Donnerstag, 14. Juni 2007

War is cheap for most Americans, because the lesser people among us fight our wars ­ not us

There are cracks in everything, that's how the light gets in

By Jim Kirwan

Every nation has a set of myths by which its people live and die; the USA is no exception. We just finished Memorial Day and soon we'll be approaching the tortured-celebrations of July 4th. Both these national spotlights involve public mythologies that have guided this nation for decades; yet the events that these holidays are meant to commemorate are no longer even remotely questioned. War is cheap for most Americans, because the lesser people among us fight our wars ­ not us!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17881.htm



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

Do You Have An Opinion On Cheney IMPEACHMENT?

Yesterday, yet another member of the U.S. House signed on to H.R. 333, the Kucinich proposal to impeach Cheney first. Maxine Waters becomes the 8th co-sponsor so far. She is speaking out now. How about you?

ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment.php

Some people have written us to say they want Bush impeached at the SAME time or nothing. But impeaching Cheney is ALL about impeaching Bush as well. Cheney is the one pumping Bush up with all the dictator talk. Cheney is the prime mover behind the shredding of the Constitution. The fastest way to constrain Bush, and to impeach him as well, is to take on Cheney first. The road to impeaching Bush is through Cheney, who is not only the least popular, but also the most guilty.

But all we are asking you to do here is to express an opinion, just as 65,000 of your fellow concerned and active citizens already have. You can vote yes, or you can vote no. Nobody is asking you to predict if enough OTHER people will speak out to make this happen. We are asking YOU to speak out. Whether you will yourself, that you can surely know, because all you have to do is click a mouse one time.

ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment.php

Some have written to say that time is short until the next election. Unfortunately it is not short enough to keep Cheney from using nuclear weapons as he so desperately wants to before then. Only by confronting him with impeachment can we possibly hope to keep them from turning the debacle they have already created in the Middle East into the literal end of our world. The only reason members of Congress are signing on to this inititiave is because you ARE speaking out. They will not do it on their own. It has to come from US, we the people.

The New York Times and CBS News have reported what we had already heard that Cheney is determined to suck the U.S. into a shooting war with Iran, provoked through back channels with Israel, if he can't force that policy on Bush any other way. We are in greater danger of the strategic debacle in the Middle East spinning wildly out of control every day that Congress does not confront the monstrous malignancy in the office of the vice president in particular.

Vote yes, or else vote no. It could save all of our lives. It could save YOUR life, all of it. Help turn the National Cheney Impeachment Poll into a national phenomenon. That's where we are going with this. We can do it with your help. All we have to do is get enough people to say he SHOULD be impeached, and he will be impeached.

The situation is so extreme that The New York Times published an editorial just yesterday that we quote just some of its conclusions below. How can anyone read these words of alarm and not be at LEAST motivated to at express an OPINION. They are finally speaking out. How about you?

DICK CHENEY RULES New York Times Editorial June 3, 2007

The Associated Press reported that Mr. Cheney's office ordered the Secret Service last September to destroy all records of visitors to the official vice presidential mansion right after The Washington Post sued foraccess to the logs. That move was made in secret, naturally. It came out only because of another lawsuit, filed by a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, seeking the names of conservative religious figures who visited the vice president's residence

This disdain for accountability is distressing, but not surprising. Mr. Cheney has had it on display from his first days in office, when he refused to name the energy-industry executives who met with him behind closed doors to draft an energy policy.

In a similar way, Mr. Cheney seems unconcerned about little things like checks and balances and traditional American notions of judicial process. At one point, he gave himself the power to selectively declassify documents and selectively leak them to reporters. In a recent commencement address, he declaimed against prisoners who had the gall to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. Cheney is the driving force behind the Bush administrations theory of the unitary executive, which holds that no one, including Congress and the courts, has the power to supervise or regulate the actions of the president. Just as he pays little attention to old-fangled notions of the separation of powers, Mr. Cheney does not overly bother himself about the bright line that should exist between his last job as chief of the energy giant Halliburton and his current one on the public payroll.

From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Cheney received deferred salary payments from Halliburton that far exceeded what taxpayers gave him. Mr. Cheney still holds hundreds of thousands of stock options that have ballooned by millions of dollars as Halliburton profited handsomely from the war in Iraq.

-- END QUOTED SECTION --


Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.

usalone73:100131

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How the FDA is Becoming a Drug Company

by Byron Richards

Under the false pretense of improved food and drug safety the FDA is re-inventing itself as a kingpin drug company. This charade has so far hoodwinked virtually all members of Congress. The Senate has already approved this FDA transformation. The House will bring similar legislation out of committee next week, with a vote in the full House likely in July. The measure will then go to a conference committee to work out the differences. The final chapter in this transformation occurs when the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA becomes law, which is scheduled to happen some time before September 30, 2007.......

http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron34.htm



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

The Dying Continues in Iraq While at Home We Bury Our Heads in the Sand

Joseph L. Galloway writes: "The war in Iraq grinds on without much regard for an American president's pipedreams of victory, a Congressional majority's impotent attempts to stop it and most of the American people's wish that it would just go away. More than one student of history has looked hard at where we, as a nation, are today and said: 'Late Rome.'"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061407E.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Joseph+L.+Galloway

Justice Department Reshapes Its Civil Rights Mission

In recent years, the Bush administration has recast the federal government's role in civil rights by aggressively pursuing religion-oriented cases while significantly diminishing its involvement in the traditional area of race.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061407C.shtml

My Interview With Mikey Weinstein

Jason Leopold reports: "More than two years ago, Mikey Weinstein launched the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit government watchdog group that aims to keep a close eye on the military to ensure its adherence to the law mandating the separation between church and state, after his son, a student at the Air Force Academy in Boulder, Colorado, was harassed about his Jewish faith and urged by other cadets and Air Force officials to convert to Christianity."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061407A.shtml



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

Energiekonzern E.On soll Reise für Ehepaar Thönnes bezahlt haben

Der Staatssekretär im Bundesarbeitsministerium, Franz Thönnes, steht schwer unter Druck: Der SPD-Politiker soll bei einer vom Energie- und Atomkonzern E.On bezahlten Reise seine Frau als Angehörige des Ministeriums geführt haben, berichtet "Spiegel Online". Nun will die Staatsanwaltschaft Köln wegen des Verdachts der Vorteilsannahme gegen den schleswig-holsteinischen Bundestagsabgeordneten aus Bad Segeberg ermitteln.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16137

"Wir schaffen eine Klasse systematischer Verlierer!"

Ein Gespräch mit Karl Lauterbach, Gesundheitsexperte, SPD-Politiker und Querdenker in den eigenen Reihen über den "Zweiklassenstaat".

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/25/25511/1.html

Drowning in plastic: every bit of plastic ever made is still with us and it’s wreaking havoc on the ocean

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/issues/Issue.06-14-2007/cover/Article.cover_story/print


Informant: Teresa Binstock

The case of the disappearing Great Lake

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2007-06-13-lake-superior_N.htm


Informant: Teresa Binstock

Industry-friendly Democrats are trying to undo clean air regulations and the party's lead

Dems Who Lost Their Minds

by Frank O'Donnell, TomPaine.com
http://ga3.org/ct/Jd20pgF1zm-Z/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Frank+O'Donnell

Bush Shafts Enron Victims

by Robert L. Borosage, TomPaine.com

The SEC's right-wing solicitor general sides with fraud facilitators over the defrauded.
http://ga3.org/ct/J120pgF1zm-K/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Enron
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+L.+Borosage

Don't Let Congress Off the Hook

Send a message!
http://action.foe.org/dia/organizationsORG/foe/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=11897

The new Congress is trying to pass the buck on global warming and we can’t let them. As currently written, legislation now coming to the floor of the Senate contains provisions that would actually take us backwards.

