World-News

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407N.shtml

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10,000 Mother of a March

By Cindy Sheehan

The time for being polite to our war-mongering politicians and organizations which support them is over. The time has been up for years now: over four to be exact. Women in Iraq are afraid to go to the market or send their children to school. Our occupation has killed many babies and destroyed many Anglo-Christian families and brown Muslim families and, really, families of all color schemes and religious/non-religious persuasions.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17483.htm

Click:

Statements to the Judiciary Committee from Kyle Sampson, ex-chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, are placing additional pressure on Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-New Mexico), as well as Gonzales, White House Political Adviser Karl Rove and ex-White House counsel Harriet Miers, to explain what roles they played in the firing of US Attorney David Iglesias.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407L.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kyle+Sampson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gonzales
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pete+Domenici
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Heather+Wilson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Karl+Rove
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harriet+Miers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Iglesias

William Fisher conducts an exclusive Truthout interview with Bruce Fein, who served as associate deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan and is a founder of a conservative movement known as the Liberty Coalition. The Coalition has launched a new initiative, known as the American Freedom Agenda, in which leading voices in the conservative movement are demanding that the Democrat-controlled Congress restore checks and balances within the government and rein in the power of President George W. Bush.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407J.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=American+Freedom+Agenda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=William+Fisher

Help Save Cats & Dogs

Clouded Leopard, GNU, Nancy Vandermey

Every day, unsung heroes around the world work to save the planet’s clouded leopards, jaguars, wolves and other endangered great cats and rare canines. Some bring emergency vaccinations to save the world’s last Ethiopian wolves from rabies outbreaks. Others teach Namibian farmers to live peacefully with Africa’s vanishing wild dogs. Some even brave Himalayan snows to protect rare and beautiful snow leopards from poachers’ guns.

Defenders of Wildlife is supporting a bill in Congress that would finally give these heroes the support they need -- but we’re going to need your help to get it passed.

Take Action red
http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=vt4aQUD50Y-iXZGB5AxKmA..

Celebrate Earth Day by taking action for wild cats and canines around the world today!

Tell Congress to act now!

Turn Up the Heat

Polar Bear in Ice, Marie Webber/USFWSThis week, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate global warming emissions, rebuking the head-in-the-sand approach of the Bush Administration -- and handing wildlife a major victory.

Under the leadership of Rep. Henry Waxman (CA) in the House and Sens. Barbara Boxer (CA) and Bernie Sanders (VT) in the Senate, Congress now has the opportunity to finally set us on the path for real action on one of the most important issues facing our wildlife. Now your elected officials need to hear from you!

Take Action red
http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=UqyPecK94ZAy3dlqdNk8rA..

Tell Congress to take meaningful action on global warming -- before it’s too late!

http://tinyurl.com/399wzd



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

Herve Kempf quotes one US Army general who wished to remain anonymous: "Making India and China friends rather than threats will depend on what we do about energy and the environment."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407F.shtml

Elizabeth de la Vega critiques Karl Rove's antics at last week's White House correspondents dinner, writing that, "Rove has, for years, been choreographing an elaborate dance of death for the federal government designed to give life to the Republican Party, and yet the public remains largely ignorant of his activities because he so rarely takes the stage."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407D.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Karl+Rove
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Elizabeth+de+la+Vega

A key Justice Department official who helped orchestrate the ouster of eight US attorneys last year has again rebuffed requests to talk to congressional investigators about her role in the dismissals, with her lawyer saying Tuesday that she would not even agree to an informal interview with Capitol Hill Democrats.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407C.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys

Bayerische Ermittlungsbehörden und das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) sollen heimlich Journalisten des Nachrichtenmagazins "Focus" ausgeforscht haben. Das NDR-Magazin "Panorama" berichtete am Mittwoch, die Staatsanwaltschaft München habe zwischen 2002 und 2004 versucht, auf diese Weise undichte Stellen im BKA zu ermitteln. Dabei habe das BKA mit dem Privatdetektiv Werner Mauss als verdecktem Agenten zusammengearbeitet.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=15697

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/GRN/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7173



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Army+Corps+of+Engineers

http://www.apollosfire.net/


Informant: Bob Banner

Für eine Abrüstung der kriegsfreundlichen Massenkultur fühlt sich scheinbar niemand zuständig.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/25/25002/1.html

Safety First

by Christopher Moraff, The Prospect
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12616


From TomPaine.com Daily Dispatch

by Aziz Huq, TomPaine.com

Congress must reclaim America's security apparatus from an administration bent on political subversion.

http://ga3.org/ct/Dp20pgF1pXRB/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Aziz+Huq

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/disturbing-news-for-patie_b_44734.html?view=print


From Joanne C. Mueller

Many of you will be aware of the long fight against Tetra in Penally and the recent appeal decision. The team refuse to lie down as you will see from Ann's e-mail.

The attached letter will serve to outline the background. More available for anyone interested - just e-mail me.

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/tetra_disability_rights_letter_april_07.doc


David
davidabaron @btinternet.com


----- Original Message -----
From: Ann Dassen
To: David
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 1:58 PM
Subject: Harriet Davis Trust Tetra


Dearest David and Chris,

Yes we are still fighting Tetra next to The Wheelabout!

