World-News

Jun 1 2006

By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A BATTLE against plans for a mobile phone mast is set to go on, despite planning approval having been given.

Hutchison 3G wants to install a mobile phone mast and base on Halifax Old Road, Grimscar.

The mast site is near the last houses before Grimscar Woods.

Residents took to the streets to protest, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

Now Kirklees councillor Mehboob Khan, one of the Greenhead ward councillors, has vowed to fight on.

"It would look unsightly," he said.

"I'm opposed to it on various grounds. There are health considerations, but it's also that this is an area of natural woodland and the mast will look like a very unsightly, alien feature."

Because applications have to be dealt with in a certain time the mast plan did not go for consideration by the planning committee, which comprises elected councillors.

Therefore, planning officers had to deal with the case. They had no grounds to refuse the application, so they approved it.

But Clr Khan hopes to get one of the company's chiefs to come and see the site. He is also asking the council's highways department to look at the issue.

Clr Khan said: "I have emailed the head of Hutchison 3G development team, asking for a site visit, in order to try to persuade him that we ought not to be allowing this and that they should look for another location."

He said the mast would encroach on to the pavement, forcing pedestrians to cross over.

He added: There's no verge on the other side, so it puts pedestrians in the line of the traffic."

Recently campaigners gathered on Halifax Old Road to protest.

They are worried about the detrimental effects the mast could have on the environment.

Protesters say it is a greenfield site and that the mast would be fully visible from across the valley.

They are also worried about the long-term health implications for children in the area.

Resident Nikki Gregg said: "Birkby is already well served for mobile phone masts. This is just another commercial exercise."

The protesters are also collecting signatures for a petition.

Hutchison 3G did not respond to the Examiner's request for a comment.

owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2006

http://tinyurl.com/pjzmq

In Baghalchur, the local people have gone to the Supreme Court with a complaint that nuclear waste dumped in the area has contaminated the environment and affected the health of both humans and animals.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106G.shtml

"In the rush to meet the August 2006 FQPA statutory deadline," scientists wrote of the EPA, "many steps in the risk-assessment and risk-management process are being abbreviated or eliminated in violation of the principles of scientific integrity and objectivity by which we as public servants are bound."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106F.shtml

Federal spending has already been growing at record, unconscientious levels. Bush has presided over huge tax cuts, record federal spending increases, and is committed to extending the tax cuts beyond their current expiration dates in about five years, and federal benefit programs are combining with the Iraq war to push spending upward.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106E.shtml

Three ethics watchdogs have testified that Bush administration executive David Safavian omitted key details of his dealings with Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff. Now, prosecutors want a Senate investigator to describe efforts to learn from Safavian about a golfing trip arranged by the disgraced lobbyist.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106C.shtml

Poorly thought-out American policies are at least partly to blame for Afghanistan's rising carnage.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106K.shtml

I've just got two letters pub'd in a local monthly newsletter "Hollingdean News" - Hollingdean is an area of 3500 houses in Brighton of which the newsletter gets put through nearly all the letterboxes. One of the letters was sent via a friend. They were both however very heavily edited.

Below are the letters as published (edited) and the intro.

Gary


For years, anti mast campaigners have been accused of “scaremongering”, in spite of repeated applications by Telecom companies after masts are refused (which usually end with their victory), the abundant studies repeatedly showing serious adverse health effects and scientists across the globe appealing for urgent and radical changes in the law. With £billions at stake in revenue to the UK Government and Telecoms companies, it would appear wise for local residents to focus attention on the masts targeted for the bottom of Davey Drive and recently at Fiveways, plans to instal 8 -16 times as many 3G masts (way more powerful than existing ones) in the next few years and multi frequency transmitters in every lamppost.

Safety guidelines - "ICNIRP" (International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection) were formulated in 1998 to ensure the safety of phone masts, but they only cover the thermal (heating) effects of phone mast emissions.

The Thermal effects are negligible - however, NON-Thermal effects are now known to affect the make-up of our bodies and how they work, posing real risks to our health and to our lives. Hence ICNIRP Guidelines are not protecting people at all.

The Regional Government in Salzburg, Austria have set the acceptable THERMAL limit for emissions in homes, under advice from Independent scientists, to just under 0.1 V/m – also referred to as “the suggested 0.1 V/m precautionary maximum”, or P.Max.

"GRAM" (Goldsworth Residents Against Masts) state in their comprehensive leaflet on microwave devices that "20 to 40 times P.Max may ‘have serious health consequences for those exposed’" - these levels are absorbed by people using any current microwave devices such as: cell and DECT phones, digital baby monitors, some burglar alarms, WiMax, wireless computers, interactive whiteboards in schools, bluetooth devices (eg headsets) and masts up to about 500 metres away, new generation games consoles and wireless entertainment systems, wireless music systems, digital streamers, headphones and Wi-fi radios. The ICNIRP Guidelines also ignore long-term low-level exposure to microwaves. There are now thousands of formal and informal studies worldwide by independent scientists which conclude that there are many and serious adverse health effects from such exposure.

Gary Kemp

BHFOE Mast Campaigner
Dover Road
Brighton


Recently The Argus newspaper published two letters denying that there is any harm caused by mobile phones and phone masts, and continues to advertise microwave wireless devices whilst omitting omit to mention any of the freely available research into the adverse health effects of this technology. For example, in the March 29th edition, a JA Frapwell - on behalf of Vodafone - claimed there to be "no link between mobile communications and any adverse health effect.."

However, "GRAM" (http://www.gram.org.uk) has published an extensive document on wireless technology based on copious independent international research, which says otherwise. The main health effects discovered are; DNA damage potentially leading to cancers such as breast and testicular cancer, the worsening or causing of epilepsy, reduction in Melatonin levels - and increase (their error) in nitric oxide (NO) levels - resulting in: reduced cancer fighting cells in our bodies, sleeping disorders, increased cholesterol levels leading to greater risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, increased blood pressure giving greater risk of blood clots and strokes. Also increased are chances of serious disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s, Tinnitus and Hearing problems, Headaches, and reduced drug effectiveness.

They say "Dect and Wi-Fi are the devices that we have personally checked and found comparable, if not worse, emissions, to Mobile Telephone Masts" and "A DECT monitor placed in a baby's bedroom will expose the child to more pulsing microwave radiation than living near to a mobile phone mast"

With the Government making billions from the Communications industry, does anyone really believe that either will report any harmful effects from their technology? Neither can afford for these devices to be thought of as anything except safe.

And is it surprising that The Argus dances to the telecom tune when the press, including them, are largely owned by the telecoms industry? GRAM's advice is unequivocal; ""Don't buy any of the wireless devices listed at the beginning of this leaflet. If you already have any, get rid of them".

Masa Kepic


http://www.mastsanity.org
http://www.tetrawatch.net

Es gibt keinen direkten Zusammenhang zwischen der durch die demographische Entwicklung abnehmenden Zahl der Arbeitenden und der vielfach prophezeiten Katastrophe bei der Finanzierung der Sozialversicherungen.

