Montag, 27. August 2007

For the last quarter century, corporate America has been at war against the labor movement

The Right to Unionize: Key to Democracy

Writing for Truthout, Dean Baker says, "For the last quarter century, corporate America has been at war against the labor movement. After a long period in which unions were an accepted part of the economic and political landscape, most corporations adopted a much more hostile attitude toward unions. Where unions already were present, employers sought to weaken or break them. In workplaces without unions, employers were prepared to do whatever was necessary to prevent workers from organizing."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/082707LA.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dean+Baker

Lobbyists Hired to Press Maliki, Former Premier Says

Walter Pincus reports for The Washington Post, "Former interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi, who is trying to put together a new coalition to replace the current Baghdad government headed by Nouri al-Maliki, said yesterday that a powerful Washington lobbying firm is working on his behalf, funded by an Iraqi whom he cannot identify."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707C.shtml

--------

All The Makings of A US-Allawi Coup
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/28/3454



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Allawi
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Maliki
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Walter+Pincus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Arianna+Huffington

Bush Gets Away With Lies

Larry Beinhart writes for Alternet, "George Bush and other Iraq War supporters have argued that if we withdraw from Iraq the result will be like the killing fields of Cambodia - an odd comparison considering that the US has direct responsibility for that holocaust."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707B.shtml



Iraqi Insurgents Taking Cut of US Rebuilding Money

Hannah Allam reports for McClatchy Newspapers, "Iraq's deadly insurgent groups have financed their war against US troops in part with hundreds of thousands of dollars in US rebuilding funds that they've extorted from Iraqi contractors in Anbar province."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707A.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=contractors
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Larry+Beinhart

Auf regulären Arbeitsplätzen: "Hartz IV"-Empfänger sollen teilweise zu kostenloser Arbeit gezwungen werden

Arbeitslosengeld-II-Empfänger werden nach Recherchen des ARD-Magazins "Report Mainz" im Rahmen von Praktika zu kostenloser Arbeit gezwungen. Der Sender berichtete am 27. August, die Betroffenen müssten unter Androhung einer Kürzung ihrer Bezüge oft monatelang auf regulären Arbeitsplätzen arbeiten, ohne dafür zusätzlich entlohnt zu werden.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16463

--------

"Lohnwucher" auf dem Arbeitsamt

Hartz IV-Empfänger werden von Arbeitsverwaltung zu kostenloser Arbeit gezwungen. ver.di Chef Bsirske: „absoluter Skandal“

„Empfänger von Arbeitslosengeld II werden nach Recherchen von REPORT MAINZ im Rahmen von Praktika zu kostenloser Arbeit gezwungen. Bezieher von ALG II müssten unter Androhung einer Kürzung ihrer Bezüge oft sogar monatelang auf regulären Arbeitsplätzen arbeiten ohne dafür zusätzlich entlohnt zu werden. Das berichtet das ARD Politikmagazin in seiner Sendung am Montag, 27.08.07…“ Presseinformation des SWR vom 27. August 2007 http://www.swr.de/report/presse/-/id=1197424/nid=1197424/did=2518534/wk7b9y/index.html

Siehe dazu:

Unentgeltliche Arbeit ist nicht zumutbar

„Unentgeltliche Arbeit ist nicht zumutbar, dass urteilte das SG in Aachen in seiner Sitzung vom 22.03.2007 - S 9 AS 32/07 ER . Demnach sind Sanktion seitens des Sozialhilfeträgers rechtswidrig, welche dem Hilfebedürftigen wegen Abbruch eines Praktikums, mit 30 % Senkung der ALG II Leistungen auferlegt wurde. In der Urteilsbegründung wurde ausgeführt, dass eine Einarbeitung zwar im Rahmen eines Probearbeitsverhältnisses (Arbeitsvertrag mit Probezeit) oder einer befristeten Beschäftigung stattfinden kann, aber dann auch zu entlohnen ist. Eine unentgeltliche Arbeit ist daher als nicht zumutbar anzusehen…“ das ganze Urteil (SG Aachen S 9 AS 32/07 ER vom 22.03.2007) im Sozialticker-Forum http://www.sozialticker.com/forum/ftopic6931.html