At present, the Senate package contains: insufficient vehicle emissions standards with truck-sized loopholes to boot; biofuels provisions that rely on inefficient corn ethanol; language that would essentially overturn April's major environmental victory in the Supreme Court by stripping the EPA of important regulatory powers. It might also get amended to include incentives for liquid coal, even more filthy than gasoline.

We must take on congressional timidity and demand an end to half measures and industry favors. It's too late in the global warming crisis for this new Congress to let us down.

The Case Against Agent Orange and All Mutagenic Weapons

Willem Malten writes: "Agent Orange is an illustration of the horror of chemical warfare. Used as a chemical weapon, it inflicts damage genetically, through generations. The unborn and innocent are targeted. Most of those affected by Agent Orange were born long after the Vietnam War ended." Petronella Ytsma's photographs document descendants of Vietnamese exposed to Agent Orange.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061407N.shtml

--------

Researchers say new studies possible if 25-year Agent Orange study archive is saved
http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=1006277


Informant: Teresa Binstock



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Agent+Orange
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=chemical+warfare
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Willem+Malten

Former DOJ Lawyer Can't Recall Role in Controversial Policies

Another former Justice Department lawyer went before Congress on Wednesday with few answers for his Democratic interrogators and a spotty memory. Hans von Spakovsky, who's seeking a full six-year term on the Federal Election Commission, deflected questions about whether he undermined voting rights laws, saying, "I was not the decision-maker in the front office of the Civil Rights Division."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061407K.shtml

--------

Career DOJ Attorneys Beg to Differ with von Spakovsky Testimony

They assert in very specific detail, for example, that von Spakovsky's testimony conflicts with their own recollections and, in several instances, they note that von Spakovsky's testimony was factually wrong.

http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-136.html


From Information Clearing House



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

White House Subpoenas, and a Constitutional Showdown

Matt Renner reports: "Subpoenas issued Wednesday by Congress for testimony from former White House officials could lead to a constitutional crisis over the right of executive privilege. Experts in constitutional law believe that the Bush administration will not comply with the Congressional subpoenas and will force a showdown. If individuals do not comply with the subpoenas, a vote can be taken to hold them in contempt of Congress. The issue would then be sent to the Washington, DC Circuit Court, where the US attorney for the District of Colombia could prosecute the case before a grand jury."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061407J.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=subpoenas
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Matt+Renner

Protect Polar Bears From Trophy Hunters

Help needed now for polar bears
http://tinyurl.com/2v9d6l



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=polar+bears
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=trophy+hunter

Passport problems trap citizens in US

MSNBC
by Bob Sullivan

06/13/07

With so much fighting going on about people who want to get into the country, we didn’t realize how hard it is to get out. Chaos at the U.S. Passport office has left thousands of travelers stranded stateside, many of them holding useless airplane and cruise tickets — a situation one critic calls ‘reverse Ellis Island’...

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/06/passport_proble.html#posts


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Lockup knockdown

Reason
by Jacob Sullum

06/13/07

The PATRIOT Act, passed a month and a half after Al Qaeda’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, gave the attorney general the authority to detain aliens suspected of terrorism for up to seven days before charging them or seeking their deportation. But according to the Bush administration, this provision was unnecessary. By the administration’s account, the president already had the authority to detain not just aliens but citizens, not just for a week but for life, based on his own determination that they qualify as ‘enemy combatants.’ Rejecting this theory, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has struck a blow for due process and the rule of law, both of which are threatened by President Bush’s assertion of the king-like power to lock people up at his discretion and throw away the key...

http://www.reason.com/news/show/120703.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jacob+Sullum

Food before fuel

The American Spectator
by Iain Murray and William Yeatman

06/14/07

Feel like you’re getting squeezed by prices at the gas pump? Get ready to experience that same feeling at the grocery store. As ABC News reported recently, average food retail prices of across the United States have risen by 4 percent during the past year alone. Beleaguered American consumers must now pay record gas prices to get to the grocery store, where they again meet sticker shock. And who is to blame? Not grocery stores or food producers, but Congress. Food prices today are rising steeply because Congress decided to link the price of food with the price of oil. As a result, now whenever the price of oil increases, food prices follow. Worse still, Congress is currently contemplating further tightening this link. Let us explain...

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11581


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Bush’s European disaster

Salon
by Sidney Blumenthal

06/14/07

Bush’s procession through Europe was a pageant of contempt, disdain, delusion, provocation and vanity masquerading as a welcome respite from his troubles at home. In Albania he landed at last in a place where he was hailed as a conquering hero. His demolition derby of U.S. influence was presented as a series of bold moves, but it confirmed the fears of the other world leaders at the G8 summit (and elsewhere) that the rest of Bush’s presidency will be an erratic series of crashes. His performance ranged from King Nod, issuing proclamations oblivious to and even proud of their negative effect, to King Zog (the last king of Albania). No president has had a more disastrous European trip since President Reagan placed a wreath on the graves of SS officers in the Bitburg cemetery. Yet Reagan’s mistake was unintentional and symbolic, a temporary and superficial setback, doing no real damage to U.S. foreign relations, while Bush’s blunders not only reinforced counterproductive policies but also created a new one with Russia that has the potential of profoundly undermining U.S. national security interests for years to come...

http://tinyurl.com/2ulc2f


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sidney+Blumenthal

We cower in fear and trust government

http://tinyurl.com/36c7j3



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Steven+Greenhut


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

FBI finds it overstepped in collecting data

MSNBC

06/14/07

An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism. The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau’s national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI’s domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19215531/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Rights law applies to those held by British GIs

MSNBC

06/13/07

Britain’s highest court, the House of Lords, ruled Wednesday prisoners held by British troops are protected by European human rights law — a decision rights advocates said will force the military to be more accountable in questioning insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Lords upheld lower court rulings that human rights protections applied in the case of Baha Mousa, a hotel clerk who died after he was beaten in September 2003 while in British custody...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19212665/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Baha+Mousa

Legal Analysis of HR811 & Brennan Center Think-Tank Analysis of HR811

Two great articles were posted today about proposed federal election reform legislation (HR811) from Lawrence Norden of NYU Law School Brennan Center Think Tank and from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, both debunk some of the disinformation which has been unfortunately ubiquitously been spread on the Internet by opponents of HR811.

1. HR 811: Separating Truth From Fiction in E-voting Reform
June 13, 2007
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005308.php#005308

[Comments by David Dill re. the EFF article: This is generally a good essay, but the legal analysis, especially on NDA , deserves special attention. EFF is run by world class intellectual property lawyers, and has been involved in providing legal backup on NDAs for various source-code reviews. They know trade secret law. This article should put to rest the arguments that HR 811 somehow creates new trade secrets or otherwise makes voting machine software less accessible (of course, I know those claims will continue to be repeated incessantly as though they were established fact, but I hope that some of the people who see them will also see the EFF post).]