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/22/22723/1.html

http://www.ridgefieldpark.org/content/50/83/default.aspx

1. Trees store carbon and clean the atmo sphere. In 50 years, one tree generates $30,000 in oxygen, recycles $35,000 of water, and removes $60,000 of air pollution.

2. Tree shade reduces air conditioning costs in residential and commercial buildings by 15-50 percent. Do you need a tree planted to the South or West of your house?

3. Properly placed and cared for trees and shrubs significantly increase residential and commercial property values. Would you like a new tree for your property?

4. Trees provide habitat for a large vari ety of wildlife. Do you like bird songs?

5. Trees connect us with nature and rein force spiritual and cultural values.

6. Trees prevent or reduce water pollu tion in NJ’s streams, rivers, darns, and estuaries.

7. Trees prevent or reduce soil erosion.

8. Trees help recharge ground water and sustain stream flow.

9. Properly placed screens of trees and shrubs decrease traffic noise along NJ’s busy streets and highways. Do you have a site that needs a tree along Rt. 46?

10. Trees screen unsightly views and provide privacy for NJ homeowners.

11. Trees make life more pleasant by softening harsh outlines of buildings.

12. Trees add beauty and grace to any community setting. They make life more enjoyable, peaceful, and relaxing. Do you enjoy walking through Ridgefield Park?

13. Research shows that trees help reduce stress in the workplace and speed hospital patients’ recovery. Do you hear the sighs of relief on NYC buses as they reach RP?

14. Trees provide a multitude of recreation opportunities.

15. Trees, planted as memorials, leave a valuable gift for future generations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Homeowners often ask for assistance with trees that are on their own private property. We manage only the public trees, but we can provide a list of New Jersey Certified Tree Experts with whom we have contact.

The attached document suggests guidelines for selecting an Arborist.

The Shade Tree Commission's sidewalk program is still available for homeowners who wish to repair or replace their sidewalks. Through this program, a homeowner can be reimbursed for some expense incurred due to damage by street trees. Applications are available at the municipal building or by calling 201-641-4950, extension 640.

Mulch can protect a tree by conserving moisture and preventing grass and weeds from growing too close to the trunk. But too much mulch smothers the tree just the same as it smothers the weeds. Mulch belongs around the tree but not against it.


Informant: Scott Munson

A message from Eleanor

No Breed Specific Legislation in Illinois We, the undersigned, would like to see Breed Specific Legislation not become part of Illinois Law. Instead we urge the Illinois Senate to pass HR1026 and HJR101. HR1026 encourages individual municipalities not to enact breed specific legislation, but to target irresponsible dog owners with tougher laws that are enforced and to encourage programs that educate residents. HJR101 establishes a task force comprised of 17 members, including representatives from the veterinary community, animal control, a not-for-profit humane society, the American Kennel Club and an animal behaviorist. The purpose of this task force being to evaluate and make recommendations on how to best protect the public from attacks. It is our fervent wish that these bills are passed and enforced. Thank you for taking this into consideration.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/965771003

An action group has been formed to fight plans to erect a mobile phone mast in the centre of a Powys town.

Builth Wells Against Telephone Masts Association is threatening a protest march and has started a petition.

Hutchinson 3G is looking at locating a 12.5m (41ft) mast in Bank Square, but there are concerns among local people about a possible impact on health.

But the firm said there were "no proven adverse effects" from the low-powered equipment it used.

Omega this is not true. See under:
http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Wissenschaft+zu+Mobilfunk/
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Cancer+Cluster
http://www.buergerwelle.de/body_science.html

In recent years a number of protests against masts have been held throughout the UK as phone firms look to extend their networks.

We're reviewing all the options in the area
Mike Dobson, Hutchinson 3G

Ralph Ollermann, chairman of the protest group, said: "We will start a petition when the company finally applies to the council and we will have tables in the streets collecting names. We already have over 60 just from this area."

Mike Dobson of Hutchinson 3G said a decision about the mast's location had not been made.

"We are currently in the process of looking in the area and Bank Square is just one option, and we're reviewing all the options in the area," he said.

"We need to provide coverage for the nearby Royal Welsh Show and the town of Builth Wells itself."

Mr Dobson said if Bank Square was chosen, the firm would have to submit a planning application.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/5037230.stm

Published: 2006/06/01 12:26:22 GMT

© BBC MMVI

In trying to create a bright line between protected and unprotected speech, Supreme Court conservatives leave us less free and probably less safe.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/31/gagging_public_employees.php

By Robert Dreyfuss, TomPaine.com

For Iraq's U.S. ambassador and other Iraqis, the idea of American troops shooting unarmed civillians is all too believable.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/06/01/the_man_from_haditha.php


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

A top Republican fund-raiser who is the leading figure in an Ohio political scandal pleaded guilty on Wednesday to illegally funneling money to President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. In an appearance in federal court, rare coin dealer Tom Noe admitted to three counts of violating campaign finance laws.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106Z.shtml

1 June, 2006

By Emily Wright

A licensee is having to appease angry residents as Punch Taverns allows mobile phone masts to be put up on the premises

An Oxford licensee is stuck in the firing line between local residents and his pub company because a mobile phone mast is to be erected on his premises.

John Dunkley, tenant of Punch Taverns pub the Chester Arms in Oxford, said he has been receiving abusive telephone calls and a petition has been raised by local residents campaigning against the plan.

But according to the terms of his lease Punch is allowed to erect communications equipment on the area near the pub as it has an agreement with a mobile phone company to put up masts on pub premises in the area.

Mr Dunkley told The Publican: “I don’t mind the petition - everyone is entitled to their opinion - but we’ve had some anonymous phone calls from people telling us what they think and that’s been quite upsetting.

“The problem is that the phone company is doing nothing wrong. The government has given it permission and so it is working within its rights. But it’s the licensee who the residents have links to and that’s where they’re going to go with their problems.”

Mr Dunkley believes that the mobile phone company had handled the situation badly and that there should have been more consultation with residents before plans were made.

He added that Punch Taverns could have been more selective about where the masts were placed as his pub is positioned next to a school.

He also warned licensees to double-check anything they were unsure of in their leases.

“I saw something in mine about communications equipment but I never for a second imagined it would include a mobile phone mast being put up,” Mr Dunkley said. “Now I’ve signed it I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

A spokesman from Punch Taverns said: “All contracts are agreed in partnership with our retailers on a secure agreement on a case by case basis.

“On the few occasions where there is local opposition we do attend consultation meetings with all parties to address any concerns.”v

The Publican Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?storycode=51908

Anxious parents are urging residents to join them in their second-round battle against a controversial mobile phone mast application.

Hutchison 3G applied to put up a 12.5m mast on Stubley Lane, Dronfield – just metres away from a nursery school – but the proposal was turned down by planning chiefs at NE Derbyshire District Council.

However, the phone giant has now appealed against the decision, sparking a fresh wave of anger from parents who are worried about the unknown dangers to health.

Penny Collinson (42) of Oxclose Drive, Dronfield Woodhouse, has two children – one of whom attends Gosforth Pre-school – just 200 metres away from the proposed site and one of six schools in the immediate vicinity.

She said: "We're dismayed because they have appealed against the decision.