Aus: LabourNet, 28. August 2007

--------

Null-Euro Jobber: Wie Hartz IV-Empfänger zu kostenloser Arbeit gezwungen werden

Die Report-Sendung vom 27.08.2007 von Thomas Dauser und Beate Klein ist nun online verfügbar:

Text http://www.swr.de/report/-/id=233454/nid=233454/did=2478130/lw30hp/index.html

Video (RealVideo (7:15 min)) http://www.swr.de/report/-/id=233454/did=2522488/pv=mplayer/vv=big/nid=233454/w5wn3u/index.html


Skandal um ALG-II-Praktika: Bsirske fordert Bundesregierung und BA zum Handeln auf

„Im Skandal um den unbezahlten Einsatz von Arbeitslosengeld-II-Beziehern als Praktikanten fordert der Vorsitzende der Vereinten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di), Frank Bsirske, die Bundesregierung auf, den rechtswidrigen Praktiken umgehend entgegenzutreten…“ ver.di-Pressemitteilung vom 28.08.2007 http://presse.verdi.de/pressemitteilungen/showNews?id=4b77e8e6-5564-11dc-77be-0019b9e321cd


Auf in die Sofort-Maßnahme!

„Kostenlose Firmenpraktikas erfüllen grundsätzlich den Tatbestand des Lohnwuchers nach § 138 BGB und § 291 StGB und sind grundsätzlich zu verbieten und zu verfolgen. Erst recht sollte man die Arbeitsagenturen und ARGEn an den juristischen Kanthaken nehmen, wenn sie kostenlose Firmenpraktikas unter nötigender Anwendung von Eingliederungsvereinbarungen und Androhung von Sperrzeiten durchpeitschen wollen…“ Kommentar von Joachim Kühnel bei Chefduzen.de http://www.chefduzen.de/thread.php?postid=82849#post82849


Aus: LabourNet, 30. August 2007

DECT-Schnurlos-Telefone und WLAN

„Die zunehmende Strahlenbelastung durch WLAN – Funksignale gibt keinen Anlass zur Sorge“, schreibt die Stuttgarter Zeitung am 8.8.2007. Da diese DECT – Schnurlostelefone und WLAN fast in jedem Büro und Haushalt vorhanden sind, und – weil sie auf derselben gefährlichen Technik wie der Mobilfunk basieren - bietet die Homepage eine gründliche Zusammenstellung von Dokumenten und Untersuchungen. Gegen DECT und WLAN kann sich jeder selbst und seine Kinder schützen. Nach einem Briefwechsel mit der Stuttgarter Zeitung stellen wir eine eigene ausführliche Analyse dazu auf die Homepage:

„Die Medienberichterstattung über die Strahlungsbelastung durch WLAN und DECT - Telefone verharmlost die Gesundheitsgefährdung. Eine ausführlicher Kommentar zum Artikel der Stuttgarter vom 8.8.2007 und der Verharmlosungskampagne des IZMF.“

Sie werden nach der Faktenrecherche in dieser Analyse erstaunt sein, wie hoch die hausgemachte Strahlung sein kann. Zeit, sich mit der Selbstgefährdung zu beschäftigen.

http://www.der-mast-muss-weg.de/016dectWLAN01.htm


Aus: Kurzmitteilung Nr.11 : Mobilfunkbürgerinitiative Stuttgart West



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dect-Telefone
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=WLAN
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=WLAN

MEG brain test identifies six disorders (100% accuracy)

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

As Alps Warm, Ice Melts and Mountains Crumble

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13935545


Informant: Teresa Binstock

The Fear of Terrorism

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/27/3436/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=fear+of+terrorism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sean+Gonsalves

How the Bush Administration Is Turning the USA into a Subprime Borrower

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/27/3433



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Heather+Wokusch

Gonzales Goes But Investigation Must Continue

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/27/3440

--------

Reid: "Gonzales Investigations Will Continue"

Tom Hamburger and Josh Meyer, of the Los Angeles Times, report: "Most former attorneys general retire into relative obscurity, but as Alberto Gonzales closes the door on his Washington career, he leaves a legacy that will endure well into the future: a Justice Department mired in congressional inquiries about the firing of US attorneys and legal challenges to his policies on presidential power, torture and domestic spying. 'This resignation is not the end of the story,' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement today forecasting congressional intent to probe deep into what Gonzales will leave behind. 'Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House.'"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082807L.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gonzales
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harry+Reid
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=John+Nichols