HR 811: Separating Truth From Fiction in E-voting Reform
June 13, 2007

After years of painstaking lobbying, e-mail and phone campaigns, congressional hearings, and committee markups and amendments, Rep. Rush Holt's Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act finally appears poised for a floor vote in the House of Representatives. With an impressive 216 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill has a real chance of passing. If signed into law, HR 811 would dramatically improve the electoral process in both the short and long term. While it would not solve the immense shortcomings in the current system, HR 811 would take a giant step towards returning much-needed transparency and accountability to the process.

Not unexpectedly, now that the bill has gained traction in the 110th Congress, critics have descended onto the bill with a fury, complaining that it is too weak or too strong, that its deadlines are too ambitious or too distant, that it takes too much autonomy away from the states or not enough.

HR 811 is not perfect. Few bills are. And honest debate about a matter as important as election integrity is always helpful to the process. However, much of the ostensibly pro-transparency criticism of HR 811 has sadly taken a detour away from being useful and descended into hyperbole, fear-mongering, and uninformed posturing. Returning to the substance of the bill and its actual consequences is long overdue.

What would HR 811 do? Among other things:

* Raise the floor, not a create a ceiling. The higher standards required by HR 811 would provide the beginning, not the end, of serious election reform. States wishing to, say, ban all electronic voting machines, impose stricter audit requirements, or force vendors to publicly disclose all of their source code will remain free to do so, as they are today. If HR 811 becomes law, however, states would not be permitted to lag behind in many important areas as so many do today.

* Require the generation of a voter-verified paper ballot. HR 811 would forbid in federal elections the use of direct recording electronic voting machines (DREs) that do not generate voter-verified paper ballots (VVPBs). See proposed Sec. 301(a)(2)(A)(i): "The voting system shall require the use of or produce an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be created by or made available for inspection and verification by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted." States wishing to impose additional requirements regarding what to do with VVPBs, such as a mandatory hand-count of all paper ballots, would be able to do so.

* Require manual audits of every federal election. HR 811 would not mandate (or forbid) the counting of VVPBs in all circumstances. Instead, HR 811 would require, for the first time in American history, across-the-board manual audits of federal elections. See proposed Sec. 321(a)(1): "[E]ach State shall administer, without advance notice to the precincts selected, audits of the results of elections for Federal office held in the State (and, at the option of the State or jurisdiction involved, of elections for State and local office held at the same time as such election) consisting of random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots ..." Specifically, HR 811 would require audits of 3-10% of all precincts in every federal election (see proposed Sec. 322), depending on the apparent margin of victory and except in the case of landslide victories. This would be a breathtaking and unprecedented achievement. By contrast, federal law currently contains no audit requirement at all. States believing that initialhand counts or more robust audit protocols are more appropriate for their voters would have every right to impose such requirements.

* Require the disclosure of voting system source code in limited circumstances. HR 811 would, for the first time under federal law, explicitly mandate the disclosure of voting system source code to certain "qualified persons," identified as (among others) parties to litigation and individuals who "review[], analyze[], or report[] on the technology solely for an academic, scientific, technological, or other investigation or inquiry concerning the accuracy or integrity of the technology." See proposed Sec. 301(a)(8)(C). Individuals seeking such access would, in some circumstances, be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Just as now, however, individuals who lawfully acquire voting system source code independent of the (non-exclusive) procedures set forth by HR 811 (see, for example, Avi Rubin's groundbreaking analysis of Diebold source code that was leaked onto the Internet) would be free to analyze the code accordingly. States wanting even greater transparency could mandate broader disclosure requirements (see proposed Sec. 301(a)(8)(B)(ii)(II)), including disposing of any non-disclosure requirement or even mandating the use of open source software. Moreover, vendors themselves could dispense with the non-disclosure agreement requirement, either by explicitly granting permission to share otherwise secret source code or by utilizing open source systems.

What would HR 811 not do? The misconceptions and misrepresentations are, unfortunately, widespread.

* "HR 811 doesn't ban all DREs." True, but misleading. DREs, paperless or otherwise, are already permitted under federal law. HR 811 would ban the use of paperless DREs in federal elections unless they are retrofitted with printers that generate voter-verifiable paper ballots. An outright ban on DREs may or may not be possible with this Congress, but it is irrelevant to whether or not this bill should pass. Rep. Holt's strategy -- to convince Congress of the need to improve transparency in U.S. elections, regardless of technology -- is a sound one, one that many volunteers have expended extraordinary efforts to bring to fruition and one that could be on the verge of succeeding. Nothing has prevented or currently prevents now-vocal critics who are calling for an outright DRE ban from going through the process of drafting the appropriate legislative proposal and then soliciting the necessary support for it. But attempting to derail or hijack HR 811 as a vehicle to ram through an unlikely-to-pass DRE ban unnecessarily risks the passage of other important substantive requirements. And once again, nothing in HR 811 prohibits states from limiting the use of DREs of any kind or banning them altogether.

* "HR 811 reinforces secret vote counting." False. On the contrary, HR
811, if passed, would begin to open up the process. Federal law already permits the use of paperless DREs. Only 27 states currently require the use of voter-verified paper ballots (or voter-verified audit trails), and only 13 of those require audits. The lack of robust federal requirements, and the failure of straggler states to implement restrictions of their own, has led to the widespread use of suspect voting equipment like DREs. If enacted, HR 811 would, for the first time, place real restrictions on the use of electronic voting equipment. Again, if states think that HR 811's requirements aren't robust enough, they can pass legislation of their own.

* "HR 811 prohibits the disclosure of voting system software." False. HR 811 would for the first time federally mandate the disclosure of election-specific source code. The disclosure provision that emerged from committee is certainly not as broad as it could be. Public disclosure is not required, as the original language of HR 811 demanded. Yet as discussed above, HR 811 would explicitly protect the right of access for certain reviewers who currently have no such such guaranteed right and who have been routinely denied access to any software in some of the many battles that EFF has fought in the courts and elsewhere since 2003. The software industry fought long and hard behind the scenes to scuttle any disclosure requirement. That the current disclosure language emerged from committee at all is a testament to the many individuals, organizations, and lawmakers dedicated to election integrity who stood up in support of the bill instead of trying to tear it down. Make no mistake: this disclosure requirement is simply one of many initial steps in a long struggle towards full transparency of elections. But it is a critically important step, nonetheless. And once again, states may mandate any kind of additional disclosure, including an open source requirement, that they wish.