"It hasn't been proven either way it's bad or good, but why take the risk?.

"We don't think there is a place for something like this anywhere in Dronfield Woodhouse.

"People don't want it and they should listen."

A spokesman for Hutchison 3G said: "The original proposal for this location was placed before the planning committee and was recommended to be approved by the local planning officer, but was refused by the planning committee.

"The proposed slimline antenna and associated equipment will blend with the exisiting street furniture and the design will simply become an addition to existing elements in the local street-scene."

Penny claims 700 complaints were collected last time the scheme went before planners and wants anyone who hasn't made their voices heard to do so now.

Council planners rejected the scheme in October last year, because it is in an open, prominent location and would be detrimental to the character of the locality.

A Government planning inspector will now decide whether the proposal should go ahead or not.

Anyone who wants to make representations should write to:
The Planning Inspectorate, FAO Lucy Wootton, Room 318, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN, by June 19.

l Spelling it out: Lily Collinson and Ben Cornwell from Gosforth Pre-School. SCH59899

01 June 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=728&ArticleID=1537832

Jun 1 2006

By Judith Clay And Thelma Haworth

SUNNINGHILL and South Ascot Parish Council has promised it will not allow a hotly-debated phone mast to be put up in a children's play area.

The council owns the land on the Blythewood Green site, where mobile phone company Orange wants to build the 10m-high mast.

Parish clerk Alan Everett said the council had received 100 objection letters,which is the most it has ever had.

Cllr Thalia Chivers said: "We covenanted to keep this as open space when it was given to us."

Peter Standley,representative for the Society for the Protection and Ascot and Environs (SPAE), said: "The view has already been expressed that it's intrusive and out of character, particularly as it's public open space."

Ward councillor for Ascot and Cheapside David Hilton said: "The parish council owns the land and they can refuse the mast.

"Now the council has accepted the motion even if planning permission is granted the parish council can say no and we will say no."

Protest group Blythewood Against the Mast (BAM) has collected more than 400 signatures on its petition against the mast which residents fear will spoil the scenic area as well as pose a health risk.

Gisella Ranscombe, who lives opposite the proposed site, said: "I think it's intolerable even to suggest it."

Richard Flight of Vernon Drive added: "There is already quite a lot of clutter coming on to the green and it would be hard to screen it.

"People have said that they will not let their children play there, in an age where we should be encour-aging children's activities."

However, Rebecca D'Arcy, spokes-woman for Orange, said that it has been looking for a suitable location for five years to help meet coverage demand in the area.

owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2006

http://tinyurl.com/pxzob

Boston Globe
by Jeff Jacoby

05/31/06

Like a lot of conservatives, I won't be voting Republican in the congressional elections this fall. Admittedly, I won't have a choice -- in Massachusetts, Republican candidates for Congress generally spare voters the trouble of defeating them by not bothering to run in the first place. But millions of conservatives will have a choice. And the closer Election Day draws, the clearer it becomes that plenty of them will choose not to vote Republican. Unless something changes dramatically -- and soon -- the GOP is poised to lose its most reliable voters, and with them any hope of keeping its congressional majority. How disgruntled is the party's base? In recent polls, fewer than 70 percent of registered Republicans said they approve of the way President Bush is handling his job, a sharp drop from the 90 percent support on which he once could count. Among self-identified conservatives, Bush's standing is even lower...

http://tinyurl.com/q8rgy


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Competitive Enterprise Institute
by staff

05/30/06

The White House made an unfortunate mistake in nominating Henry M. Paulson, Jr. to be the next Secretary of the Treasury, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The Goldman Sachs chairman's other role as chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy, which is under investigation for financial misdealings that benefited some of its officers and donors, should automatically disqualify him for the top Treasury job. 'No conservative administration should consider appointing anyone who works for the Nature Conservancy to any position and certainly not to one carrying the high responsibilities of Treasury Secretary'...

http://www.cei.org/gencon/003,05349.cfm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

AlterNet
by Mark Ames

06/01/06

One of the oddest reactions to Vice President Cheney's now-infamous speech in Lithuania, the one which many Russians believe officially heralded the start of a new Cold War, came from the mainstream American media. What was so strange? They actually did their job. Instead of simply parroting the Administration's latest pieties, they actually allowed themselves to smell a rat. And what a putrid, bloated, rotting-in-a-flooded-Manila-gutter rat odor it was! You'd have to have been literally brain dead not to have smelled it...

http://www.alternet.org/story/36881/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

National Review
by Radley Balko

05/31/06

It's been amusing to watch Congress fret over the FBI's decision to raid the office of their colleague, Rep. William Jefferson. Current Speaker Dennis Hastert called it 'the wrong path,' and has demanded a return of the documents seized. An unnamed member told the Washington Post that the tactics was 'unduly aggressive.' Rep. John Conyers called the raid 'an act of tremendous violence.' On Tuesday, Rep. James Sensenbrenner held hearings titled, 'Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?' At those hearings, Sensenbrenner announced his intention to introduce legislation protecting Congress from future, similar police searches. Funny. Congress -- especially GOP leaders like Hastert and Sensenbrenner -- don't seem nearly as concerned when much more violent, confrontational raids happen to their own constituents...

http://tinyurl.com/nj65p


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Raw Story

05/31/06

Connecticut librarians spoke about their fight to stop the FBI from gaining access to patrons' library records at a news conference yesterday organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and in a subsequent interview with RAW STORY. The Librarians, members of Library Connection, a not-for profit cooperative organization for resource sharing across 26 Connecticut library branches sharing a centralized computer, were served with a National Security Letter (NSL) in August of last year as part of the FBI's attempt to attain access to patron's records. The NSL is a little known statute in the Patriot Act that permits law enforcement to obtain records of people not suspected of any wrongdoing and without a court order. As part of the NSL, those served with the document are gagged and prohibited from disclosing that they have even been served...

http://tinyurl.com/qa7zh


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Greensboro News-Record

05/31/06

The United States said Wednesday it would join in face-to-face talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program once Tehran puts its atomic activities on hold, a shift in tactics meant to offer the Iranians a last chance to avoid punishing sanctions. Iran dismissed the offer as 'a propaganda move.' At the White House, President Bush said that the U.S. would take a leading role in solving the conflict and that it was important to do so diplomatically...

http://tinyurl.com/m76hq


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Große Koalition optimiert Hartz IV bis zum Verhungern. SPD und Union
wollen am Donnerstag auch eine 100% Kürzung des ALG-II durchbringen

Presseerklärung des Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland vom 31.5.06
http://www.erwerbslosenforum.de/nachrichten/grose_koalition_optimiert_hartz_iv_bis_zum_verhungern.htm


SAK: BezieherInnen von Hartz IV leben in Armut. Kürzungsdiskussion
ohne Grundlage - Forderung nach Mindestlohn und Grundsicherung

Presseerklärung der Saarländischen Armutskonferenz vom 31.5.06
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/opti_sak.html


