Westminster and is located on the first floor of Portcullis House. Members of the public should enter via Embankment for meetings in Portcullis House. Once through security the staff at reception will direct visitors up the stairs behind the desk, these lead to the first floor and hence the Attlee Suite.
A sign will be posted on the door of Committee Room 9 on the 22nd directing people to the Attlee Suite should they end up there by mistake.
I would like to thank fellow trustees from the EM Radiation Research Trust - Andrew Mitchell MP and Dr Ian Gibson MP and staff for all their hard work helping to organise this event. Andrew Mitchell MP, Dr Ian Gibson MP and Dr Caroline Lucas MEP have all agreed to help promote this important meeting to all their colleagues. Phil Willis MP has also sent confirmation and I have encouraged him to promote this to members from the Lib Dem Party. Let’s hope MPs respond and represent members of their constituency as this is a growing concern for many people and deserves their full attention!
I would also like to thank HESE-UK, SCRAM, Mast Sanity and Mast Action, and all campaigners for helping to promote this event.
Michel Rocard, former French prime minister, argues that the only way to save the free enterprise system is to limit its most egregious abuses: executive compensation and shareholder exactions.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Thursday he was concerned that UN sanctions on Iran could escalate the country's standoff with Western powers over its suspected weapons program.
Dean Baker writes: "As President Bush prepares for his 'surge' in Iraq, it is worth thinking about the growing cost of the war. While finances should never come first when talking about a war that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, it is reasonable to ask about the tab that President Bush is running up."
The House of Representatives is poised to play Robin Hood with energy policy Thursday. It aims to cut $14 billion in federal oil and gas tax breaks and other benefits over the next 10 years and give them instead to renewable-energy programs.
The House rolled back billions of dollars in oil industry subsidies Thursday in what supporters hailed as a new direction in energy policy toward more renewable fuels. Critics said the action would reduce domestic oil production and increase reliance on imports. The energy legislation was the last of six high-priority issues that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pledged to push through during the first 100 hours of Democratic control. The bill passed by a 264-163 vote.
As the Democratic House passes the CLEAN (Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation) energy act, promising to generate $14 billion over 10 years by repealing subsidies to oil companies and invest the money in renewable energy sources, it is time to start looking beyond the 100 Hour Agenda. The CLEAN Act will add to the renewed focus the Democrats are placing on fair trade and labor policies necessary for creating economic conditions that favor renewed growth in U.S. manufacturing, but it is not sufficient. An essential complement is a national investment strategy aimed at strengthening U.S. industrial and innovation capabilities, while directing them towards achieving vital national goals. One such goal is energy security, encompassing two important, related challenges to America’s economic and national security in the coming decades: its growing dependence on foreign energy sources and global warming...
Zum heutigen Urteil gegen Peter Hartz erklärt die stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Katja Kipping:
Die Kleinen hängt man, die Großen lässt man laufen! Diese Volksweisheit bestätigt sich durch den heutigen Urteilsspruch einmal mehr. Während jeder Hartz IV Bezieher bei kleinsten Versäumnissen mit drakonischen finanziellen Einbußen rechnen muss, kann Peter Hartz seine Strafe locker aus der Portokasse bezahlen. Hartz IV Bezieher müssen es hinnehmen, dass Sozialdetektive unter der Bettdecke und in der Haushaltskasse schnüffeln, um Sozialleistungen zu kürzen. Kleine Vergehen haben für Betroffene meist katastrophale Folgen, die bis an die Existenz reichen können. Ich erinnere nur an Rüdiger S., der für eine warme Wohnung in den Hungerstreik getreten ist und dem man jetzt die Leistungen um 30 Prozent gekürzt hat, weil er Ein-Euro-Job als Webdesigner in einem kommunalen Kurbetrieb aus Gewissensgründen abgelehnt hat. Er verweigert sich der Lohndrückerei. Es ist eine Demütigung für alle Hartz IV Betroffenen, dass sie erfahren müssen, dass Korruption und Untreue im großen Stil nur kleine Folgen haben. Peter Hartz ist finanziell in der Lage, alle Möglichkeiten des Rechtsstaates zu nutzen. Das ist ihm nicht vorzuwerfen. Verwerflich ist aber, dass Hartz IV Bezieher dies oft nicht können. Der Bundesrat plant sogar, die Kostenfreiheit beim Sozialgericht abzuschaffen, um der Flut der Gerichtsverfahren entgegen zu wirken. Damit wird es für Arbeitslose und sozial Benachteiligte noch schwerer, zu ihrem Recht zu kommen. Der Name Hartz steht ab heute nicht mehr nur für Armut per Gesetz sondern auch für die Doppelmoral dieser Gesellschaft.