* "HR 811 makes voting system source code a trade secret." False, and demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of trade secrecy law. HR 811 does not, in any way, "create" trade secrets or transform voting system source code into a trade secret. Information either meets trade secret criteria -- created by each individual state, and not the federal government -- or it doesn't. As EFF and others have repeatedly experienced, the lack of guaranteed access to this code due to trade secrecy claims has been a major impediment to litigation over voting system failures, like the ongoing litigation brought by voters in Sarasota County, Florida, for which EFF serves as co-counsel. Far from "creating" trade secrets, HR 811 actually limits the protections offered by state trade secrecy laws to voting system source code. For example, the bill identifies "trade secrets" as one of the categories of information, protected in some circumstances by a mandatory non-disclosure agreement, that must be disclosed to qualified individuals who would have the newly-created right to review the software. Absent HR 811, litigants (such as those involved in the ongoing Sarasota County litigation) and computer science experts interesting in testing system integrity would have no guarantee of obtaining access to the source code at all. Individuals who do not enter into the non-disclosure agreements discussed in HR 811 would not be affected, and efforts to obtain access to code by other means would proceed as they always have. Critics may desire greater access to this code, as would EFF, but assertions that the bill would somehow "make the source code a government-recognized trade secret" are disingenuous. And here too, states can decide to step in and limit or even rescind the protections offered by their own trade secrecy laws.

* "Source code reviewers could be sued if they make false claims about source code obtained via the disclosure requirements of HR 811." True, but misleading. Individuals who make damaging false claims about any product, voting system-related or otherwise, subject themselves to potential liability but also enjoy the protections of the First Amendment which generally allows for honestly mistaken claims but does not protect malicious intentional lying. HR 811 would not, and should not, protect individuals who knowingly lie. On the other hand, HR 811 would explicitly permit code reviewers to publicly report their findings: the NDA signed by code reviewers must "allow[] the signatory to perform analyses on the technology (including by executing the technology), disclose reports and analyses that describe operational issues pertaining to the technology (including vulnerabilities to tampering, errors, risks associated with use, failures as a result of use, and other problems), and describe or explain why or how a voting system failed or otherwise did not perform as intended." See proposed Sec. 301(a)(8)(D)(viii). HR 811 wouldn't change the First Amendment, nor could it. But the First Amendment doesn't ordinarily protect knowing misrepresentations and neither would HR 811.

* "Experts who sign NDAs will be prohibited from reviewing other voting technology in the future." False. HR 811 would specifically require otherwise: a legal NDA "does not prohibit a signatory from entering into other nondisclosure agreements to review other technologies under this paragraph ..." See proposed Sec. 301(a)(8)(D)(ii).

I could, unfortunately, go on.

Attempts by certain vendors and election officials to derail meaningful reform that would implicate their existing technology, or underscore the potentially high cost of replacing it, are understandable and expected. However, advocates of more open and transparent elections do themselves and the voters of this country a disservice by attempting to undermine, with claims about the bill that are plainly wrong, the passage of important legislation that would make real and important gains.

EFF strongly supports the passage of HR 811 and hopes that you will as well. Don't just take my word for it: read the bill for yourself and then make your own decision. If you don't think that HR 811 goes far enough, then push for passage of complementary legislation, either in Congress or with your own state legislatures. EFF will continue to support sensible legislative proposals that can build on the foundation of HR 811. But whatever you do, don't fall for the false choice offered in the breathless rhetoric of the "all or nothing" contingent. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And HR 811 is good.


2. The Campaign for Secure Elections
June 13, 2007 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-norden/the-campaign-for-secure-e_b_51986.html

Lawrence Norden, counsel in the Brennan Center for Justice Democracy Program and was the Chair of the Brennan Center Task Force on Voting System Security, writes in support of passing Rush Holt's bill.

Please read the legislation yourself if you have any questions about it. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h811rh.txt.pdf

As the presidential candidates' ramp up their campaigns, it's hard to resist asking, 'can't give us a break?' Didn't the last federal election cycle just end? Isn't November 2008 awfully far away?

Perhaps. But there is one campaign for all future federal elections that must begin in earnest immediately. And that is the campaign to make elections as secure and accurate as possible. After Florida's hanging chad debacle in 2000, voting irregularities in Ohio in 2004, and the mysterious loss of 18,000 votes in a House race in Sarasota in
2006, there is little room for another divisive national election marred by voting machine glitches.

The good news is that experts agree on what steps must be taken to make voting systems more secure and more reliable. In fact, the House of Representatives is about to vote on a bill introduced by Congressmen Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Tom Davis (R-VA) that would mandate many of these steps.

Most dramatically, the Holt-Davis bill would ban all paperless electronic voting in federal elections. By November 2008, all states would have to use voting systems that produce a voter verifiable paper record. In other words, voters would vote on systems that give them an opportunity to review or fill out a piece of paper that contains a record of their votes. Currently, voters in 18 states are denied that opportunity.

Just as importantly, Holt-Davis mandates random manual counts comparing the voter verified paper to the electronic tallies, in order to "check" the electronic count and ensure that programming errors, software bugs or other corrupt software did not cause the electronic voting machine to miscount federal election results. Only 13 states require this important security measure today.

The bill also bans the use of most wireless components on voting machines. Security experts have warned that wireless components can be particularly dangerous, because they can allow a member of the general public to send or receive signals from the voting machines from a distance -- potentially triggering attacks against the voting systems with a hand held device such as a Palm Pilot or other personal digital assistant. Only two states ban such components for all machines.

Finally, the bill would immediately end the practice whereby vendors pay and choose the testing labs that certify their machines. Voting integrity experts have long decried this system, which creates a serious conflict of interest for testing lab: pass a system or risk the loss of future business? Not surprisingly, this system has produced terrible results. The testing labs have certified many machines that had serious security defects, violated federal guidelines, and broke down on Election Day, losing thousands of votes. Under Rep. Holt's bill, the Election Assistance Commission will hold money for testing labs in escrow, and assign testing labs for machine certification at random.

None of these proposed changes should be controversial. Nevertheless, opposition to the bill has built in recent weeks.

Many election officials have complained that the bill's deadlines are unrealistic. They also fear that they may not receive adequate funding to make the needed changes. Fortunately, the most recent version of the Holt-Davis bill moves many of the deadlines to more realistic time frames (while still mandating an end to paperless electronic voting by November 2008). It also significantly increases federal funds to local jurisdictions to make equipment changes. Ultimately, the objections of some election officials are not reasons to oppose this critical bill. If need be, deadlines can be adjusted as the legislation moves forward, and appropriators can be held accountable if they fail to provide sufficient funds to get the job done.

Some have used these objections as an excuse to make sure Congress does not do anything to make voting systems more secure and accurate. Last week, Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) introduced the so-called "Voter Enhancement and Security Act of 2007," urging his fellow Republicans to vote for it instead of the bipartisan Holt-Davis bill. Unfortunately, Congressman Ehlers' bill does nothing to address the serious voting system security vulnerabilities experts have identified.

We cannot allow election integrity and security to become a partisan issue addressed with public relations messages instead of honest analysis of the risks and serious implementation of the solutions. Congress has an opportunity to act now. Voting system fiascos in each of the last several federal elections suggest that if it fails to do so, we will see more divisive Election Day debacles -- all too soon.


Lawrence Norden is the author of the just published The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World (Academy Chicago Press). He is a counsel in the Brennan Center for Justice Democracy Program and was the Chair of the Brennan Center Task Force on Voting System Security.