We are in the process of having a QC review (for free) the decision on aspects of new Disability Law. We are begging The Disability Rights Commission to back us. We are getting legal aid applications processed for two of the children who stay at the Wheelabout. We are trying desperately for any last minute publicity we can get. Meanwhile we are still waiting to see if The Robert Lock Trust(landowner) will honour their promise to serve an injunction.

Airwave/Arqiva have behaved disgracefully on this as have Pembrokeshire County Council and deserve to be exposed.

We have to submit papers for a Judicial review by 23rd April. Less than 3 weeks !

Any publicity you could help with would be gratefully accepted.

Very Happy Easter

Sincerely

Ann

URGENT LETTER TO AYATOLLAH HASHEMI SHAHROUDI

A message from Sophia

This is last ditch effort to save this brilliant artist from being hug please follow instructions. I was able to email on iranian site.

Please send letters to:

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Justice Ministry BLDG. - Panzdah-Khordad (ARK) Sq. Tehran, Iran
Phone: 98 (21) 391-1109
Fax: 98 (21) 390-4986
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir

(In the email subject line write: URGENT LETTER TO AYATOLLAH HASHEMI SHAHROUDI )
Web: http://iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html
Note: The fields are written in Persian. The first line is for your Name, 2nd your email, and the 3rd field is the subject which should read 'URGENT LETTER TO AYATOLLAH HASHEMI SHAHROUDI' and 4th field is for your comments).

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A message from John

and pass this on to everyone who cares! It's very urgent!


Original Message

I mailed an urgent last appeal for Delara and included links that were operative earlier today.

The Petition link has now been changed to: http://www.petitiononline.com/DL2222/petition.html

Please use this new link to sign.

*Remember that this is a different petition that you have signed before. This is a new initiative to break the deadlock.

On Saturday, when I did my first network blitz, there were only 1289 signatures.

Tonight there are:
10998 Total Signatures

We have made great gains in gathering petition support. Let us really increase our efforts so that it can be delivered on Saturday with thousands more.

Thank you all... Indigo



DELARA'S DEATH SENTENCE ADVANCES

URGENT APPEAL FOR INTERVENTION

Approval of Delara's Death Sentence in Distinction Branch of the Supreme Court
http://www.savedelara.com/news.html

A source familiar with Delara's case reports that Delara's death sentence has been approved and the order will be soon issued to her lawyer.

Delara Darabi, accused of murder, has spent the past 3 years in prison. Recent beatings in prison have left her with a broken arm and she is not feeling well.

Yesterday, Delara's father filed a letter with the head of the judiciary, seeking a transfer of prison for his daughter. In this letter, Delara's father states: "Delara is in dire condition and is suffering greatly. She is only accused. We have reasons to show that she is not a murderer. However, even if she were guilty, she has a basic right to be treated fairly in prison, not to have her arm broken. If Delara is a murderer, she should be executed once, not a thousand times. Yet, in Rasht prison, she is executed a thousand times a day. I need your help to save my daughter."

According to our reporter, given the approval of Delara's death sentence by the Distinction Branch of the Supreme Court, the only person who can commute this sentence is the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi. By finding fault in the case, he can issue a new trial.

Click HERE to view the original report in Farsi.
http://www.persianblog.com/posts/?weblog=maznonan.persianblog.com&postid=6738251

Please take immediate action to prevent the execution of Delara Darabi by taking the follwing steps:

1. Sign the petition objecting to the impending execution of Delara Darabi and encourage your friends, colleagues, associates, and family members to do the same: http://www.petitiononline.com/DL2222/petition.html

2. Contact the office of Ayatollah Shahroudi by fax or mail to voice your objection: Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Ministry of Justice, Panzdah-Khordad Circle, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran (From United States, dial 0 first)Phone: 98 (21) 391-1109 Fax: 98 (21) 390-4986 You can also send your appeals electronically via the judiciary website:

http://iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html

Note: The fields are written in Persian. 1st line is for your Name; 2nd your Email; 3rd the Subject (which should read "URGENT LETTER TO AYATOLLAH HASHEMI SHAHROUDI REGARDING DELARA DARABI"); 4th is for your Comments. Should you have any questions, please contact info@SaveDelara.com . FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://www.SaveDelara.com

CLARIFICATION REGARDING NEWS SOURCES AND ACCURACY:

Today I received a letter from Lily Mazahery addressing the conflicting information we have received regarding Delara, Reza and other children on Death Row in Iran.

To clarify all confusion once and for all, I wish to inform everyone who has worked with such dedication on these cases that Lily's information is the accurate source.

She receives her information from an award winning journalist in Iran before it goes to the Etemad newspaper. Once it is submitted to the newspaper it undergoes radical censorship alterations. This is where all distortions arise.

Further to this, Lily is in direct communication with Delara's lawyer. The journalist who submits all of her articles to Lily is also in regular contact with Mr. Khoramshahi. Every aspect of each of her reports are verified before she submits them to Lily.

I hope this dispells all further confusion. This is not only the best source for information regarding the children, at present it is our only reliable source.