Aus: LabourNet 1. Juni 2006

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002891.htm


Informant: NHNE

Jugement Cour d'Appel : Antennes relais (jurisprudence) -Trouble de Jouissance et Dépréciation du Patrimoine

http://www.next-up.org/pages/nouvellesdumonde55.php

"Despite all the media chatter about the so-called Opt-Out Revolution - and all the hand-wringing about whether working moms are good for kids - women, and mothers, are in the workplace to stay. Yet public policy and workplace structures have yet to catch up," write Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053106WA.shtml

Huge mines here turning tarry sand into cash for Canada and oil for the United States are taking an unexpectedly high environmental toll, sucking water from rivers and natural gas from wells and producing large amounts of gases linked to global warming.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053106EC.shtml

The push to solve the nation's energy woes are bumping up against the federal government's budget problems. To be sure, the Bush administration is anxious to fund long-term programs by cutting lesser-known programs whose payoffs are far more near-term.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053106EB.shtml

The Canadian Arctic covers 3.4 million square kilometers, and with extreme climactic conditions, it used to barely interest anyone. But times change. Affected by global warming, the ice melt's acceleration is exciting more and more greed. Canada is now preparing to defend its sovereignty in a region that could see litigation over maritime control, for the exploitation of natural resources such as oil and gas, and security matters, with the opening of a regular new point of entry into North America.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053106EA.shtml

A report released earlier this month details what experts say are the most serious electronic voting machine flaws ever documented.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/31/1330240


From Information Clearing House

Impeach Alberto Gonzales? Why, yes!

"We have the power to impeach the attorney general," Issa told Tuesday's Judiciary Committee hearing titled: "Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?"

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=87770


From Information Clearing House



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

Since 2001, the National Security Agency (NSA) has had a presidentially authorized, law-breaking, warrantless surveillance program to listen in on the international phone calls of possibly tens of thousands of U.S. citizens.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=87452


From Information Clearing House

The Bush administration, seeking to enlist Russian support for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran, has agreed to language ruling out the immediate threat of military force.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13447.htm

US antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan denounced the Australian government for its participation in the Iraq war and called for the release of David Hicks from Guantánamo Bay and the closure of the notorious US military prison camp at a demonstration in Melbourne last Friday.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/shee-m31.shtml


From Information Clearing House

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik urged the United States on Wednesday to close a prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay as soon as possible, saying the detention of suspects there creates a legal vacuum.

http://tinyurl.com/lwwdc


From Information Clearing House

Canadian troops in Afghanistan have been told the Geneva Conventions and Canadian regulations regarding the rights of prisoners of war don't apply to Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters captured on the battlefield.

http://tinyurl.com/njpet


From Information Clearing House

IRAQ'S new ambassador to the US said yesterday US forces cold-bloodedly shot and killed his cousin last year in Haditha.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13445.htm



Mission Accomplished

Video

Shocking, honest, brave and an amazing eye-opener. Watch this movie if you really want to know what's happening in Iraq. Shows both sides of the story about the insurgency war that you won't see on TV. Critical of US policy, but sympathetic to the American soldiers on the ground. Historical movie.

Click here to watch.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13440.htm



Killings by US marines 'unjustified'

Iraqi Prime Minister: Marines rampaged through several houses near where the marine was killed, shooting the occupants, in some instances in front of their traumatised children. Some of the children also were killed.

http://tinyurl.com/nqr2x



War widows find that everything is 'just gone'

The wives who lived at Fort Lewis had six months to pack up and leave after their husbands' deaths, the first signal that they lost more than a spouse.

http://tinyurl.com/oa7mf


From Information Clearing House



Rogue Apple Defense

Anyone who thinks this was a single instance of the intentional killing of civilians, I have beachfront property to sell you in Odessa, Texas.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13446.htm



No Bravery: A nation blind to their disgrace
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11799.htm



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

Video - John Kerry describes war crimes committed in Viet Nam

Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the young Vietnam veteran says: "Someone has to die so that President Nixon won't be, and these are his words, "the first President to lose a war... how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Click here to watch. Real Video.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6579.htm

Click here to listen Real Audio
http://www.videos.informationclearinghouse.info/kerryws0.ra



Dear America - Letters Home from Vietnam

Video - Windows Media

All the confusion, pain, despair, and even hope of the men and women who served in Vietnam is captured in Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. The footage, some newsreel, some shot by the servicemen and servicewomen, reveals a tension between the soldiers' actual experiences and the presentation their loved ones received from television.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13442.htm



Mission Accomplished

Video

Shocking, honest, brave and an amazing eye-opener. Watch this movie if you really want to know what's happening in Iraq. Shows both sides of the story about the insurgency war that you won't see on TV. Critical of US policy, but sympathetic to the American soldiers on the ground. Historical movie.

Click here to watch.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13440.htm

Video

Ten-year-old Iman Walid witnessed the killing of seven members of her family in an attack by American marines last November. The interview with Iman was filmed exclusively for ITV News by Ali Hamdani, our Iraqi video diarist..

Click Here To View
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13452.htm



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

By unison.ie

US soldiers have shot and killed a pregnant Iraqi woman and her cousin while they were driving to a maternity hospital north of Baghdad.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13441.htm

Die Regierung der Azoren setzte im vergangenen Jahr ein Verbot der Grundschleppnetz-Fischerei in ihren Gewässern durch.

Anders sieht es aus in den meisten Meeresregionen außerhalb von 200 Seemeilen - auf der so genannten Hohen See. Sie ist Gemeingut, und Regelungen zu ihrem Schutz existieren nicht. Eine Flotte von nur rund 300 Trawlern fischt hier mit gigantischer Zerstörungskraft. Sie durchpflügen täglich mit ihren riesigen, mit Eisenrollen beschwerten Netzen rund 1.500 Quadratkilometer Tiefsee, das entspricht einer Fläche von über 210.000 Fußballfeldern. Und nicht nur Fische gehen ihnen ins Netz, die Schleppnetze zertrümmern uralte Korallen, zerreißen Schwämme und töten jedes andere Meerestier. Wenn diese Beutezüge ungebremst weitergehen, wird die Artenvielfalt der Tiefsee in 15 bis 20 Jahren unrettbar verloren sein. Ein Verbot der Grundschleppnetz-Fischerei auf Hoher See ist die einzige Chance, die Tiefsee zu schützen.