Der frühere VW-Personalvorstand Peter Hartz ist wegen Untreue und Begünstigung eines Betriebsratsmitglieds zu zwei Jahren Haft auf Bewährung verurteilt worden. Ins Gefängnis muss der Manager also nicht. Außerdem verhängte das Landgericht Braunschweig am Donnerstag gegen den 65-Jährigen eine Geldstrafe in Höhe von 576.000 Euro. Damit folgte das Gericht im ersten Prozess zur Aufarbeitung der Schmiergeldaffäre bei Europas größtem Autohersteller der Forderung der Staatsanwaltschaft. Nach Auffassung des ehemaligen Bundesrichters Wolfgang Neskovic wäre bei einer Schadenssumme von mehr als 2,5 Millionen Euro und Tathandlungen in einem Zeitraum von zehn Jahren eigentlich eine Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter zehn Jahren "üblich".
"The op-ed pages are notoriously barren of female voices.... One reason for this is that women usually aren't the ones calling the shots," writes Jane Fonda in an article discussing the recent National Conference for Media Reform and her recent co-creation of the Women's Media Center.
Data supplied by tobacco companies strongly suggest that in recent years manufacturers deliberately boosted nicotine levels in cigarettes to more effectively hook smokers, Harvard researchers concluded.
A new count by the National Marine Fisheries Service puts the Beluga whale population at 302, less than half the number in 1994 and well below the 1,000 to 2,000 believed to have been swimming in earlier years in the glacier-fed channel that runs from Anchorage to the Gulf of Alaska.
Putting power in the hands of members who are more active on environmental problems, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is creating a special committee to recommend legislation to cut greenhouse gases.
As President Bush adds to the US military presence in Iraq, NOW asks: are we asking too much of our soldiers, many of whom are on their second and third tours of duty?
A group of Methodist ministers from across the nation launched an online petition drive Thursday, urging Southern Methodist University to stop trying to land George W. Bush's presidential library. The ministers are concerned that linking themselves with the current presidency was "utterly inappropriate."
The announcement yesterday that the top two lawyers for the Federal Election Commission had resigned helped spread an undercurrent of concern about the diminishing role of a once-prominent public voice on the intersection of money and politics.
The US Federal Reserve will need to slash interest rates three times this year as the housing slump goes from bad to worse and the American consumer begins to buckle, Goldman Sachs has warned. "Americans have shown a complete lack of self-control. The personal savings rate is at its lowest point ever, and has actually been negative since April 2005.
Foreclosures Up 35% from '05 - '06; Subprime to Blame
Americans continue having difficulties paying their mortgage obligations, with December foreclosure rates above the 100,000 mark for the fifth straight month.
In an economic and housing outlook, Fannie Mae said sales of new homes are expected to drop by 7.1% in 2007, while sales of existing homes are expected to drop 8.1% this year.
Sales of new homes plunged 16.6% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000, according to the Commerce Department. It is the the biggest percentage decline in 13 years.
The American Civil Liberties Union today released a new report revealing that the Pentagon monitored at least 186 anti-military protests in the United States and collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in an anti-terrorist threat database.
Two U.S. Attorneys in California announced they are stepping down, as critics alleged political pressure from the Bush administration was pushing them and others out of their jobs.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Wednesday warned federal judges not to meddle in cases involving national security, following a string of judicial rebukes of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism initiatives.
"We have learned that the Pentagon has just completed a manual for the coming detainee trials that would allow suspected terrorist to be imprisoned or executed using hearsay evidence or coerced testimony," said Nora O'Donnell, the chief Washington correspondent for NBC.