Kathy Dopp

The material expressed herein is the informed product of the author Kathy Dopp's fact-finding and investigative efforts. Dopp is a Mathematician, Expert in election audit mathematics and procedures; in exit poll discrepancy analysis; and can be reached at

P.O. Box 680192 Park City, UT 84068
phone 435-658-4657

http://utahcountvotes.org
http://kathydopp.com
http://electionmathematics.org
http://electionarchive.org

Election Audit Mathematics Bibliography http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/paper-audits/KathyDoppAuditMathBibliography.pdf

Support Clean Elections in 2008 http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/SupportCleanElectionsIn2008.pdf

Important Facts About The Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act (HR811) http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/FactsAboutHR811.pdf


"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day," wrote Thomas Jefferson in 1816



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=HR811
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kathy+Dopp

Combat Trauma Turns Top-Ranking Sergeant Into Mental Health Advocate

By the end of his tour in Iraq, Command Sergeant Major Thomas Adams was crushed by memories. Too many memorial services for dead soldiers. Too many visits to the wounded in hospital wards. Too many innocents - men, women and children - blown up by insurgent bombs or killed inadvertently by his Fort Lewis brigade. "What I'm telling you is that there's absolute carnage out there," Adams said. "We have to be ready for the trauma of today's battlefield."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/061307HA.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=combat+trauma

Stashing Seeds in "Noah's Fridge"

As US lawmakers haggle over how to handle human carbon emissions and avoid what's widely considered a climate catastrophe in the making, seed-banking projects have moved ahead with a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" approach. The worry - and the hurry - is that species may disappear tomorrow.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/061307EC.shtml

Proposal Would Cut Spotted Owl Habitat

The Bush administration Tuesday proposed cutting 1.5 million acres from Northwest forests considered critical to the survival of the northern spotted owl, reopening the 1990s battle between timber production and wildlife habitat on public lands.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/061307EB.shtml

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Plant trees, lots of them, you can never plant enough!
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/3515163/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spotted+owl

Transportation Department Intervened in California Emissions Waiver Request

The Transportation Department acknowledged Tuesday encouraging members of Congress to weigh in with the EPA on California's request to implement global warming controls on automakers.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/061307EA.shtml

Unauthorized Immigration

"It is normally expected that, when given an opportunity to speak, I will talk about campaign finance reform and, more specifically, about how the public financing of campaigns can cut the threads of the big-money puppet show," says Doris "Granny D" Haddock. "But today I would like to talk about unauthorized immigration, which has nothing to do with the big-money corruption of our political system, except for everything."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061307S.shtml



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

Congressman John Conyers: "Why I Issued Subpoenas"

Congressman John Conyers says: "Today, I issued subpoenas to former White House Counsel Harriett Miers to compel her to testify before the House Judiciary Committee and to provide documents related to our investigation. My counterpart in the Senate, Chairman Leahy, issued separate subpoenas to former Rove assistant Sara Taylor. I consider these subpoenas to be essential because the evidence our investigation has uncovered points to the pivotal role the White House played in the US attorney firings."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061307R.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Conyers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=subpoenas
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harriett+Miers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leahy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys

TÜV rückt mit Messgerät an

http://www.merkur-online.de/regionen/isarloisach/art2812,806471.html?fCMS=2a40082b6069f45526a03d3c162b1597

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Messpraxis bei Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/351965/

Bundeswehr beim G8-Gipfel

Bundeswehreinsatz: Tornado schoss im Tiefflug Bilder von G-8-Protestcamp

„Reddelich statt Afghanistan, Globalisierungskritiker statt Taliban: Tornados der Bundeswehr haben vor dem G-8-Treffen ein Lager von Gipfelgegnern ausgespäht. Ein Aufklärungs-Jet machte im Tiefflug Luftaufnahmen vom Camp in Reddelich. Verfassungswidrig, urteilt der Grünen-Innenexperte Ströbele…“ Artikel in Spiegel online vom 12. Juni 2007 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,488177,00.html


Schießbefehl gegen Deutsche – vielleicht schon morgen

„Kriegseifrig und sensationslüstern sprach die Bild-Zeitung vom „Kriegszustand“ und bezog sich auf die Ausschreitungen bei der Großdemo gegen den G8-Gipfel am 2.Juni 2007 in Rostock. Zwar gab es erhebliche Ausschreitungen – es wurden sogar Autos angezündet und es gab Hunderte von Verletzten – doch damit schon von einem „Kriegszustand“ zu sprechen, aber ist politische Manipulation und hat mit Presse nichts mehr gemein, denn eine Ausrufung des „Kriegszustandes“ im Innern Deutschlands zöge unweigerlich den Einsatz der Bundeswehr mit sich – mit allen schrecklichen Konsequenzen. Doch das Drängen der Springer-Presse auf eine Ausrufung des Kriegsrechts in Deutschland war wieder einmal unnötig; auch ohne „Kriegszustand“ war die Bundeswehr beim G8-Gipfel 2007 in Heiligendamm im Einsatz. Als im Grundgesetz festgelegte „Amtshilfe“ nannten es die Militärs. Doch wie weit geht diese „Amtshilfe“?...“ Artikel von Michael Schulze von Glaßer vom 13.6.07 bei Journalismus - Nachrichten von Heute http://oraclesyndicate.twoday.net/stories/3830515/


Unzitat zum Thema:

"eine Win-Win-Situation für die Polizei und für uns"

Der Sprecher von Verteidigungsminister Franz Josef Jung (CDU), zitiert in: „G-8-Tornado-Einsatz als Übung“, Artikel in net-tribune vom 14. Juni 2007 http://www.net-tribune.de/article/140607-57.php


Deutsche Waffen sind begehrt

„Die Kriegsführung der USA im Irak und in Afghanistan hat die weltweiten Rüstungsausgaben auf ein neues Rekordhoch getrieben. Sie erreichten im vergangenen Jahr nach Schätzungen des Stockholmer Friedensforschungsinstituts Sipri mehr als 1,2 Billionen US-Dollar (900 Milliarden Euro). Deutschland ist an dem Geschäft heftig beteiligt: Hinter den USA und Russland war es der drittgrößte Exporteur von Militärmaterial. Die Bundesrepublik steigerte die Exporte in einem Jahr von 1,5 auf 3,8 Milliarden Dollar und überflügelte damit Frankreich…“ Artikel von Hannes Gamillscheg in der Frankfurter Rundschau vom 12.06.2007 http://fr-aktuell.de/in_und_ausland/politik/aktuell/?sid=7c17cfcd41e46c853dbe5c303b5d6bfc&em_cnt=1152568

Siehe dazu auch:

SIPRI Yearbook 2007 - Armaments, Disarmament and International Security

Auf der Sonderseite zum Sipri-Jahrbuch (englisch) gibt es weitere Informationen und eine Zusammenfassung der einzelnen Kapitel. http://yearbook2007.sipri.org/


Aus: LabourNet, 14. Juni 2007

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Staatsrechtler hält G8-"Tornado"-Einsatz für bedenklich

Der Staatsrechtler Ulrich Battis hat den Einsatz von "Tornado"-Aufklärungsflugzeugen der Bundeswehr zur Absicherung des G8-Gipfels von Heiligendamm kritisiert und verfassungsrechtliche Bedenken geäußert. Das sei nicht nur "politisch dumm oder instinktlos", sagte der Professor an der Berliner Humboldt-Universität der "Netzeitung". Seines Erachtens seien auch die verfassungsrechtlichen Grenzen überschritten. So seien "schon ein paar Klimmzüge nötig", um den "Tornado"-Einsatz als Amtshilfe unter Verweis auf Grundgesetzartikel 35 zu rechtfertigen. Dieser erlaubt Amtshilfe der Bundeswehr bei Naturkatastrophen oder schweren Unglücksfällen.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16136