Protest To Meet Bush At Legion meeting

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/27/3443/

Mit Kohle und Biosprit ins Treibhaus

Das Bundeskabinett hat auf seiner Klausur in Meseberg ein Grundsatzpapier über die Klima- und Energiepolitik verabschiedet.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/26/26046/1.html



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

Is 'Productivity Miracle' Ending?

by Jared Bernstein, TPM Cafe

There are troubling signs that even rougher times are ahead for the economy.
http://ga3.org/ct/Y720pgF14RK7/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jared+Bernstein

Bush's Vietnam Illiteracy

by Larry Beinhart, AlterNet

Bush's use of the Cambodian genocide to justify staying in Iraq ignores key facts.
http://ga3.org/ct/Td20pgF14RKm/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Larry+Beinhart

Katrina's lessons must not be forgotten

Shouting Underwater

by Walter Mosley, The Nation

Katrina's lessons must not be forgotten: We are all victims of a failed government.
http://ga3.org/ct/Yd20pgF14RKI/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Katrina
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Walter+Mosley

Pentagon Official Is Under Investigation

Molly Hennessy-Fiske, of the Los Angeles Times, reports "a Bush political appointee and former Silicon Valley executive who has faced opposition in his bid to bail out Iraq's struggling factories is under investigation by the Defense Department on mismanagement allegations. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Paul A. Brinkley, who heads an economic task force in Baghdad, is accused of mismanaging government money and engaging in public drunkenness and sexual harassment, a Defense Department spokesman said last week."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707L.shtml

Data Show No Surge in Safety in Iraq So Far in 2007

The Associated Press reports the "US troop buildup has brought violence in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks nationwide is running nearly double the year-ago pace. Some of the recent bloodshed appears to be the result of militants drifting into northern Iraq, where they have fled after US-led offensives. Baghdad, however, still accounts for slightly more than half of all war-related killings - the same percentage as a year ago, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707K.shtml



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

Cancer in Iraq Vets Points to Toxic Exposure

The Arizona Daily Star is reporting there are many soldiers returning from Iraq with cancer. Carla McClain writes: "The prime suspect in all this, in the minds of many victims - and some scientists - is what's known as depleted uranium - the radioactive chemical prized by the military for its ability to penetrate armored vehicles. When munitions explode, the substance hits the air as fine dust, easily inhaled."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707J.shtml



http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Depleted+Uranium+Poisoning+%28D.U.%29/

Wimax-Netz im Saarland soll DSL-freie Gebiete versorgen

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/94979



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

Gonzales Resigns as Attorney General

Gonzales Bows Out

It's about time.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/27/gonzales/index.html

Loring

--------

Gonzales Resigns as Attorney General

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707Z.shtml

--------

Gonzo’s gone
http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff08272007.html



Why did Gonzales resign?

Salon
by Sidney Blumenthal

08/27/07

When Alberto Gonzales swiftly turned heel on the stage at the Department of Justice without answering questions about his resignation as attorney general he left behind yet another lingering cloud of mystery. What is he not telling about his resignation? The true story may be something like the denouement of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Purloined Letter,’ which was in plain sight all along, a solution that can, as Poe wrote, ‘escape observation by dint of being excessively obvious; and here the physical oversight is precisely analogous with the moral inapprehension by which the intellect suffers to pass unnoticed those considerations which are too obtrusively and too palpably self-evident.’ To be excessively obvious, Gonzales’ resignation, following Karl Rove’s exactly by two weeks, is the shadow of the first act...

http://tinyurl.com/2mtdaa



All the president’s flunkies

Slate
by John Dickerson

08/27/07

As Alberto Gonzales resigns today, he joins Donald Rumsfeld, Harriet Miers, and Michael Brown — animated failures who could not be controlled or improved with good public relations. The pattern has been consistent: The president resists and resists calls for a change. Then he gives in. In Gonzales’ case, it’s almost as if Bush were perfecting this failed approach, wringing out of his embattled old friend so many embarrassing gaffes that he couldn’t be hurt anymore. Then he let him go. The more radioactive his aides become, the more Bush embraces them. With Gonzales, the president was particularly alone in this stance...