The Pentagon's rules for upcoming detainee trials would allow terrorism suspects to be convicted and perhaps executed based on hearsay evidence and some coerced testimony.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is submitting to Congress a manual for trials of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay that would allow the admission of hearsay evidence and coerced testimony, a Pentagon official told reporters Thursday. The manual was drafted to comply with a law passed last year that restored the Bush administration’s military commissions created to try terrorist suspects. The Supreme Court had struck down the commissions as unconstitutional...
IRAN believes that a military strike against its nuclear installations is "highly improbable" but has nonetheless taken the necessary precautions in case it is attacked.
Iran plans three days of military maneuvers, including short-range missile tests, beginning Sunday — its first since the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against it in late December, state-run television said.
Iran’s strongman loses grip as ayatollah offers nuclear deal
IRAN’S supreme leader is considering a change of policy on the country’s nuclear programme in an effort to defuse growing tension with the West, according to senior sources in Tehran.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed back over the U.S. military buildup in the Gulf, saying Thursday that Iran is ready for any possibility in the standoff over its nuclear program. The president made clear he was not backing down in his tough rhetoric toward the United States, despite criticism at home. Conservatives and reformists alike have openly challenged Ahmadinejad’s nuclear diplomacy tactics, many saying his fiery anti-Western remarks are doing more harm than good...
Determined not to budge under pressure, Iran announced new tests of short-range missiles Sunday, and hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed criticism that the country’s economy has been hurt by U.N. sanctions imposed for its suspect nuclear program. The missile tests come as the U.S. Navy is sending a second aircraft carrier to the volatile Persian Gulf. U.S. officials said the USS John C. Stennis, which arrives in Mideast waters in a matter of weeks, is meant as a warning to Iran...
Iran's ambassador said Thursday that Iraq's foreign minister promised him that Iranians captured by U.S. troops in north of the country last week will be freed "within days," adding that their detention was an insult to the Iraqi government and people.
He is a strange figure to be targeted as the number one enemy of the US in Iraq. Four years ago, few had heard of the Shia nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr inside or outside Iraq. Even somebody as suspicious as Saddam Hussain did not think he would play any role in the coming crisis.
UNDER pressure from the US to show progress in the face of mounting carnage, the Iraqi Government has announced a crackdown against the country's most powerful Shiite militia, with several dozen senior members arrested in recent weeks.
The resolution, sponsored by Senators. Hagel, Joseph Biden, D-Del., Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is the latest effort congressional opponents of Bush's war plan are using to persuade the president to change course on America's war in Iraq.
Shocking clip from a French documentary exposing how governments and corporations in the west knowingly aided and abetted Saddam's most ruthless crimes.
Zur morgen in Berlin beginnenden Internationalen Grünen Woche erklärt der stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Wolfgang Methling:
Landwirte und Verbraucher müssen die Möglichkeit haben, zwischen gentechnisch freien und gentechnisch veränderten Futter- und Lebensmitteln zu wählen. Deshalb ist eine eindeutige Kennzeichnungspflicht für alle Produkte notwendig. Hier ist die Bundesregierung gefordert, entsprechende Kennzeichnungen auf bundes- und europäischer Ebene durchzusetzen. Derzeit ist niemand in der Lage, die möglichen Folgen von Eingriffen in soziale und ökologische Systeme genau zu prognostizieren. Was einmal in der Natur ist, kann nicht wieder zurückgeholt werden. Deshalb ist es notwendig, ökologisch besonders sensible Gebiete wie Naturparke oder Naturschutzgebiete vor genetisch veränderten Organismen zu schützen. Mehr Aufmerksamkeit muss der Erforschung der mit der grünen Gentechnik verbundenen Risiken gelten.
In less than one month after taking control of both houses of the US Congress, the liberal-Democrat leadership is attempting to silence their opponents while criminalizing opposition under the guise of protecting free speech, according to many Capitol Hill observers......
URGENT ~ EVERYONES HELP IS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY!!!! PLEASE TAKE THESE ACTIONS NOW!!!!