Wir können diesem Treiben jetzt Einhalt gebieten! Vom 12. bis 16. Juni finden in New York die informellen Beratungen der Vereinten Nationen bezüglich des Schutzes der Meere statt. Dort muss die Europäische Union mit einer Stimme sprechen: für ein Sofortverbot der Grundschleppnetz-Fischerei auf der Hohen See! Um dies zu erreichen, bitten wir Sie: Fordern Sie Außenminister Steinmeier auf, sich für ein Sofortverbot der Grundschleppnetz-Fischerei einzusetzen. http://newsletter.greenpeace.de/d/r/381

Bitte setzen Sie sich mit uns für den Schutz der Tiefsee ein. Vielen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung!

http://wistechnology.com/article.php?id=3013



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

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4581/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Wing and a Prayer
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0531-02.htm

by Paul Waldman, TomPaine.com

When push comes to shove, Republicans expose their core values. http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/31/legislating_hate.php

Constitution Kerfuffle

By Aziz Huq, TomPaine.com http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/31/constitution_kerfuffle.php

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4582/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news



Anti-War Protests Continue at Port of Olympia

Anti-war protesters gathered Wednesday at the Port of Olympia to demonstrate against a 950-foot military cargo ship bound for Iraq. Crowds were small early in the day, but were expected to grow amid rumors that the ship was leaving Wednesday evening. Twenty-two people were arrested Tuesday and police pepper-sprayed a handful of protesters who pulled down a port fence.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106Y.shtml



Cargo Ship Leaves for Iraq Amid Anti-War Cries
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0601-06.htm



Port Anti-War Protest Intensifies

After nearly a week of protests intended to delay a large Navy cargo ship from sailing to the war in Iraq, the vessel sailed out of Olympia on time Wednesday. But the protests, which were raucous at times, could portend a summer of escalating tensions in the port.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060206M.shtml

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4585/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4584/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Yesterday, I spoke in San Francisco about Iraq and Darfur -- two important foreign policy issues that weigh heavily upon me and all Americans. I'm extremely frustrated by the Bush Administration's inability to resolve either conflict, even in the face of tremendous human suffering.

It's time for real leadership and some fresh ideas to break the Bush Administration's gridlock. That's why I'm speaking out -- and I hope you'll join me.

Darfur

In September of 2004, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell called the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan "genocide" -- the first time any Bush Administration official had accurately described the more than 50,000 deaths and more than 1 million refugees at that point.

Since then, many of us in the Senate have called on President Bush to take action, to name a special envoy who would focus the world's attention on ending the killing of African ethnic groups by Arab militias in Darfur and supporting the millions of refugees.

Unfortunately, President Bush has failed to act. In the meantime, the killing in Darfur has continued, more than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes, and without sufficient funds, most of these refugees -- including many, many children -- will continue to be malnourished.

This is unconscionable. That's why I'm calling on President Bush to immediately name Bernice King and Martin Luther King III as special U.S. emissaries to Darfur. Both of the King children have already indicated their willingness to help. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has joined me in this effort, making this truly a bi-partisan proposal.

I urge President Bush to act swiftly, empowering Bernice King and Marin Luther King III as special emissaries in order to heighten worldwide awareness of this tragedy, compel foreign governments to increase aid, and bring hope to those that are suffering. What a fitting message of hope and non-violence we could send by building on the legacy of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King.

Iraq

After three long years, the deaths of more than 2,467 American troops, more than 18,000 wounded, and the deaths of more than 40,000 Iraqis, it's beyond time to bring our mission in Iraq to a close.

The Bush Administration misled us into an elective war that we didn't have to fight. But our brave men and women in uniform have performed admirably, successfully meeting every goal that was set for them -- from capturing Saddam Hussein and freeing the Iraqi people to training Iraqi security forces and fostering the creation of an Iraqi government. Now it should be up to the people of Iraq to decide what kind of future they want.

That's why I'll be introducing a resolution when the Senate returns to Washington next week, calling for U.S. forces to be redeployed from Iraq within 6 months or earlier, if practicable. My resolution also calls for a quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon Marine presence to be deployed in the region.

It is completely unacceptable to me to see our government paralyzed over a failed policy -- a policy that is bringing so much pain to so many. The Bush Administration's open-ended commitment in Iraq is not only causing death and destruction to our brave troops, it's also serving as a catalyst for further terrorist recruitment.

It's time to change course. That's why I'll be introducing my resolution in the Senate, which is very similar in impact to Congressman Jack Murtha's House legislation, when Congress reconvenes next week.

* * * * *

Thanks for taking the time to read this message. I thought it was important to lay out some of my latest thinking on Iraq and Darfur and provide some tangible solutions to the Bush Administration's gridlock.

I hope you'll join me in speaking out on these two critical foreign policy issues and help me bring about the change that is so desperately needed -- in America, in Iraq, and in Darfur.

In Friendship,

Barbara Boxer

P.S. Please forward this email to other friends and family members who may be interested in addressing the serious problems we face in Iraq and Darfur. Thanks for your continued help and support!

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4576/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://americanmonitor.blogspot.com/2006/05/terror-ops-underway-in-iran.html


Informant: Kev Hall

The US-led multinational force in Iraq is losing troops from two of its most important allies - Italy and South Korea - and up to a half dozen other members could draw down their forces or pull out entirely by year's end.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106I.shtml

"If you want an illustration of 'deafening silence,' it is what you hear in the corridors of official and corporate India after the judicial verdict in the US on Enron and its extraordinary crimes. The eerie silence is about the Indian part of the Enron story," writes J. Sri Raman.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106G.shtml



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

Now, with polls showing a steady decline in public support and average Americans increasingly tuning out the war in Iraq, a new generation of veterans are warning that they, too, are at risk of the same kind of indifference that confronted Vietnam-era veterans.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106D.shtml

Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as "a renegade band of rightwing extremists."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106C.shtml

How high did the Republicans’ New Hampshire phone scheme reach?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106B.shtml

William Fisher writes, "Libya's 'rehabilitation' as a country that has renounced WMD and state-sponsored terrorism - for which it will soon be rewarded with a real live American ambassador - provides an exquisite illustration of how the Bush administration is replacing its 'spreading freedom' mantra with support for the 'Global War on Terrorism.'"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106A.shtml

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70914-0.html?tw=rss.technology


Informant: Scott Munson

The Tangled Web of American "Intelligence"

"From such a tangled web of intelligence organizations, fighting for turf, squirreling away money in black accounts, running covert operations (not to speak of secret prisons and interrogations, kidnappings and assassinations), surveilling everyone in hearing or sight, and monitoring the universe, undoubtedly comes a tangled mass of information, however computerized, beyond the ken of any set of human beings," writes Tom Engelhardt.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106P.shtml

In the first public testimony by a member of Jack Abramoff's inner circle, a former Congressional aide told a federal jury yesterday how the disgraced lobbyist identified his "champions" in government and then showered them with favors to get inside information and help for his clients.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106N.shtml

"Among the mysteries still unsolved is what caused such a catastrophic collapse in the Marines' discipline," writes Michael Duffy. "So why did some men in Kilo Company apparently snap? Perhaps because of the stress of fighting a violent and unpopular war - or because their commanders failed them."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106M.shtml



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

Iran does not pose an immediate nuclear threat, and the world must act cautiously to avoid repeating mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said on Tuesday.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106L.shtml

"The Bush Family consistently acted to put Enron and its longtime CEO Ken Lay into a position to rip off investors and taxpayers," writes Robert Scheer. "Why is the mass media ignoring that fact now that Lay has been convicted in arguably the most egregious example of white-collar fraud in US history?"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053106K.shtml



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

31.05.06

Der Bundesvorsitzende der Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO), Wilhelm Schmidt, gerät wegen seiner Forderung nach Leistungskürzungen für Empfänger nach der Arbeitsmarktreform "Hartz IV" in heftige Kritik aus den eigenen Reihen. Schmidt habe klar gegen die Prinzipien der Arbeiterwohlfahrt verstoßen, sagte der Vorsitzende des Bezirksverbandes Niederrhein, Paul Saatkamp, der Chemnitzer "Freien Presse". Er sei entsetzt über die Haltung des AWO-Vorsitzenden. Alle vier nordrhein-westfälischen Bezirksverbände distanzierten sich von den Kürzungsforderungen ihres Vorsitzenden.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=13720



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hartz+IV

What do you think would happen if even one, just one of the Impeach Team candidates were to win their primary challenge for the soul of the Democratic party?