http://www.slate.com/id/2172858/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

The House Lawyer Departs

A New York Times editorial says: "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has finally done something important to advance the cause of justice. He has resigned. But his departure alone cannot remove the dark cloud that hangs over the Justice Department. President Bush needs to choose a new attorney general of unquestioned integrity who would work to make the department worthy of its name again - and provide the mandate to do it. Congress needs to continue to investigate the many scandals Mr. Gonzales leaves behind. When Mr. Gonzales was appointed, it seemed doubtful that he would be able to put aside his years as Mr. Bush's personal lawyer, which stretched back to the Texas governor's office, and represent the interests of the American people. He never did."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082807N.shtml

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Now that Alberto Gonzales has resigned, will Congress repair the damage he did?

Justice Denied
by Aziz Huq, The Nation
http://ga3.org/ct/Pp20pgF1fXKe/


From TomPaine.common sense

--------

Alberto Gonzales had to leave the White House once Karl Rove had made a break for the exit

http://snipurl.com/1q24h


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gonzales
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Karl+Rove
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harriet+Miers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Brown
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Lindorff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sidney+Blumenthal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=John+Dickerson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Aziz+Huq

Arbeitsbedingungen in der Leiharbeit/PSA

Übermorgen ist für dich Feierabend

Die Zeitarbeit boomt, aber viele Unternehmen behandeln das Thema wie Werksgeheimnisse. Wie sehen die Arbeitsbedingungen von Zeitarbeitern in der Praxis aus, wie gehen Unternehmer mit ihnen um? Eine Reportage aus München von Steffen Dobbert in der Jungle-World vom 23.08.2007 http://jungle-world.com/seiten/2007/34/10489.php

Aus dem Text: „…»Im München arbeiten ungefähr 34.000 Menschen für BMW, davon sind etwa 4.000 Zeitarbeiter«, sagt Hans Haumer. Der stellvertretende Betriebsratsvorsitzende des Münchner Werks von BMW ist sich nicht ganz sicher, denn es sei schwierig, das genau zu sagen. Jedenfalls gebe es bei BMW eine Art Gentlemen’s Agreement, sagt er, eine Absichtserklärung des Unternehmens, die auf keinem Blatt Papier geschrieben stehe. Sie besage, dass BMW »auf keinen Fall mehr als zehn Prozent Leiharbeiter einstellt«. 4.000 von 34.000 sind aber fast zwölf Prozent. Der Betriebsrat sagt auch, er habe Verständnis für das Unternehmen. BMW müsse schließlich wettbewerbsfähig bleiben. Der Anteil der Leiharbeiter habe sich im Hause stabil entwickelt. Und Zeitarbeit werde sowieso überall geleistet: »Wenn da ein Unternehmen nicht mitmacht, lachen alle anderen.«…“


Gesetzeslage: Petition zur "Arbeitnehmerüberlassung: Zeitliche Begrenzung der Leiharbeit"

43.500 unterstützen Leiharbeitspetition

„Insgesamt haben fast 43.500 Unterzeichner die Petition zur Befristung von Leiharbeit der IG Metall Dresden unterstützt. Das heißt, dass es demnächst eine öffentliche Anhörung geben könnte. Zwar liegt die Zahl der Unterstützer mit 43.497 Unterschriften, von denen mehr als 40.000 online abgegeben wurden, knapp unter der Grenze von 50.000. Willi Eisele, Erster Bevollmächtigter in Dresden und Riesa, der die Petition beim Deutschen Bundestag einreichte, ist allerdings überzeugt, dass damit die Chancen gut stehen, dass es zu einer öffentlichen Anhörung kommt „und zwar noch vor dem Gewerkschaftstag“…“ Meldung vom 14.08.07 im Siemens-Dialog http://dialog.igmetall.de/Ansicht.73+M5a4a5a17a70.0.html


Aus: LabourNet, 27. August 2007

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Leiharbeit: PSA und andere Sklavenhändler

IAQ-Studie zur Gleichstellung von Zeitarbeitskräften: Gleicher Lohn für gleiche Arbeit?