Below is a sample of the misinformed coverage based on censored news:

Delara Darabi Update We have been receiving few inquiries from the concerned Delara Darabi campaign supporters about recent news and the mass emails that were distributed claiming that :"In the past two days, Delara has been severely beaten in prison by both the prisoners and the prison guards. Prison authorities have confirmed that Delara's body bears severe signs of beatings and abuse. "

The same article claimed that " Amir Hussain, the young boy who was imprisoned on charges of having assisted Delara during the murder, was allowed to leave the prison on official leave. While on leave, Amir Hussain threatened to kill Delara's family and vowed to create significant "problems" for them if Delara is exonerated. "

Both Delara's sister and lawyer stated that although they occasionally receive threatening phone calls but they have no confirmation as to who makes such phone calls. According to Delara's sister the past calls were "not by Amir Hossein". It should be noted that in the event Delara is exonerated Amir Hossein may face death penalty.

http://www.savedelara.com"

Thank you for your kindness and patience.

Indigo



DELARA'S DARABI'S DEATH SENTENCE HAS BEEN APPROVED
http://www.care2.com/news/member/812748315/358481



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

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/mystery_headaches_reboot_wi_fi_fears.pdf

Mystery headaches reboot wi-fi fears

By Jonathan Milne

An unpublished report is raising fresh concerns about the possible health effects of wireless computer networks in schools, saying they could cause headaches, The report by Becta, the educa­tional technology agency, has emerged as the Health Protection Agency called for the Government to consider investigating how safe wi-fi is to pupils and teachers. The TES has obtained an extract from the Becta study, which was carried out seven years ago when wireless systems were first being installed in schools, but it was never published. The report said the radiation produced by any device involving wireless technology raised health and safety questions. "During the testing carried out by Becta, which involved using at least six sets of equipment simultaneously, some engineers complained of head- aches at the end of the working day," it said. "But whether this is due to exposure to radio waves or some other factor is unclear." The discovery of the report comes as campaigns grow against the use of wi-fi networks in schools. Several have discontinued their use after staff complained of adverse health effects. Philip Parkin, the general secre­tary of the Professional Association of Teachers, has called for a full investigation into the networks. "We continue to be concerned about the possible effects of wi-fi, particularly on children whose brains and bodies are still develop­ing," he said. But government scientists have said there is no credible research to back up health fears about such-networks, although no research has proved them to be safe either. A Becta spokesman said it had not carried out any further investi­gation on the engineers'' headaches and that it deferred to the Health Protection Agency on health and safety issues. Dr Michael Clark, the HPA's science spokesman, said: "A prob­lem with very common symptoms such as headaches is that they can be caused by many things." Recent studies had confirmed that typical exposures to radio waves from wireless networks were extremely low, Dr Clark said. "The levels are also lower than those from mobile phones, FM radio, television and the numerous other radio signals in the class­room." But he said manufacturers and the Department for Education and Skills should consider commis­sioning an independent study of wi-fi signals in schools. Mary Barker, the general secre­tary of the ICT teachers' associa­tion Naace, said wi-fi was a "won­derful facility" that allowed for more flexible lessons, but that research was needed so teachers could be confident about its safety.

The Times Educational Supplement
Friday Match 30. '2007
http://www.tes.co.uk


Here you go!
GRAM

FYI, I thought I'd spoil the BBC's party by spilling some of the truths - I doubt it will do anything, but hey.....

Martin,

GRAM



BBC's New Media Home Family

Dear Dean and Suzanne Boston,

Firstly, I must apologise for contacting you via your school and/or work e-mails, I do not wish to impose upon your private lives, but I felt that there are a couple of things that you should know.

I saw the article on the BBC website about you being the "New Media Home Family" [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6540993.stm ] and thought that I might contact you to tell you about some of the downsides of certain technologies, especially so called "wireless" ones. Devices such as the Belkin Wireless router, Acer Aspire iDea 500 media center PC, Apple MacBook, Sonos wireless music system and Kodak wireless digital photo frame make use of wireless networking "wi-fi" which itself uses microwave transmissions typically at 2.4 GHz - (the same frequency band as used by most microwave ovens).

These devices work in a similar fashion to Mobile Telephone Masts, also using microwave technology. The risks due to being exposed to microwave radiation are well documented if you look at non-Industry and non-Government (both being, it must be noted, financially biased towards the microwave technology industry to the tune of billions of pounds). I have helped to collate the research evidence from Independent Scientists, and have helped to write a summary detailing them for the average person, so that as many as possible can be informed of the dangers from them to our health. Symptoms of microwave radiation are many, some are detailed below and, over time, do lead to various cancers and other terrible illnesses. This, of course, is not publicised by those with interests in the technology.

Now that you have had a little while with the wireless devices inside your house you may well be starting to notice some of the more common downsides - i.e. headaches, migraines, irritability, inability to sleep, possibly nose bleeds or ringing in the ears. It is thought that 4% of the general population are "Electrosensitive" and that 1/4 of people are slightly effected by the proximity of wireless devices - it may be that you and your family are not in these categories - but since the exposure tends to have an accumulated effect you may well have some of the symptoms mentioned later on (and/or worse).

I should explain that I don't tend to subscribe to conspiracy theories and that I have been working in a technical career for the last 18 years. I have only latterly become interested in the subject of wi-fi, other "wireless" devices and mobile phone masts and their emissions through the introduction of the latter into my neighbourhood in the last couple of years.

There has been more of a debate on wi-fi in recent months especially in the context of schools. You, Suzanne, as a Primary School teacher, may be interested to know that 2 weeks ago journalist Jonathan Miles from the Times Educational Supplement (TES) published an article entitled "Mystery headaches reboot wi-fi fears". In it he discovered that Becta had discovered that engineers installing wireless networks in schools had complained about headaches from the networks, yet the report was never published.