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Geplant und gezielt

Innenausschuß des Bundestages erörterte G-8-Gipfel. Tornado-Einsatz schon im Mai 2006 genehmigt. Koalition ist »zu 98 Prozent« zufrieden. Grüne hätten gern mehr Polizeigewalt. Artikel von René Schulz in der jungen Welt vom 21.06.2007 http://www.jungewelt.de/2007/06-21/038.php


Jung verteidigt Tornado-Tiefflug über Protestcamp

„Weniger als 150 Meter war ein Bundeswehr-Tornado vor dem G-8-Gipfel über die Köpfe der Globalisierungskritiker hinweggerast - ein Verstoß gegen die Mindestflughöhe. Von einer Provokation will Verteidigungsminister Jung allerdings nichts wissen. Schuld sei das Wetter gewesen…“ Artikel in Spiegel-Online vom 20.06.2007 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,489605,00.html


Aus: LabourNet, 21. Juni 2007

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Kritik an "Tornado"-Tiefflügen und Panzereinsatz beim G8-Gipfel

Die Kritik am G8-Einsatz der Bundeswehr hält auch Wochen nach dem Gipfeltreffen der Staatschefs in Heiligendamm an. Zum Unverständnis über die "Tornado"-Aufklärungsflüge kommt nun auch Unmut wegen der bekannt gewordenen Mission der Spähpanzer vom Typ "Fennek" hinzu. Während im Tiefflug Camps der Gipfelgegner und mögliche Barrikaden auf den Straßen ausspioniert worden sein sollen, haben die Panzer offenbar ein Genmaisfeld bewacht und anreisende Gipfelteilnehmer auf der Autobahn unter die Lupe genommen. Innen- und Verteidigungsausschuss konnten nach Ansicht von SPD, FDP und Linken hier bislang kein Licht ins Dunkel bringen.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16191

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"Tornado"-Flüge: "Bild" widerspricht Darstellung des Verteidigungsministeriums

Die Aufklärungsflüge von "Tornado"-Jets der Bundeswehr über ein Zeltlager von Gegnern des G8-Gipfels in Heiligendamm sorgen weiter für Aufregung. Wie die "Bild"-Zeitung berichtet, hat das Verteidigungsministerium nur zwei der sieben Aufklärungsflüge genehmigt. Die Zeitung widerspricht der Darstellung des Verteidigungsministeriums, die Tiefflüge seien wegen des Wetters notwendig gewesen.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16196

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High-Tech gegen Linke

Bundeswehreinsatz gegen G-8-Gegner weitet sich zum Verfassungsskandal aus. Nach Bekanntwerden neuer Details fordern Linksfraktion und Grüne weitere Aufklärung Artikel von René Schulz der jungen Welt vom 23.06.2007 http://www.jungewelt.de/2007/06-23/037.php


Aus: LabourNet, 25. Juni 2007

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Bundeswehr beim G8-Treffen in Heiligendamm

In der Luft, auf See und zu Land - Militär-Hilfe "auf Teufel komm raus". Wüstenfüchse, Tornados und ALADIN beim G8 in Heiligendamm

„Zusammengenommen widersprechen die Berichte über die tatsächlich während des G8-Gipfels durchgeführten Einsätze der Bundeswehr zu Land, auf See und in der Luft diametral dem, was die Bundesregierung im Vorfeld hat Glauben machen wollen. Denn fest steht bereits zum jetzigen Erkenntnisstand, dass die Zusammenarbeit der Bundeswehr mit der Polizei wesentlich weiter ging, als dies bei früheren Einsätzen der Fall war. Die grundgesetzliche Trennung von Polizei und Bundeswehr wird in eklatanter Weise aufgeweicht, wenn beispielsweise Bundeswehrsoldaten zur Verkehrsüberwachung eingesetzt werden…“ Artikel von Johannes Plotzki als IMI-Analyse 2007/024 http://www.imi-online.de/2007.php3?id=1593


Aus: LabourNet, 2. Juli 2007

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Bundestag debattiert über Militäreinsatz beim G8-Gipfel
http://linkszeitung.de/content/view/125324/42/

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"Tornado"-Tiefflüge und "Phantom"-Einsatz bei G8-Gipfel

Verteidigungsminister Franz Josef Jung (CDU) wird nach Einschätzung von Abgeordneten am 4. Juli im Verteidigungsausschuss des Bundestages wegen der Hilfe der Bundeswehr beim G8-Gipfel in Heiligendamm unter Druck geraten. Die Tiefflüge von "Tornado"-Aufklärungsflugzeugen über Demonstranten Anfang Juni hatten bei der Opposition und in der Öffentlichkeit für viel Wirbel gesorgt. Beim parlamentarischen Nachspiel "wird es jetzt noch höher hergehen", war am 2. Juli aus Parlamentskreisen zu hören. Jung werde "sehen müssen, wie er aus der Bredouille ohne erhebliche Kratzer wieder herauskommt", erklärte ein parlamentarischer Wehrexperte. Laut einem Bericht des Verteidigungsministeriums kamen zur Absicherung des Luftraumes auch vier Eurofighter und acht "Phantom"-Flugzeuge zum Einsatz. Dabei seien insgesamt 23 Flugstunden erbracht worden. Jung hatte offiziell zwei "Tornado"-Tiefflüge genehmigt. Die Luftwaffe flog ungenehmigt offenbar fünf weitere "Missionen".

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16260

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Bundeswehr beim G8-Treffen in Heiligendamm

Jung gerät wegen G8-Einsatz in Bedrängnis

„Der Luftwaffeneinsatz zur Sicherung des G8-Gipfels war wesentlich umfangreicher, als das Verteidigungsministerium bisher zugegeben hat. Neben den zwei "Tornados" waren zwölf weitere Maschinen im Einsatz rund um Heiligendamm. Das geht aus dem Bericht des Verteidigungsministeriums hervor, der an diesem Mittwoch im Verteidigungsausschuss des Bundestages behandelt werden soll. In dem 30 Seiten starken Bericht heißt es, dass die Luftwaffenmission zur Sicherung des Gipfels der wichtigsten Wirtschaftsnationen Anfang Juni weit umfangreicher war als bisher offiziell bekannt gegeben…“ Artikel in der Financial Times Deutschland vom 03.07.2007 http://www.ftd.de/politik/deutschland/:Jung%20G8%20Einsatz%20Bedr%E4ngnis/221407.html

Zitat zum Thema

„Tornadoeinsatz Berlin: Die Bundesregierung versichert ausdrücklich, daß für die Demonstranten in Heiligendamm wegen des Tornadoeinsatzes während des G8-Gipfels zu keinem Zeitpunkt Gefahr bestanden hat. Die Bombardierung mit Luft-Boden-Raketen durch die US-Army, die üblicherweise unmittelbar nach einem solchen Einsatz erfolgt, ist bedauerlicherweise nicht zustande gekommen, weil die US-Army noch in Afghanistan beschäftigt ist.“ Aus: Deutscher Einheit(z)-Textdienst von Werner Lutz 7/07