„Die Arbeitsbedingungen von Zeitarbeitskräften sollen durch eine Angleichung an die Rechte anderer Beschäftigter verbessert werden, darauf einigte sich nach langem Ringen kürzlich der EU-Sozialministerrat. Deutsche Zeitarbeitskräfte werden nach Einschätzung des Instituts Arbeit und Qualifikation (IAQ) der Universität Duisburg-Essen davon voraussichtlich aber kaum profitieren. Denn wie bereits in Deutschland könnten sich die Grundsätze des „Equal Pay“ und „Equal Treatment“ auch auf der europäischen Ebene bei genauerer Betrachtung als Mogelpackung erweisen: Die Mitgliedsstaaten können zulassen, dass in Tarifverträgen andere Regelungen getroffen werden. In Deutschland hat eine solche Ausnahmeklausel dazu geführt, dass es mittlerweile zahlreiche Tarifverträge für die Zeitarbeit gibt. Schätzungsweise 95 Prozent aller Zeitarbeitskräfte werden tariflich entlohnt. Vor allem in den unteren Lohngruppen sind darin sehr niedrige Löhne von 7 Euro, in einigen Fällen sogar nur 4 bis 6 Euro vorgesehen. Dies ist deutlich niedriger als die Höhe der typischen Tariflöhne in Branchen, in denen viele Zeitarbeitskräfte eingesetzt werden…“ IAQ-Pressemeldung vom 24.6.08 http://www.uni-due.de/home/fb/presse/presse_allg/presse_24.06.2008_49881.shtml

Siehe dazu:

(Fehl-)Entwicklungen in der Zeitarbeit?

Expertise von Claudia Weinkopf und Achim Vanselow im Auftrag der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Bonn: FES. Wiso (2008)(pdf) http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/wiso/05403.pdf

Aus dem Text: „…Die gewerkschaftliche Neuorientierung im Bereich der Leiharbeit setzt voraus, dass Leiharbeitskräfte in die gewerkschaftlichen und betriebspolitischen Handlungskonzepte einbezogen werden und nicht als „Arbeitnehmer 2. Klasse“ behandelt werden. In der Vergangenheit nutzte mancher Betriebsrat die „Randbelegschaft“ gern, um die eigenen Stammkräfte abzusichern. Dieses enge Solidaritätsverständnis grenzte Leiharbeitskräfte bewusst aus und zielte auf die Verlagerung von Beschäftigungsrisiken von der Kern- auf die Randbelegschaft. Sofern es denn zutrifft, dass der Umgang mit Beschäftigten in nicht-standardisierten Arbeitsverhältnissen eine der gewerkschaftlichen Zukunftsaufgaben darstellt (vgl. Frerichs u.a. 2004), so muss das gewerkschaftliche Solidaritätsverständnis entsprechend modifiziert werden….“ (S. 31f.)

Siehe dazu auch: Diskussion > EU > Arbeitsmarkt- und Sozialpolitik: > EU regelt Arbeitszeit und Leiharbeit http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/eu/sopo/regelung08.html


Aus: LabourNet, 25. Juni 2008



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leiharbeit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Zeitarbeit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=PSA
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sklavenhändler

Vom Schönrechnen: ein Kommentar zur aktuellen Arbeitslosenstatistik

„Nur 3,7 Millionen Arbeitslose, verkündete die Bundesregierung im Juli, die Quote sinke immer weiter, und zu verdanken sei das der positiven Konjunkturentwicklung. Wer sich aber einmal die Mühe macht, einen Blick auf die Website der Arbeitsagentur zu werfen, der erfährt: Tatsächlich sind derzeit mehr als 8,4 Millionen Menschen in Deutschland arbeitslos oder können von ihrem Einkommen nicht leben…“ Artikel von Gerrit Wustmann in der der NRhZ-Online - Neue Rheinische Zeitung vom 22.08.2007 http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=11343


Aus: LabourNet, 27. August 2007

Kinderarmut: Kinderschutzbund fordert von Regierung Sofortmaßnahmen

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,502200,00.html



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

Bizarrer Hartz-IV-Fragebogen

http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,501955,00.html
http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/wp-print.php?p=2574