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wi-Fi
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Wi-Fi
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=microwave+radiation

Cato Institute
by David Boaz

04/03/07

In any free society, millions of people will have different ideas about how to form families, how to rear children, and how to associate voluntarily with others. Those differences are not just a result of a lack of understanding each other; no matter how many Harvard seminars and National Conversations we have, we will never come to a national consensus on such intimate moral matters. Clinton implicitly recognizes that when she insists that there will be times when ‘the village itself [she means the federal government] must act in place of parents’ and accept ‘those responsibilities in all our names through the authority we vest in government.’ She fundamentally rejects the American tradition of liberty. She says that government must make the decisions about how we raise our children...

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8156


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Reason
by Steve Chapman

04/03/07

In feudal times, the people were at the mercy of their rulers. But the American Revolution upended that presumption. Our democracy rests on the proposition that all legitimate power derives from the people, and that anything the government has the authority to do, it enjoys only because the people have voluntarily granted that authority. When presidential aides or municipal employees exercise their prerogatives, they’re using tools that are merely on loan. But that’s not how Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, acted when they decided to fire a slate of U.S. attorneys. They reverted to the medieval mindset that rulers answer to no one...

http://www.reason.com/news/show/119445.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gonzales
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kyle+Sampson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Steve+Chapman

Salon
by Glenn Greenwald

04/03/07

Rudy Giuliani — the leading Republican candidate for President — has made two of the most extraordinary statements of any major presidential candidate in a long time. In a rational world, this would be a major scandal and Democratic (and the other Republican) candidates would be rushing to make their views clear on these matters. But the revelation that Giuliani believes in process-less imprisonment (and that Romney can only decide once his lawyers are done debating it) provoked virtually no attention (but hey, those first-quarter fundraising numbers sure were interesting!). Despite the fact that the media is only recently acknowledging it, we have had a serious Constitutional crisis in this country for the last six years as a result of a President who literally embraces a theory that vests him with the power to ignore the law...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/03/giuliani/



April fools

Slate
by Bruce Reed

04/04/07

A conventional flip-flopper is limited to two positions: his old one and his new one. Giuliani seems to be a political polytheist, who thinks a man can have as many positions as he wants. He even refers to them that way, as ‘my first position’ and ‘my second position.’ Then there is his third and current position, which does not smile upon the other two. Perhaps to distinguish himself from the other two Republican frontrunners, Giuliani has found a third way between flip-flopping and straight talk. He calls it half-jocularity. That’s not a bad description. He wasn’t joking (which is why nobody else laughed), but he didn’t mean it (which is why nobody believed him). In a way, the episode sums up the apparent strategy of his campaign...

http://www.slate.com/id/2163559


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Giuliani
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Glenn+Greenwald

Disloyal Opposition
by J.D. Tuccille

04/03/07

From rather humble beginnings, the police in the United States have been elevated to a stature above that of the people they are supposed to protect. Obedience to police is expected for even the most preposterous commands, police are themselves considered exempt from many of the laws they enforce, and crimes committed against police officers often carry greater penalties than those committed against average citizens. All of this stands in stark contrast to the principles established by Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern policing, as the necessary basis for ethical law enforcement...

http://www.tuccille.com/blog/2007/04/when-cops-turn-into-thugs.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Hawaii Reporter
by Rebecca Hagelin

04/03/07

Good news: President Bush and Congress have found an energy policy they can agree on. Bad news: They both want to expand the use of ethanol. … This mutual enthusiasm for the corn-based fuel may be good for the political environment, but not for the physical one. A new paper by The Heritage Foundation’s Ben Lieberman road-tests the latest boondogglefrom Washington and finds that its earth-friendly claims are seriously overblown...

http://tinyurl.com/36lmwx


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Liberty For All
by Jessi Winchester

Feds spend billions on a country that kills our troops and who want us to leave, while U.S. citizens at home go without proper medical care and more and more people are becoming homeless because of our floundering economy. Bush is failing us here at home while he obliviously goes about conquering the globe. Even though this occupation is more deadly for our troops than the war was, Bush still vows not to back off or withdraw... (written 11/03; posdted 04/03/07)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=593


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jessi+Winchester

Strike the Root
by Marjorie Cohn

04/03/07

The Bush administration has stopped the Supreme Court from giving the Guantanamo detainees their day in court — at least for now. In Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. United States, forty-five men challenged the constitutionality of the habeas corpus-stripping provision of the Military Commissions Act that Congress passed last year. On Monday Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell one vote short of the four needed to grant review of the lower court decision which went against the detainees...

http://www.counterpunch.org/cohn04032007.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Habeas+Corpus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gitmo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detainees
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Military+Commissions+Act
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Marjorie+Cohn

CounterPunch
by Dave Lindorff

04/03/07

Now we have another wretched war-monger, George W. Bush, who like Nixon before him is also doing his best to undermine the Constitution, but the party I have always been registered as a member of is letting him get away with it. Oh sure, they’re having hearings to embarrass him, and they’re playing games to make it look like they’re opposed to his war-mongering, but they are clearly not doing anything concrete to stop him, the way Democrats did in 1974 with Nixon. In fact, the leadership of my party is doing worse than nothing. They are actively blocking efforts to bring President Bush to ground...