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Juli 2007

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Tornadoeinsatz auf dem kleinen Dienstweg

Bundesverteidigungsminister Jung durch Einsatz von Tornados während des G8-Gipfels in Bedrängnis.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/25/25640/1.html

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Bundeswehr beim G8-Treffen in Heiligendamm

Zäher Fluss der Erinnerungen

„Die Bundeswehr hat den G-8-Gipfel in Heiligendamm offenbar zu einer umfassenderen Demonstration ihrer Kooperationsfähigkeit mit der Polizei genutzt, als zumindest der Innenminister und der Verteidigungsminister bis vor kurzem wussten. Nur ein Teil dessen, was während des G-8-Gipfels von der Bundeswehr an Amtshilfe geleistet wurde, war dem Verteidigungsministerium nach eigenen Angaben von Anfang an bekannt. Das Innenministerium wundert sich schon etwas länger über das Ausmaß der Heiligendamm-Kooperation zwischen Polizei und Bundeswehr….“ Artikel von Peter Carstens in der FAZ vom 05. Juli 2007 http://www.faz.net/s/RubB7E0CF91D9254577977C135923EC46FF/Doc~E875D641F4CE2445394C599D2E8255CAA~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html


Verfassung im Tiefflug

Regierungsbericht über Bundeswehreinsatz zum G-8-Gipfel vorgelegt. »Tornado«-Bilder möglicherweise doch geeignet zur Personenerkennung. Artikel von René Schulz in junge Welt vom 5.7.07 http://www.jungewelt.de/2007/07-05/025.php


Aus: LabourNet, 9. Juli 2007

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Bundeswehr gegen Demonstranten
http://www.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/0/0,1872,5565408,00.html

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Der Soldat, dein Freund und Helfer

Nach wie vor ist unklar, wer die Tornados der Bundeswehr zum Teil im äußersten Tiefflug über die Camps der G8-Gegner in Heiligendamm schickte. Sicher ist jedoch der Trend zum Einsatz der Bundeswehr im Innern. Artikel von Carsten Schnober in der Jungle World vom 2. August 2007 http://jungle-world.com/seiten/2007/31/10342.php


Aus: LabourNet, 1. August 2007



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=G8
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bundeswehr
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Heiligendamm
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tornados

Geknebelt, abgeschoben, erstickt

„Ein Nigerianer stirbt qualvoll, während er nach Jahren illegalen
Aufenthalts in Spanien auf einem Linienflug in seine Heimat deportiert
wird. Er war bei der Abschiebung geknebelt und gefesselt, um ihn saßen
vier Polizisten. Deren Befund: Selbstmord…“ Artikel von Reiner Wandler in der taz vom 13.6.07
http://www.taz.de/dx/2007/06/13/a0119.1/text


Demo vom Bundesinnenministerium zum Bundestag wg. Verschärfungen des Zuwanderungsgesetzes

Heute, 14.6.07 ab 16:30 Uhr: Kundgebung vor dem Bundesinnenministerium, Alt Moabit 101, U-Bahn Turmstrasse mit anschließender Demo zum Deutschen Bundestag anlässlich der für Donnerstag Mittag vorgesehenen endgültigen Beschlussfassung des Bundestages über die Verschärfungen des Zuwanderungsgesetzes. Der genaue Endpunkt der Demo hängt von der polizeilichen Genehmigung ab und wird vor Ort bekannt gegeben. Siehe Aufruf und weitere Infos beim Bleiberechtsbüro http://demos.bleiberechtsbuero.de/


Aus: LabourNet, 14. Juni 2007



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Asylrecht
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Zuwanderungsgesetz
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Festung+EU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bootsflüchtlinge

Grundrechte-Report 2007: Zur Lage der Bürger- und Menschenrechte in Deutschland

Der diesjährige Report - hrsg. von Till Müller-Heidelberg, Ulrich Finckh, Elke Steven, Moritz Assall, Jürgen Micksch, Wolfgang Kaleck, Martin Kutscha, Rolf Gössner und Ulrich Engelfried - ist im Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, im Juni 2007 erschienen (ISBN
978-3-596-17504-8, 248 Seiten, 9.95 €). Siehe dazu:

Inhaltsverzeichnis und Bestellmöglichkeit bei der Humanistischen Union http://www.humanistische-union.de/aktuelles/publikationen/publikationen_detail/back/publikationen-1/article/grundrechte-report-2007/

Bürgerrechtsorganisationen kritisieren Mißachtung höchstrichterlicher Urteile

Pressemitteilung vom 21.05.07 zum Erscheinen des Reports bei der Humanistischen Union http://www.humanistische-union.de/aktuelles/publikationen/publikationen_detail/back/publikationen-1/article/buergerrechtsorganisationen-kritisieren-missachtung-hoechstrichterlicher-urteile/

Das Vorwort (pdf) exklusiv im LabourNet Germany http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/grundrechte/grr07_vorwort.pdf


Hausrecht als Metagrundrecht? Wie die Privatisierung öffentlichen Raums die Grundrechte aushöhlt

„Dass die Privatisierung öffentlichen Raums nicht zu Lasten der Grundrechte gehen darf, stellt eine immer wieder geäußerte Kritik an den Folgen der Privatisierung dar. Die Tendenz, öffentlichen Kommunikationsraum in private Hand zu geben, führt zu einem grundrechtlichen Fundamentalproblem: Wie sind die Grundrechte zu schützen, wenn die Beeinträchtigungen nicht von staatlicher Hoheitsgewalt, sondern von dem Verhalten privater Betreiber öffentlicher Räume ausgehen? Macht es einen Unterschied, ob Flugblätter in einer städtischen Fußgängerzone oder auf einer privat betriebenen Konsummeile verteilt werden?...“ Artikel von Andreas Fischer-Lescano (pdf) aus dem Report (S. 149-153) exklusiv im LabourNet Germany http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/grundrechte/grr07_hausrecht.pdf

(Der Beitrag wird gespiegelt in unserer Rubrik „Diskussion > Wipo > GATS, Privatisierung und Gegenkämpfe“)


Missachtung höchstrichterlicher Urteile. Grundrechte-Report 2007 ist erschienen

„Staatliche Überwachung, Übergriffe und Ungleichbehandlung sorgen weiter für eine deutliche Kluft zwischen den Ansprüchen des Grundgesetzes und der Realität der Achtung der Grundrechte in Deutschland. Das ist das Fazit des Grundrechte-Reports 2007, den Bundesverfassungsrichter a. D. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kühling sowie die Herausgeber in Karlsruhe vorstellten…“ Rezension von Christel Mertens in Neue Rheinische Zeitung - Online - die Nr. 97 vom 30.5.07 http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=10985


Aus: LabourNet, 14. Juni 2007



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

Phone mast rent signals profits

By Kate Martin

MOBILE phone masts are netting Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council more than £10,000 a year.

In response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by The Gazette, the council revealed it collected £10,260 in rent during 2006 from mobile phone companies that have erected masts on sites across the borough.

But the council's legal experts refused to say how much money each individual site makes because the figures are "commercially sensitive" - despite Hampshire County Council agreeing to release similar information about its own rental income from phone masts.

Figures from the borough council show it made £3,664 a year from a single lease in 2002 to 2004, and this sum increased to £10,260 a year in 2005 and 2006 when four new leases began alongside the original agreement.