This may be the most important message you will ever receive. If we fail to help NOW we may not be able to help anyone, any cause or any animals at all in the near future! I know it takes time to hammer out forwards but if we don't get this to everyone NOW there soon may not be anything worthwhile to forward at all! Catman P.
Original Message
Please...our Constitutional Rights to Free Speech and what we do here on Care2 is at severe risk with this bill...this is our last stand. Please sign and forward. Thank you my friends. Ron
Original Message
DONT LET the SENATE MUZZLE YOU & the GRASSROOTS!!! 3:26 PM Help Stop Attempts to Regulate the Grassroots - Section 220 of S. 1
This may be the last email you receive asking you to tell Congress what you think. Why? Because the U.S. Senate is voting on a bill as soon as Friday to muzzle your free speech rights. S.1 is a bill that purports to deal with lobbying and ethics reform. Buried deep in the bill is a provision that would require grassroots groups to disclose how we activate you, our grassroots supporters. This is a blatant attempt to intimidate grassroots groups into not organizing grassroots activism.
Thankfully, there is something you can do about it. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) is offering an amendment to the bill that would strip out this provision. Tell your Senator to vote for the Bennett amendment to S.1, to keep your grassroots voice heard.
We need to tell our Senators right away to support free speech! Call the toll-free number below NOW to reach both of your Senators, telling them to OPPOSE any attempt to restrict grassroots activism:
1-800-459-1887
When the operator answers, ask for the Senators from your state. When you reach their offices, simply say, "I am opposed to government restrictions on grassroots activism. I would like my Senator to OPPOSE Amendment 220 to the bill S. 1. Thank you."
NOTE: If that toll-free number doesn't work, you can call your Senators directly at 1-202-224-3121.
Be sure to send this Alert to EVERYONE you know to tell the Senate to support free speech rights and oppose restrictions on grassroots activism. Thank you!
From Kim K.
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New Congress Shredding US Constitution
by John Loeffler
Persons concerned about the loss of alternative media and the danger to free speech should contact their senators and urge them to vote for the Bennett amendment. Members of the House should be urged to vote against provisions in House Resolution 4682, which included grassroots organizations......
Iran's President Did Not Say "Israel must be wiped off the map"
By Arash Norouzi
Across the world, a dangerous rumor has spread that could have catastrophic implications. According to legend, Iran's President has threatened to destroy Israel, or, to quote the misquote, "Israel must be wiped off the map". Contrary to popular belief, this statement was never made, as this article will prove.
It's all over the Iranian press: President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, self-described "street cleaner of the people", is in deep political trouble at home, subjected to crossfire from conservatives and reformers alike.
Hawking Warns: We Must Recognize the Dangers of Climate Change
"Climate change stands alongside the use of nuclear weapons as one of the greatest threats posed to the future of the world," the Cambridge cosmologist Stephen Hawking said.
The Senate, responding to voter frustration with corruption and special interest influence in Washington, on Thursday overwhelmingly approved far-reaching ethics and lobbying reform legislation. Under the bill, passed 96-2, senators will give up gifts and free travel from lobbyists, pay more for travel on corporate jets and make themselves more accountable for the pet projects they insert into bills...
We won! Thanks to your emails and phone calls, we swamped the Senate and they passed a strong lobbying and ethics reform bill, S. 1, in a 96-2 landslide.
Other good news: Justice was served today when ex-Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) was sentenced to 30 months in jail. I guess that free golf trip to Scotland wasn't so free.
Again, thank you!
Daniel De Bonis
Online Organizer
Public Citizen's Congress Watch
Trump and His Allies...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/06/21/trump-and-his-allies-are-clear-and-present-danger-american-democracy?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_op
rudkla - 22. Jun, 05:09
The Republican Party...
https://truthout.org/articles/the-republican-party-is-still-doing-donald-trumps-bidding/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=804d4873-50dd-4c1b-82a5-f465ac3742ce
rudkla - 26. Apr, 05:36
January 6 Committee Says...
https://truthout.org/articles/jan-6-committee-says-trump-engaged-in-criminal-conspiracy-to-undo-election/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=552e5725-9297-4a7c-a214-53c8c51615a3