http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff04032007.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dave+Lindorff


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Christian Science Monitor
by Joseph D. Rich

04/04/07

The scandal unfolding around the firing of eight US attorneys compels the conclusion that the Bush administration has rewarded loyalty over all else. A destructive pattern of partisan political actions at the Justice Department started long before this incident, however, as those of us who worked in its civil rights division can attest. I spent more than 35 years in the department enforcing federal civil rights laws — particularly voting rights. Before leaving in 2005, I worked for attorneys general with dramatically different political philosophies — from John Mitchell to Ed Meese to Janet Reno. Regardless of the administration, the political appointees had respect for the experience and judgment of longtime civil servants. Under the Bush administration, however, all that changed. During the past six years, this Justice Department has ignored the advice of its staff and skewed aspects of law enforcement in ways that clearly were intended to influence the outcome of elections...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0404/p09s01-coop.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Joseph+D.+Rich

Fox News
by Radley Balko

04/03/07

Between the two party primaries and the general election, spending on the 2008 presidential race likely will exceed $1.5 billion (it topped $1 billion for the first time in 2004). Toss in congressional elections, and it’s likely that total spending for control of the federal government in 2008 will top $5 billion (it was just under $4 billion in 2004). That doesn’t include state and local races, nor does it include the money spent on lobbying, which topped $2 billion in 2004, a 35 percent jump from 2001. I tend to agree with many of the editorial boards and campaign reformers troubled by the escalation in the money we spend on federal elections. Unfortunately, campaign finance reformers (and lobbying reformers) seem to be troubled for all the wrong reasons. The problem with increasing amounts of money spent on lobbying and politics isn’t that Americans are spending more and more money to buy some influence in Washington; the problem is that we’re giving Washington more and more influence to sell...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,263320,00.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Radley+Balko

Arizona Republic
by E.J. Montini

04/03/07

The senator wanted American troops out of the war zone and offered a controversial amendment on the Senate floor that would have restricted funds for U.S. forces except for those needed to pay for a ‘prompt and orderly withdrawal.’ The president called it a breach of executive authority, but the senator was adamant. He argued that to remain as an occupying force would needlessly endanger American lives. Later, he wrote, ‘And I ended by fairly shouting, ‘Whose responsibility is that? Whose responsibility is that?’ — implying that the blood of future casualties would be on our hands.’ This wasn’t an anti-war Democrat speaking about Iraq in 2007. It was our own Sen. John McCain in 1993, speaking about Somalia...

http://tinyurl.com/2ntfmp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

The American Prospect
by Matthew Yglesias

04/03/07

In case Rudy Giuliani’s penchant for cross-dressing had you doubting his conservative bona fides, doubt no more. ‘I regard myself as a supply-sider for sure,’ he told Larry Kudlow on March 27. And just in case you weren’t clear that by ’supply-sider’ Giuliani meant ‘know-nothing fool and liar,’ he clarified: ‘[I] watched Ronald Reagan do it and learned it, saw it work. Taxes get reduced, more revenue comes in.’ Taxes get reduced, more revenue comes in. That, to Giuliani, is what it means to be a supply-sider. And a supply-sider is what he proclaims himself to be. Taxes get reduced, more revenue comes in. It’s a nice idea. Nice, but not true. What’s more, it’s known to be untrue. Reagan did try it, but it didn’t work...

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12614


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/hang_up_on_war/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Hang Up on War

By Amy Goodman

If you are upset that Congress won't defund the war in Iraq, there's something you can do: Stop paying a tax. Legally.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17486.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Amy+Goodman

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10764


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/justin

Strike the Root
by Per Bylund

04/03/07

We’re all terrorists and enjoy what’s left of our liberties only as far as we don’t speak up, speak out, or start asking questions. The state, we will learn, sooner or later, is protecting itself — as well as its privileged class and its vast powers — from its citizenry...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/71/bylund/bylund3.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Per+Bylund

Christian Science Monitor

04/04/07

When some 4,500 soldiers heard over the weekend that they’d be deploying to Iraq earlier than expected, many saw it as yet another inconvenience that military personnel must endure. But to some in Washington, the announcement is a glaring sign that the Army really is straining and that its well of rested, trained, and equipped soldiers is running dry. The Pentagon’s announcement Monday that it is sending two units back to Iraq early means it will renege on its objective to give soldiers at least 12 months at home between deployments. While the Defense Department has extended the deployment of troops in combat, this is only the second time it has had to deprive soldiers from a major unit of a year-long rest. The fact that the Pentagon felt compelled to make the call-up seems to validate what many retired generals and former Pentagon officials have warned: that repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are wearing out military personnel and equipment to a worrisome point...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0404/p01s01-usmi.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Connecticut Post

04/03/07

CIA and FBI agents hunting for al-Qaida militants in the Horn of Africa have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse, according to an investigation by the Associated Press. Human rights groups, lawyers and several Western diplomats assert hundreds of prisoners, who include women and children, have been transferred secretly and illegally in recent months from Kenya and Somalia to Ethiopia, where they are kept without charge or access to lawyers and families... [editor’s note: Looks like the US has bought Ethiopia lock, stock and barrel — they’re also the main US proxy in the Busheviks’ obsessive attempts to impose a state on Somalia - TLK]

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_5587436


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

US Agents Visit Ethiopian Secret Jails

CIA and FBI agents hunting for al-Qaida militants in the Horn of Africa have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse. The detainees include at least one US citizen and some from Canada, Sweden and France, according to a list compiled by a Kenyan Muslim rights group and flight manifests obtained by The Associated Press.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407P.shtml



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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2049687,00.html


Informant: binstock



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Palm+oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=biofuel

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-04-03-tipping-points_N.htm


Informant: binstock

--------

Is Earth Near Its "Tipping Points" From Global Warming?