Three of the leases run for 10 years and two run for 15 years. This includes a lease on a site at Manydown. Although the farmland is jointly owned by the borough council and the county council, the rent is collected solely by the borough.

When The Gazette asked how much money the council makes from individual sites, the council refused to answer the question.

Joanna Williams, from the council's legal and democratic services, said: "Disclosure of all, or part, of this information would prejudice the council's commercial interests and potentially its lessee partners by association.

"It is in the public interest to protect the council's position as a commercial landowner and maintain its competitive character, thus helping to secure income and enabling the council to use such income for the benefit of the borough's residents and communities."

Hampshire County Council collects rent from just one site in Basingstoke and Deane, at Aldworth Science College in Basingstoke. The site currently generates a rental income of £8,750 a year.

Local mast campaigner Simon Preedy said he would prefer to see mobile phone operators pay local authorities a higher rent for the masts.

He told The Gazette: "Extra money could then be set aside for independent research into the non-thermal pulsed microwave emissions that many are concerned about - emissions that our Government doesn't take into account - as opposed to research funded and sponsored by the telecoms industry, which may be biased."

© Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisisbasingstoke.co.uk/display.var.1470526.0.phone_mast_rent_signals_profits.php

Projects of Law

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/projects_of_law.htm

World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists

Scientists challenge major review of global reserves and warn that supplies will start to run out in four years' time.

http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2656034.ece


Informant: NHNE



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

Integrationsfeindlich und repressiv

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

14. Juni 2007

Zur heute anstehenden Verabschiedung der Novelle des Aufenthaltsgesetzes erklärt die stellvertretende Vorsitzende der Linkspartei.PDS Katina Schubert:

Es ist schon befremdlich, wenn sich die Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz mit dem Nationalen Integrationsplan beschäftigt, und gleichzeitig die große Koalition im Bundestag die Novelle des Aufenthaltsgesetzes mit massiven Verschärfungen beschließt. Die Einschränkungen des Familiennachzugs, verschärfte Einbürgerungsbedingungen gerade für junge Menschen, die unzureichende Bleiberechtsregelung vor allem für Ältere und Kranke sind integrationsfeindlich, stigmatisierend und gemeinsam mit Plänen von Innenminister Schäuble, weitere Daten und Lichtbilder von MigrantInnen im Ausländerzentralregister zu speichern, rassistisch. Bundeskanzlerin Merkel kann sich alle Integrationsgipfel schenken, wenn die Politik ihrer Bundesregierung tatsächlich auf Ausgrenzung und Diskriminierung zielt.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=35920

Former Fed official: One of four U.S. jobs headed overseas

Blinder, now an economics professor at Princeton University, told the House Science and Technology Committee that American jobs in science, technology and engineering are most vulnerable to offshoring.

http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199903533


From Information Clearing House



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

Housing Foreclosures Jumped 90% in May From Year Ago

U.S. home foreclosures in May jumped 90% from a year earlier, reflecting a poor spring housing market and foreshadowing even higher levels later in 2007, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Tuesday.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/19193611


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreclosures
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=real+estate

U.S. Brings Bombers To Base In Bulgaria

The US brought B-2 Stealth bombers to the military bases in Bulgaria, getting ready for an eventual attack on Iran, Sunday Herald reported.

http://tinyurl.com/yvuzbn


From Information Clearing House

Broken Lives and Broken Hearts - Collateral genocide

With the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq in its fifth year, one leading study estimates that more than 655,000 Iraqis have been killed -- with no end to the violence yet in sight. Left behind are loved ones who continue to mourn their loss, as well as what might have been.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38065



Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3513
http://icasualties.org/oif/

The War in Iraq Costs
$434,237,842,266

See the cost in your community
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182



Mike Ferner: Collateral genocide

Of course our government didn't intend to commit genocide, it just sort of happened. The Iraqis kept getting in the way while we were trying to complete the mission. Mistakes were made as we were building democracy, but surely no genocide was intended.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2072.shtml


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Ferner

Iraqis Are Failing to Meet U.S. Benchmarks

Iraq's political leaders have failed to reach agreements on nearly every law that the Americans have demanded as benchmarks, despite heavy pressure from Congress.

http://tinyurl.com/yqhcbf


From Information Clearing House

Have they no shame? US Democrats preview new Iraq "showdown"

Anti-war Senate Democrats, admitted they had erred by making supporters think they could end the war.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070612/ts_alt_afp/usiraqpolitics


From Information Clearing House

The Truth Comes Out About Offshoring

By Paul Craig Roberts

On January 6, 2004, Senator Charles Schumer (D, NY) and I scandalized the economics profession and Washington policymakers with our New York Times article, "Second Thoughts on Free Trade." We noted that the two conditions on which the case for free trade rests no longer exist in the present-day world and that there was no basis for the assumption that offshoring of US jobs was beneficial overall to Americans.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17870.htm



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

In Latin America, populist movements are rising up against western intervention

The Cry Of The Invisible

By John Pilger

It is the story of the people I first saw 40 years ago; but they are no longer invisible; they are a mighty political movement, reclaiming noble concepts distorted by corporatism and they are defending the most basic human rights in a war being waged against all of us.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17874.htm



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

Of Neocons and the Enemy Within

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17869.htm



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

For Democracy, We Must Consider Impeachment

By Midge Miller

The United States democracy is in a struggle for its life. A growing number of writers, generals and other opinion leaders are speaking up to inform and encourage an inattentive public to understand and to make a stand to protect our nation from enemies within and without.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17872.htm



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

How the Neocons Misread Machiavelli

By Firmin DeBrabander

While the Neo-Cons now assert that we must stubbornly remain in Iraq for many, many years to come, Machiavelli would most certainly call the troops home. For, this faltering campaign--coupled with the growing disaster in Afghanistan--offends his principles gravely.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17868.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Machiavelli
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neocons
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Firmin+DeBrabander

Troop Support: Deceptions and Insipid Sentiments

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17873.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Brian+Cloughley

Sgt. Kevin Benderman: Responsibility

I was trained and trained well to sacrifice myself to war and I was also training others to make the same sacrifice. But what is it all for? Money for the power elite? A chance to prove my manhood? No, in the end all you get if you kill someone is a dead human being, or you are dead. That is all there is. There is no glory. There is no honor.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17876.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kevin+Benderman

High on Hate?

By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich & Nader Bagherzadeh

Left without a pretext for a military assault on Iran, the Bush administration finds itself in a position where it needs to prepare the world opinion for mass genocide with a compelling reason. With its control over the media, it is accomplishing this by denouncing Iran as the killer of American troops while causing civil unrest in Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17877.htm



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

The Siege of Baghdad

By Glenn David Cox

A new and perhaps last chapter has begun, new in the names and places but as old as war itself. The military is well aware of the coming checkmate and are fired for their candor in saying so only the media and the madman soldier on. Fighting on not to achieve victory or even to forestall defeat but to sacrifice the blood of innocents on all sides but to preserve protect and defend the fragile ego of the leader.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17871.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Glenn+David+Cox

US military prepared for 'worst' with China

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070614/wl_asia_afp/uschinamilitary


Informant: Kev Hall

SAVE OUR PLANET - ACT TODAY

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