It would be an earthquake. It would demonstrate that our members of Congress are no longer able to blithely ignore the will of the people with impunity, that it will cost them their own nominations. And with your support, Marcy Winograd in the California 36th district, Bob McCloskey in the 29th and Charles Coleman in the 28th can ALL win.

Their amazing unity in running their positive, "call to action" radio spots is winning them massive local support. Already in prominent rotation on the Air America Radio affiliate in Los Angeles, tomorrow morning they will be added to KNX, the biggest news radio station in the city in drive time. And none of this would have happened without your generous donations.

You can hear the new radio spot anytime on the page at:
http://www.impeachteam.com/donations.php

There is a link on the page now where you can download the MP3 direct to your hard drive (just right click). Put it on your own site, podcast it, spread the word that there are three brave candidates standing together in unity and standing for accountability, calling for impeachment now.

Here in the last 6 days of the campaign, the Impeach Team needs to secure every possible available radio spot they can, so that nobody could possibly miss the message that we have positive and viable alternatives to make our democracy really work. If you can contribute just $25 dollars, you can put one of these magical 60 second spots on Air America Radio. If you can contribute just $120 we can move that spot into the heaviest part of their daily schedule.

http://www.impeachteam.com/donations.php

Join Marcy Winograd, Bob McCloskey and Charles Coleman in speaking out for what must be done, the immediate impeachment of both Bush and Cheney before they abuse their power and the public trust even further.

As the momentum for Charles Coleman, Bob McCloskey and Marcy Winograd continues to build, OpedNews.com, the premier digest of online progressive opinion, today AGAIN featured an article where even more people can hear the Impeach Team radio spot playing right on the page.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thepen_060530_the_hidden_atrocitie.htm

Nobody who is a witness to this should be surprised on June 6th to see a check mark next to the names of Charles Coleman, Bob McCloskey and Marcy Winograd on TV that night. It is only by being able to sustain successful primary challenges that we can rebuild our democracy from the inside. And that would be an earthquake in California of national magnitude.

If you can make any contribution at all, and have not taken advantage of the opportunity to do so, listen to the radio spot, imagine what it would be like to inspire people to take effective and real action to save our country, and then do it.

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.

Powered by The People's Email Network Copyright 2006, Patent pending, All rights reserved



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

More than a dozen efficiency efforts are set for trims or elimination as the administration pushes long-term projects.

By Mark Clayton
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0531/p02s01-uspo.html

A few years ago a little-known US Energy Department program helped produce a design technology for lightweight cars and trucks that in 2004 alone saved the nation 122 million barrels of oil, or about $9 billion.

Even without that breakthrough, the tiny Industrial Technologies Program routinely saves the United States $7 worth of energy for each dollar it spends, proponents say.

So, with energy prices spiking and President Bush pushing for more energy research, the ITP would seem a natural candidate for more funding. In fact, its budget is set to get chopped by a third from its 2005 level. It's one of more than a dozen energy-efficiency efforts that the Energy Department plans to trim or eliminate in a $115 million cost-saving move.

The push to solve the nation's energy woes are bumping up against the federal government's budget problems. To be sure, the Bush administration is anxious to fund its new Advanced Energy Initiative - long-term research into nuclear, coal, wind, solar, and hydrogen power. But to accomplish that, it is cutting lesser-known programs like ITP whose payoffs are far more near-term.

"This is the worst time to be cutting these programs," says William Prindle, deputy director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a Washington think tank. "At this point in time, with high energy prices and pressures, you'd think maybe we'd want to invest in a suite of energy-efficiency programs that make a dent right away."

If Congress accepts the Energy Department's proposed 2007 budget, it will cut $152 million - some 16 percent - from this year's budget for energy-efficiency programs. Adjusting for inflation, it would mean the US government would spend 30 percent less on energy efficiency next year than it did in 2002, the ACEEE says.

Such cuts reflect a shift in priorities toward programs that could offer much bigger energy breakthroughs, the Energy Department says.

"Tough choices had to be made, and we had to realign priorities," writes Christina Kielich, a DOE spokeswoman in an e-mail. "Some programs within the energy- efficiency budget have reached a point to be considered mature technologies" that require less funding.

To others, it's a penny-wise and pound-foolish move, particularly ironic for a nation hard-pressed to reduce energy bills.

"Because of high gas prices and energy prices, I just wouldn't have expected a program that helps the little guy, small business, to take this kind of hit," says Michael Muller, a Rutgers University engineering professor and national coordinator for the ITP's Industrial Assessment Centers. "They haven't said it doesn't work. They say it's because of other higher priorities."

One energy-efficiency program on the chopping block is the Heavy Vehicle Propulsion and Ancillary Subsystems. It helps improve the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks, one of the nation's biggest oil consumers. That program is "zeroed out" in the 2007 budget request.

The same fate awaits the $4.5 million Building Codes Implementation Grants program. It helps states adopt more energy-efficient requirements for new buildings, the nation's largest consumer of electricity and natural gas.

The $8 million Clean Cities program has helped clean-fuel technologies, like buses that run on compressed natural gas, get to market. But it's slated for a $2.8 million cut.

Dr. Muller's Industrial Assessment Centers program annually conducts about 600 energy audits and trains a new crop of about 250 new energy-efficiency engineers. The $7 million program, which is estimated to save enough power to supply half a million homes each year, wins plaudits from the small businesses that have been able to reduce their costs.

But budget cuts slated for 2007 would trim the program by a third, slashing the number of its university-based auditing and training programs from 23 to 16. Savings: about $2.4 million.

"I hope the ITP cuts do get restored," says Larry Kavanagh, vice president of manufacturing and technology for the American Iron and Steel Institute, a Washington trade association. "It saved the auto industry a lot of weight in its cars - and the country a lot of energy."

These programs are minuscule compared with the big-ticket research programs envisioned by the White House. Mr. Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, for example, would cost $1.2 billion over five years.

Proponents of the small-scale efficiency programs point out that the ITP, with 1/20th of the budget, has already saved more oil than the hydrogen-fuel program would save, if successful, by 2025.

But others are skeptical of the value of most Department of Energy programs and especially energy-efficiency programs. They say the latter should be provided by the private sector, not government.

"When energy prices are high, you don't need to subsidize conservation efforts," says Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies for the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank. "These are subsidies that qualify as corporate welfare."

One of the nation's priorities is improving the security and reliability of the electric grid. One option for doing that sooner, rather than later, is the emerging technology of "distributed generation." Under that approach, the nation would build more but much smaller power plants so that small businesses and even individual homes could have them.

True, such systems would burn costly natural gas - but at twice the energy efficiency of today's grid - to produce both heat and electricity for homeowners. If such systems caught on, they could vastly reduce load demand on central power stations and slash the need to build new power plants.