Earth is spinning toward many points of no return from the damage of global warming, after which disease, desolation and famine are inevitable, say scientists involved in an international report due Friday. Opinions vary about how long it will take to reach those "tipping points" and whether attempts to cut planet-warming gases churned out by power plants, vehicles and other human activities can slow, halt or reverse the harmful effects in coming decades. Some suggest it might be cheaper for society to adapt to the changing climate than to roll back the pace of warming.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040507EA.shtml



Scientists Warn on Climate Tipping Points

Alok Jha reports for The Guardian UK: "Some tipping points for climate change could be closer than previously thought. Scientists are predicting that the loss of the massive Greenland ice sheet may now be unstoppable and lead to catastrophic sea level rises around the world."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/081707EB.shtml

MSNBC

04/03/07

Striking a blow for cell phone haters everywhere, a government agency on Tuesday said it will keep a rule in place that requires the divisive devices to be turned off during airline flights. The reasoning behind the decision was technical. But the avalanche of comments the Federal Communications Commission has logged from airline travelers have been nothing short of visceral...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17935297/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Dr. Alexandre Rafalovitch
http://tinyurl.com/2u9jny

Residues of birth control pills, antidepressants, painkillers, shampoos and a host of other compounds are finding their way into the nation's waterways, and they have public health and environmental officials in a regulatory quandary.

http://www.currentargus.com/ci_5579115


From Information Clearing House

How do we stop the credit industry's predatory business model and get Americans out of debt when incomes aren't rising as fast as the costs of healthcare and housing?

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/49777/


From Information Clearing House

Europe has eclipsed the US in stock market value for the first time since the first world war in another sign of the slipping of the global dominance of American capital markets.

http://snipurl.com/1f0zy


From Information Clearing House

Vermont was once an independent republic, and it can be one again. We think the time to make that happen is now. Over the past 50 years, the U.S. government has grown too big, too corrupt and too aggressive toward the world, toward its own citizens and toward local democratic institutions.

http://snipurl.com/1f0zr


From Information Clearing House



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

Here's what the Bush administration has done to the values, traditions and honor of the United States of America: an accused terrorist claims he confessed to heinous crimes so that agents of the U.S. government would stop torturing him, and no one is shocked or even surprised.

http://snipurl.com/1f0zm


From Information Clearing House



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

Russia is concerned that Iran will be exposed to a military strike, first deputy foreign ministery Andrei Denisov said Tuesday.

http://snipurl.com/1f0yt



Russia anxious about military action against Iran near its border

Russia is concerned about a possible attack on Iran and insists that military action near its border is totally unacceptable, the first deputy foreign minister said Tuesday.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070403/63027715.html


From Information Clearing House

This is nothing more than disinformation, a well timed leak doled out to Ross and ABC. Nothing more. Nothing less.

http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/50076


From Information Clearing House

The Iraqi government is trying to secure the release of five Iranians detained by U.S. forces in northern Iraq in January, as the British government seeks freedom for the British military personnel seized by Iran March 20 on charges of being in Iranian waters.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03250416.htm


From Information Clearing House

Iran's ambassador to Islamabad says that British forces trespassed Iranian territorial waters on at least five separate occasions in recent years.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail_iran.aspx?id=4779&sectionid=351020101


From Information Clearing House

Historical account of the relationship between America and Saddam Hussein. Reveals the complicity of America in Saddam's atrocities. Forty years of secrets, incomprehension and incompetence led to the occupation of Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13512.htm



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

CIA analyst Stephen Pelletiere (ret. prof at the Army War College) says that after Desert Storm, when Iraq refused to bow to US. pressure, holding out against American dominance, George W. Bush fabricated the present crisis so as to, once and for all, beat the Iraqis into submission - to control oil..."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2097.htm

US vice-president Dick Cheney warned on Monday that the United States faces defeat in Iraq if Democrats succeed in imposing a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces.

http://snipurl.com/1f0yc


From Information Clearing House



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

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday he wants to cut off money for the Iraq war next year, making clear for the first time that Democrats are willing to pull out all the stops to end U.S. involvement.