High risk credit

The Free Liberal
by US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

08/24/07

As markets went on a rollercoaster ride last week, our economy is coming close to a day of reckoning for loose credit policies being followed by the Federal Reserve Bank. Simply, foreign banks we have been relying on to buy our debt are waking up to the reality of much higher default rates than predicted, and many mortgage backed securities have been reduced to ‘junk’ ratings. Wall Street fears the possibility of tightening credit and the tightening of America’s belts. Why, they say, ‘if Americans spend only what they can afford, think of the ripple effects throughout the economy!’ This is the cry, as the call comes for the fed to cut rates and bail out companies in trouble. More inflation is, however, never the answer to inflation...

http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002936.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Storm warning: The unlearned lessons of Katrina

Mother Jones
by John McQuaid

08/26/07

Catastrophes are supposed to nudge history in new directions. After the 1927 Mississippi River flood engulfed vast areas of the south, the Corps overhauled the river’s basic flood-control architecture, building the foundation of the modern system we have now. Katrina’s devastating blow to New Orleans raised some history-making issues: Can the damaged city be sustained — that is, can it survive not just the next few hurricane seasons, but the next 100? And as global climate change causes sea levels to rise and possibly fuels larger hurricanes, will other cities inevitably go under too? … Instead of addressing those questions, though, the national debate has stressed the idiosyncrasies of New Orleans...

http://tinyurl.com/ypsq42


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Katrina
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=New+Orleans

Protest of APA torture stance

Common Dreams
by Stephen Soldz

08/26/07

For several years, psychologist members of the American Psychological Association (APA) have been fighting to change the APA’s policies allowing psychologists to participate in interrogations widely reported to be abusive. As the association’s 2007 Convention opened last week, the American Civil Liberties Union called upon the APA to stop psychologists’ participating in abusive interrogations …. An even more dramatic development in the struggle occurred this week when psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Mary Pipher (author of Reviving Ophelia among many other books) decided to return her Presidential Citation award from the American Psychological Association in protest.”

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/26/3414/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=American+Psychological+Association
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=interrogations
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACLU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Stephen+Soldz

Mining Rove’s Katrina legacy

In These Times
by Amanda Terkel

08/24/07

Karl Rove isn’t called a ‘mastermind’ for nothing. He announced his resignation at the perfect time — right before the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. The media talked about his role in the CIA leak investigation, the U.S. attorney scandal, GOP election victories (and failures), and the Iraq war — all important topics. But they largely ignored his management of the administration’s bungled response to Hurricane Katrina. We all remember ‘Brownie,’ the incomprehensibly incompetent FEMA director Michael Brown, who had no idea evacuees were using the New Orleans convention center as an evacuation shelter. But Rove was the man President Bush quietly put in charge of overseeing the administration’s response plan. Rove had no expertise in homeland security or disaster relief. His role was to make sure that the reconstruction efforts enhanced Bush’s political image. By almost all accounts, Rove failed...

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3316/mining_roves_katrina_legacy/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Katrina: Slow As Molasses

by Digby

Katrina may have been Karl Rove's biggest triumph.
http://ga3.org/ct/R120pgF14RKg/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Karl+Rove
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=firing+attorneys
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Katrina
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Brown
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Amanda+Terkel
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Digby

Outsourcing intelligence

Boston Globe
by James Carroll

08/27/07

The ways in which the Bush war has degraded the structures and culture of Iraq are obvious. Less so are its insidious effects on the United States, but President Bush is similarly destroying something essential to our own democracy. A signal of that was sounded last week when The Washington Post reported that the Defense Intelligence Agency is transferring ‘core intelligence tasks of analysis and collection’ to private contractors — up to a billion dollars worth. This raises the prospect that hired guns, instead of sworn officials, will be conducting covert operations, spying missions, interrogations, ‘renditions,’ surveillance — the whole dangerous complex of shadow activity that began as the government’s most sensitive responsibility...

http://tinyurl.com/2xgyq9


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=outsourcing+intelligence
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=interrogations
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=renditions
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=surveillance
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=contractors
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spying
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Carroll

Bush in Wonderland

Fox News
by Susan Estrich

08/27/07

The president ‘returned’ to his vacation on Thursday, while his spokesman claimed that a National Intelligence Estimate everyone else was reading as saying the administration’s Iraq policy was doomed in fact proved that the White House strategy was ‘headed in the right direction.’ That’s what White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe had to say, as the president resumed his vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. It must be nice to live in Wonderland, where we’re winning the war and vacation is the order of the day. Remember ’stay the course?’ Most people think it’s the punch line of a bad joke. This administration seems to believe it, still...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294648,00.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=stay+the+course
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Susan+Estrich