But that vision of the future may be delayed, since the DOE's "distributed energy" program has been cut in half and the remainder is being heavily earmarked by federal lawmakers for specific projects that they favor. The program is slated to be terminated in 2008, observers say.

"Hurricanes, terrorism, and blackouts have given us so many reasons to emphasize distributed generation, and instead we're putting emphasis on new forms of centralized power," says John Jimison, executive director of the US Combined Heat and Power Association, a Washington advocacy group. "It's too bad it's getting cut because it was a very modest program."

There may be a glimmer of hope for energy-efficiency programs. The House Committee for Energy and Water Development subcommittee moved last week to restore some funding to ITP and hybrid technology for heavy trucks. The committee voted earlier this month to fully fund the president's $2.1 billion Advanced Energy Initiative.

Full HTML version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links

http://www.csmonitor.com

Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.


Informant: binstock

A message from Eleanor

Every year The high School in Gillett, ARK play's host the annual Coon supper. Let's put a stop to this event! Each year 600-800 pounds of Racoon meat are served at this event. This is considered a political event, every polition in Arkansas must attend this event and eat Racoon meat.

"In most places, a politician has to kiss babies in order to succeed. Arkansas politicians have to eat raccoon.

The small east Arkansas town of Gillett doubles its population on the second weekend of every year as candidates and political junkies gather for its annual Coon Supper.

More than 60 years old, the event has become a required stop for anyone seeking or holding political office in Arkansas. Originally started as a fundraiser for high school athletics, it's now the ultimate meet-and-greet for the state's politicians"

We the undersigned hereby urge Gov. Mike Huckabee, Mayor Layton Mattmiller, and Gillett School District Supt. Johnnie L. Johnson to immediately stop this "fundraiser" and find other ways to support their school.

STOP THE ANNUAL RACCOON SUPPER IN GILLETT ARK
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/885544126

It’s time to hold ExxonMobil responsible for putting corporate profits over protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat. Join Defenders of Wildlife in urging ExxonMobil to clean up its act.

Fill out the form below to let ExxonMobil know that you will not buy ExxonMobil gasoline unless -- and until -- ExxonMobil abandons its lobbying efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge up to harmful drilling and takes meaningful action to curb global warming, to invest in renewable energy, and to pay for the damages done by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

Take action under:
https://secure2.convio.net/dow/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr002=dkn75njk75.app20a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=271

--------

Take Action on ExxonMobil today!

Dressed in big oil barrels bearing bold white messages like, “Exxon Funds Global Warming Skeptics!” Exxpose Exxon activists are gathering in Dallas today to protest outside ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting.

Even if you can’t be there in person to show ExxonMobil how fed up you are with its dirty practices, you can still participate in the protest by sending a letter to your members of Congress today http://ga3.org/campaign/EE_AGM_May2006 . Ask them to reject any bill that lines ExxonMobil’s pockets with more tax breaks and more oil drilling of our pristine lands and shorelines. The message is simple: If it’s good for ExxonMobil, it’s bad for the country. Your letter will help Congress put every bill before it in the right perspective.

Click here to participate in today’s protest by sending your message to Congress now. http://ga3.org/campaign/EE_AGM_May2006

Right now Congress is buzzing with talk about price gouging at the gas pump and ExxonMobil’s excessive profits and CEO pay packages. This is a crucial moment and it’s very important that your members of Congress hear from you today regarding your feelings about bills that benefit ExxonMobil instead of the American public.

As you likely know, we cannot drill our way out of global warming or our current energy crisis. Unfortunately, ExxonMobil refuses to accept this simple fact and is actually stepping up its efforts to lobby for more drilling in protected places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In fact, just this month, after a private meeting with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, House Speaker Dennis Hastert called on Congress to concentrate on prying open the Arctic Refuge for drilling.

Whether your concern is about global warming, clean air and water, social and environmental justice, human rights, wildlife and pristine land protection, peak oil, or national security – the solution is the same.

Our country must end its dependence on oil and begin the transition to clean and affordable renewable energy sources. ExxonMobil is using its profits and influence to stop that from happening. But we have something greater, we have the powerful voice of the people.

Please join today’s protest by clicking here to send a letter about ExxonMobil to your members of Congress now. http://ga3.org/campaign/EE_AGM_May2006

Then forward this message to all of your friends, family, and co-workers and ask them to do the same.

Thank you for your help.

Best,

Shawnee Hoover
Campaign Director, Exxpose Exxon

--------

Consumer, Environmental Fury Kicks Off Exxon Meeting

Simmering consumer fury over soaring gasoline prices and angst over ExxonMobil Corp.'s environmental policies converged on a Dallas symphony hall on Wednesday as the company kicked off its annual shareholders' meeting.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/060106EB.shtml

Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 11:27 AM
Subject: Stand Up for Internet Freedom

The telephone and cable companies who want to control the Internet underestimated us. Late last week in a strong bipartisan vote, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill - over industry lobbyists' objections - called HR 5417, the Internet Freedom and Non-Discrimination Act. Now we need to make sure that the full House of Representatives has a chance to consider this critical legislation. http://www.commoncause.org/InternetFreedom

Tell the House not to block a vote on a free and open Internet. HR 5417 ensures that we will continue to enjoy net neutrality, the right to access whatever we want on the Internet, and to use any lawful application, without interference from our Internet service provider. http://www.commoncause.org/InternetFreedom

Congress needs to hear that you care about the future of freedom and innovation on the Internet. Please send an email today. http://www.commoncause.org/InternetFreedom

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely, Chellie Pingree
President Common Cause

P.S. Check out our new feature,
Straight Talk on Net Neutrality: http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1709777
It answers some of the most commonly asked questions on this issue. If you have other questions you'd like to us to answer, let us know on CommonBlog: http://www.commonblog.com/story/2006/5/25/161042/990
Forward this message: http://www.commoncause.org/TellFriends
Support media reform: http://www.commoncause.org/SupportMediaReform
Discuss this message: http://www.commonblog.org/


Informant: Alan Dicey

Hawaii Reporter
by Alex Epstein

05/29/06

Every Memorial Day, we pay tribute to the American men and women who have died in combat. With speeches and solemn ceremonies, we recognize their courage and valor. But one fact goes unacknowledged in our Memorial Day tributes: all too many of our soldiers have died unnecessarily -- because they were sent to fight for a purpose other than America's freedom. The proper purpose of a government is to protect its citizens' lives and freedom against the initiation of force by criminals at home and aggressors abroad. The American government has a sacred responsibility to recognize the individual value of every one of its citizens' lives, and thus to do everything possible to protect the rights of each to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. This absolutely includes our soldiers...

http://tinyurl.com/r28c5


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The American Conservative
by Charles V. Pena

If gas breaking the $3/gallon barrier could dominate the evening news and send Congress into a frenzy, imagine Americans' horror if oil, now $75/barrel, suddenly tops $200. Neither our political will nor our wallets are prepared, but a few stalled SUVs may be the least of our concerns if the U.S. makes good on its threats against Iran... (for publication 05/05/06)

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_06_05/feature.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

TechCentralStation
by Pejman Yousefzadeh

05/30/06

Remember, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives staked their claim to power twelve years ago via the 'Contract with America,' the first article of which said that 'all laws that apply to the rest of the country [should] also apply equally to the Congress.' It was a good idea back in 1994. It is a good idea now. Let's enforce it...