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/headlines/ci_5580932


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harry+Reid

The humanitarian and displacement crisis in Iraq is growing in intensity and gravity. The UN estimates that more than two million Iraqis are now refugees in neighboring countries and more than 1.9 million have fled for safer areas within Iraq.

http://snipurl.com/1f0ya


From Information Clearing House

By Bill Quigley

Despite calls by federal prosecutors to jail two priests protesting against torture training at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, a federal judge has allowed them to remain free until their trial, which is set for June 4, 2007.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17476.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bill+Quigley

By Bill Gallagher

Iraq is lost militarily and politically. Even the Mormons are now abandoning President George W. Bush's mad war. That's akin to the Swiss Guard deserting and leaving the pope to fend for himself with the Vatican under siege.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17471.htm

By Joseph M. Cachia

As the Western media turns its attention to and prattles about the fate of the 15 Britons detained for allegedly trespassing into Iranian waters, the status of the five Iranian officials captured in a US military raid on a liaison office in Northern Iraq on January 11, remains a mystery.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17474.htm

With Truth Comes Awakening

By Manuel Valenzuela

It is our love for humankind, our respect for life, our desire for a better world, our hatred of wickedness and injustice and deception and all the evils the truth we seek has created and brought forth that compels in us the responsibility to bring honor and dignity to those whose voice and energy have been silenced.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17475.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Manuel+Valenzuela

By Charles Sullivan

When violence is the first resort of a government, the people have no business referring to it as a democratic republic. They must offer resistance to it. They must bring it into line with the values and code of ethics of the citizenry.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17472.htm



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

Affordable mental health care took another blow last month, when Medicare and Tricare - one of the few health-care options for military veterans and their families - reduced the amount it will pay providers.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040307HA.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mental+health+care

The White House has renominated three people for top jobs affecting the environment who were previously blocked in Congress because of their pro-industry views.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040307EC.shtml

The Supreme Court supported a federal clean-air initiative aimed at forcing power companies in the US to install pollution control equipment on aging coal-fired power plants. In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled against Duke Energy Corp. in a lawsuit originally brought by the administration of President Bill Clinton, part of a massive enforcement effort targeting more than a dozen utilities.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040307EB.shtml

The European Union accused the United States and Australia on Monday of hampering international efforts to tackle climate change. "We expect ... the United States to cooperate closer and not to continue having a negative attitude in international negotiations," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told delegates at a United Nations-sponsored meeting to review a report on the regional effects of rising global temperatures.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040307EA.shtml

Despite repeated requests from a House committee chairman and government investigators, the Pentagon has failed to hand over its official assessments of the readiness of US-trained Iraqi security units to take over key functions from the US military.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040307T.shtml

House Democrats asked a top Justice Department aide to come to Capitol Hill for a private interview in the next week on the firing of federal prosecutors. They said she cannot simply refuse to testify on the matter. Monica Goodling, who has said she would assert her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid appearing at Senate hearings, must tell Congress which specific questions she's refusing to answer.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040307S.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Monica+Goodling

Apr 4 2007

By Will Harris, Crewe Chronicle

ANGRY residents are protesting about plans for a mobile phone mast near to four schools.

A letter has been sent to homes around the suggested site at the junction of Readesdale Avenue and Valley Road in Crewe, highlighting the proposals which will include a 12-metre mast, three antennas, a transmission dish and equipment cabinet at ground level.

Installation company Stappard Howes wants to build it on behalf of telecommunications giants Vodafone, stating that it is the best environ-mental and technical solution.

A petition has been started against the scheme. Cllr Jacquie Weatherill, who lives close to the site in Dane Bank Avenue, said: 'I have already voiced my opinion against this proposal, and a letter has been sent to Stappard Howes. I believe the local schools and residents have written as well.

'This mast would be right in the heart of a residential area, and there are four schools in close proximity. The number of children that might be affected is huge, making it a totally unsuitable site.

'I have taken phone calls and e-mails from concerned residents, while others haven't received the company's correspondence at all. I will continue to fight against this proposal.'

Resident Robert Allen, who lives in Wistaston Avenue added: 'My fear is for kids walking so close on their way to and from school. We have to protect their interests, and if Vodafone submits an application to the council, I'm sure we will all voice our objections.'

A Vodafone spokesman said: 'We are undertaking an extensive consultation before we choose whether to submit an application for planning. It would be inappropriate to indicate a decision on this until the consultation is complete.'

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales Limited 2007

http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=protesters-battle-against-mast-plans&method=full&objectid=18856524&siteid=50020-name_page.html

By Jen Rivett

A MOBILE phone giant's application to build an 18-metre-tall mast has sparked anger among residents who claim it will be an eyesore.

Hart District Council is currently considering an application from O2 to build the lattice mast at the gas compound in Reading Road, Hook.

However, residents are concerned that the mast will be an eyesore in their attractive village and many residents have put pen to paper to object to the plans.

Nearby resident Barbara Jones, of John Morgan Close, wrote to the council asking for the mast to be put somewhere less intrusive.

It will only be 50 yards from the bedroom windows of family homes and it will spoil the view
Ernie Hobbs

She wrote: "I reiterate that the adjacent estate - John Morgan Close - is one of the most sought- after residential locations in Hook, according to local estate agents.

"A tall tower on the edge of this development, apart from being aesthetically displeasing to the eye, may well be a source of potential danger to the many young children living on this estate as the effect of exposure to such radio waves is still uncertain."

Beechcrest View resident Ernie Hobbs is organising a letter drop to encourage more people to write to the council.

He said: "It will only be 50 yards from the bedroom windows of family homes and it will spoil the view."

However, Jim Stevenson, O2's communications relations manager, said that the mast had to be 18m tall to supply nearby network-users.

He said: "It prevents us from putting a lot more of these poles around the place. If you have one that's quite high, it prevents us putting four around the area."

Residents have until today to comment on the plans.

© Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisishampshire.net/display.var.1306712.0.objections_to_phone_mast.php

A secret FBI intelligence unit helped detain a group of war protesters in a downtown Washington parking garage in April 2002 and interrogated some of them on videotape about their political and religious beliefs, newly uncovered documents and interviews show. For years, law enforcement authorities suggested it never happened. The FBI and DC police said they had no records of such an incident. But a civil lawsuit, filed by the protesters, recently unearthed police logs that confirm the FBI's role in the incident.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040307R.shtml

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

04. April 2007

Die Vereinigten Staaten halten an der umstrittenen Raketenabwehr für Osteuropa fest. Dazu erklärt Helmut Scholz, Mitglied des Parteivorstandes und Sekretariatsmitglied des Vorstandes der Partei der Europäischen Linken:

Wir lehnen die Pläne der Bush-Administration ein globales Raketenabwehrsystem zu errichten ab. Das führt nur zu neuerlichem Wettrüsten mit zerstörerischen und zudem weit reichenden Konsequenzen für den Fortbestand aller bestehenden Vereinbarungen zur Nichtverbreitung von Atomwaffen. Europa braucht Abrüstung als Voraussetzung für Sicherheit und Frieden, das ist die Position der Partei der Europäischen Linken (EL). Die EL erklärt sich mit den Bewohnerinnen und Bewohnern des kleine böhmischen Ortes Trokavice bei Rokycany solidarisch, die in einem Referendum fast einhundertprozentig Nein zu den Raketenabwehr-Plänen sagten! Die Mehrheiten der tschechischen und polnischen Bevölkerungen lehnen diese ebenso ab, wie auch EU-weit der Widerstand gegen die geplanten US-amerikanische Raketen- und Radaranlagen in zwei Mitgliedsländern der EU wächst. Friedensbewegungen, Kirchen, demokratische und linke politische Kräfte, Frauen- und Umweltbewegungen sowie Gewerkschaften sind aufgerufen ihre Ablehnung zu den Plänen zusammenzuführen und gemeinsam in Europa gegen eine Spaltung des Kontinents zu wirken. Europa darf nicht in neue militärische Herrschaftsabenteuer der Bush-Administration hineingezogen werden. Frieden bleibt unsere erste Aufgabe! Die EL wird sich aktiv in alle entsprechenden Initiativen einbringen. Es ist deshalb durchaus zu begrüßen, dass die Frage des Raketenabwehrschildes, in der die Vereinigten Staaten bislang alle Ratschläge der EU und sogar der NATO-Verbündeten übergangen haben, auf die Tagesordnung des Juni-Gipfels des Europäischen Rates gesetzt wird Die Europäische Linke und die Linke in Deutschland bekräftigen in diesem Zusammenhang ihre Forderungen an die deutsche EU-Rats- und G8-Präsidentschaft, diese Pläne entschieden zurückzuweisen. Referenden und eine demokratische Willensbildung der Bevölkerung in den vorgesehenen Stationierungsländern sind unverzichtbar, wenn nicht der europäische Gedanke weiter entleert werden soll. Das heißt auch, jeglicher Absicht, die Planungen über die Hintertür von NATO-Strukturen zu ermöglichen, eine entschiedene Abfuhr zu erteilen. Über politische und weltanschauliche Unterschiede hinweg sagt die Europäische Linke: Gemeinsam sind wir stark, lasst uns alles tun, damit Europa nicht erneut Schauplatz für Rüstungswettlauf und Konfrontationspolitik wird.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=35466

http://tvnewslies.org/html/how_to_watch_the_news.html
http://tvnewslies.org/html/explanation.html


Informant: Useful I.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/287/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pierre+Tristam

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/271/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gonzales
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Larry+Beinhart

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/291/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=John+Buell

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/279/

--------

McCain's Baghdad market visit branded a stunt

MERCHANTS at Baghdad's oldest and biggest market say an American congressional delegation has got it wrong about new security measures.

http://snipurl.com/1f5jd


From Information Clearing House

--------

Market Workers From McCain Jaunt Murdered

A newborn baby was one of at least 14 children and adults killed when a suicide bomber detonated a lorry laden with explosives close to a primary school in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk yesterday. The latest massacre of Iraqi children came the day after John McCain, the US presidential candidate, said that an American security plan in the capital was starting to show signs of progress.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407S.shtml



The American Tragedy of John McCain

William Rivers Pitt writes: "Arizona Senator John McCain took a walk through a Baghdad market on April Fool's Day, and may well have burned his presidential campaign down to the ground in the process. That little stroll has visited upon his head a deluge of humiliation and shame vast and astonishing enough to beggar imagination, and that was before the bodies started hitting the ground."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040607J.shtml



Sunday in the Market With McCain

"John McCain's April Fools' Day stroll through Baghdad's Shorja market last weekend was instantly acclaimed as a classic political pratfall. Protected by more than a hundred American soldiers, three Black Hawk helicopters, two Apache gunships and a bulletproof vest, the senator extolled the 'progress' and 'good news' in Iraq. Befitting this loopy brand of comedy, the star had a crackerjack cast of supporting buffoons: Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who told reporters 'I bought five rugs for five bucks!,' and Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, who likened the scene to 'a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime.' Five rugs for five bucks: boy, we've really got that Iraq economy up and running now!" says Frank Rich.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040807C.shtml



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/275/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Patrick+Cockburn

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/294/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Doug+Saunders

http://www.avaaz.org/en/close_guantanamo/?cl=5097966



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