Ready to rumble

The American Prospect
by Ronald Brownstein

08/25/07

Not since Watergate has the electoral landscape appeared as favorable for Democrats as it does today. All polls show gale-force discontent with the country’s direction under President Bush (he recently received the second highest disapproval rating Gallup has ever recorded in seven decades of measuring attitudes about presidential performance). From the 2008 presidential candidates to the party campaign committees, Democrats are consistently outraising Republicans...

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=ready_to_rumble_2007


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ronald+Brownstein

US authorized Pakistan incursions

Salt Lake Tribune

08/23/07

Newly uncovered ‘rules of engagement’ show the U.S. military gave elite units broad authority more than three years ago to pursue suspected terrorists into Pakistan, with no mention of telling the Pakistanis in advance. The documents obtained by The Associated Press offer a detailed glimpse at what Army Rangers and other terrorist-hunting units were authorized to do earlier in the war on terror...

http://tinyurl.com/38zt2q


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Police tear-gas farmers in clash over French GM crops

Independent [UK]

08/27/07

Growing tensions in France between opponents and supporters of genetically modified crops have led to violent confrontations. Gendarmes used tear gas and batons to prevent pro-GM farmers from invading a picnic for militant opponents of genetically modified maize at the town of Verdun-sur-Garonne in south-west France over the weekend. Hardly a day has gone by this summer without opponents of GM maize - both environmental campaigners and small farmers - invading fields and trampling or cutting down crops. The protesters, led by the small- farmers’ leader, José Bové, claim a citizens’ right to destroy crops which, they say, threaten ecological calamity and the subjection of farmers to the whims of agro-industrial, multinational companies...

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2898431.ece


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GM+maize

Warner may back Dems’ bill on withdrawal

Naples Daily News

08/26/07

GOP Sen. John Warner, who wants U.S. troops to start coming home from Iraq by Christmas, said Sunday he may support Democratic legislation ordering withdrawals if President Bush refuses to set a return timetable soon. ‘I’m going to have to evaluate it,’ Warner said. ‘I don’t say that as a threat, but I say that is an option we all have to consider’...

http://tinyurl.com/25gec5


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=withdrawal+Iraq
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=John+Warner
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP

UN nuke chief blasts US arms sale to Mideast

MSNBC

08/26/07

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog criticized U.S. moves to assist in the supply of weapons to its allies in the Middle East, saying the money would be better spent on regional development projects. In an interview with the Austrian newsweekly Profil, to be published Monday, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said a U.S. strategy to support a weapons buildup in countries such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt was not helpful for improving security in the Middle East...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20443987/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Iran threatens use of ’smart’ bomb

USA Today

08/26/07

Iran vowed Sunday to use a new 2,000-pound ’smart’ bomb against its enemies and unveiled mass production of the new weapon, state television reported. Tehran first announced development of the long-range guided bomb Thursday, saying it could be deployed by the country’s aging U.S.-made F-4 and F-5 fighter jets...

http://tinyurl.com/ywn5wp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

North American Union Threat

by Geoff Metcalf

The NAU ‘plan to create’ a regional government collective comprised of the United States, Canada and Mexico is inherently anti-American. The threat is not right wing sophistry but stated clearly and directly in a May 2005 task force report published by the Council on Foreign Relations…and apparently being implemented without debate or approval of we the people........

http://www.newswithviews.com/metcalf/metcalf227.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=North+American+Union
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Council+on+Foreign+Relations
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/metcalf

Residents vow to fight mast plans for water tower

By Lynn Jackson

WORRIED Poole residents have pledged to fight plans for a mobile phone mast installation on an unique Victorian water tower.

Operator T-Mobile wants to put up three antennae and other base station equipment on top of the Grade II-listed water tower in Broadstone.

But campaigners say the plans will spoil the character of the historic building and also fear possible health risks to local residents and children at a nearby school.

Read More...
http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.1643966.0.residents_vow_to_fight_mast_plans_for_water_tower.php

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