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=053006G


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=20882


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Free Market News Network
by Joel Skousen

05/30/06

Britain is notorious for its selective denial of free speech and a free press using its 'Official Secrets Act.' Americans used to be proud we were free from such sleight-of-hand maneuvers to restrict liberty. No more. It appears we have, compliments of our erstwhile 'conservative' government, using dubious legal interpretations, a de facto 'state secrets act.' Thinkprogress.org warned this week, 'Be careful what you read.' Not only is it viewed as unlawful to distribute classified material, you can be prosecuted for possessing it, even if you buy and keep a book or newspaper with illegal material inside...

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/230/5074/2006-05-30.asp?nid=5074&wid=230


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Reuters

05/30/06

Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday his patience was wearing thin with excuses from U.S. troops that they kill civilians by 'mistake' and said he would launch an investigation into killings at Haditha last year. 'There is a limit to the acceptable excuses. Yes a mistake may happen but there is an acceptable limit to mistakes,' Nuri al-Maliki told Reuters when asked about a U.S. investigation into the deaths of 24 Iraqis in the western town last November...

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=MAC048936


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp




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

Yahoo! News

05/30/06

Concerned by rising stress levels in the ranks, the Defense Department has quietly started an online self-screening program in hopes that anonymity will help some service members and their spouses overcome reluctance to confront possible mental-health problems. ... The effort is among the latest of numerous military initiatives undertaken to cope with stress, depression and other mental-health problems that have proliferated since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan led to tougher overseas deployment schedules...

http://tinyurl.com/oso9y


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CNN

05/30/06

During a meeting last week with some of the nation's leading Internet service companies, the attorney general and the FBI director asked a variety of customer information and other data be kept for two years, much longer than the companies do now, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday. Companies have varying policies regarding what information is kept and for how long. One thing the Justice Department wants is some type of subscriber information, such as the Internet address assigned to a person when logging on to a service provider, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN...

http://tinyurl.com/lleeg


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CNN

05/30/06

A former congressional aide and lobbyist described Tuesday how he obtained insider information, advice and assistance from Bush administration procurement chief David Safavian to advance two projects for Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff, who then took the official on a lavish golf trip to Scotland. The aide, Neil Volz, who was a partner of Abramoff's at the time, also outlined how the Abramoff team received assistance from several Republican congressmen including, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio...

http://tinyurl.com/pavd7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

ABC News

05/31/06

Afghanistan's parliament has approved a motion calling for the government to prosecute the U.S. soldiers responsible for a deadly road crash that sparked the worst riots in Kabul in years, officials said Wednesday. The assembly passed the nonbinding motion Tuesday, after debating Monday's crash in which a U.S. truck plowed into a line of cars, killing up to five Afghans and sparking citywide, anti-foreigner riots, said Saleh Mohammed Saljuqi, an assistant to the parliamentary speaker. ... Hospital officials say most of the dead and wounded were shot...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2022820


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Ausgaben für Arbeitslosigkeit sind insgesamt nicht gestiegen, sondern gefallen

Hintergrundinformation zum Mythos der Kostenexplosion bei Hartz IV vom 30.05.2006 vom Büro Katja Kipping, MdB (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/kostenex1.pdf


Prognose (bzw. Schätzung) der SGB III- und SGB II-Ausgaben 2006 im Vergleich zu den veranschlagten Ausgaben

Info des Bremer Institut für Arbeitsmarktforschung und Jugendberufshilfe
(BIAJ) vom 24.5.06 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/kostenex2.pdf

Aus dem Text: „…Fazit aus Prognose I und II und Schätzung: Auch wenn man die geschätzten Mehrausgaben der Kommunen mit einbezieht, wird 2006 voraussichtlich (geringfügig) weniger ausgegeben als in den Haushalten (BA, Bund, Kommunen) veranschlagt. (-0,8 Mrd Euro) Die Minderausgaben beim Wohngeld (für Arbeitslosengeldempfänger/innen) blieben hier unberücksichtigt.“


Armutszeugnis statt Kostenexplosion

Stellungnahme, die auf dem Abschlussplenum des Bundestreffens der Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Erwerbslosen- und Sozialhilfeinitiativen
(BAG-SHI) einstimmig verabschiedet wurde, als Pressemitteilung der BAG-SHI vom 28.05.2006 (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/hilfe/kostenex3.pdf


Union der Lüge bei der Kostenexplosion beim ALG-II bezichtigt. Aufruf an alle Erwerbslose sich gegen die Politik des Sozialkahlschlags am 3. Juni zu wehren

„Das Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland hat Teilen der Union vorgeworfen, dass sie bei der angeblichen Kostenexplosion durch Hartz-IV lügen würde, um weitere Einschnitte bei Leistungen und Rechten von Arbeitslosen durch zusetzen…“ Pressemeldung des Erwerbslosen Forum Deutschland vom 26.05.2006 http://www.erwerbslosenforum.de/nachrichten/union_der_luge_bei_der__kostenexplosion_beim_alg-ii_bezichtigt.htm


Geheime Verschlussache bei Hartz IV Verwaltungskosten

„Über die Kostenexplosion bei Hartz IV wurde oft berichtet. Im Mittelpunkt, stand neben den ALG II Leistungen auch der angebliche Missbrauch von Leistungen, welche verantwortlich sein sollen, dass bereits im ersten Quartal ein Anstieg der Kosten um 14,2 Prozent - gegenüber dem Vorjahr - zu verzeichnen ist. Eine detaillierte Kostenaufstellung bleibt die Regierung der Bevölkerung weiterhin schuldig…“ Meldung des Sozialticker vom 29.5.06 http://www.sozialticker.com/geheime-verschlussache-bei-hartz-iv-verwaltungskosten.html


Aus: LabourNet, 31. Mai 2006

--------

Mythos Kostenexplosion. Hartz IV: Um die Missbrauchsdebatte anzuheizen, ist jede Phantomzahl willkommen

Artikel von Hans Thie in Freitag vom 2.6.06 http://www.freitag.de/2006/22/06220503.php


Satirischer Zwischenruf zur Kostenexplosion durch Hartz IV

„Der Kampf gegen die durch die hohe Arbeitslosigkeit bedingte Kostenexplosion treibt äußerst seltsame Blüten. Da soll doch die Arbeitswilligkeit von Langzeitarbeitslosen in Zukunft durch "Sofortangebote" überprüft werden und selbstverständlich wird bei dreimaliger Ablehnung zumutbarer Jobangebote anschließend die Arbeitslosengeld II - Zahlung eingestellt. Unsere Sozialgerichte wird höchstwahrscheinlich schon bald die Frage beschäftigen, ob jemand etwas ablehnen kann, was es nachweislich überhaupt nicht gibt: Zumutbare Arbeitsperspektiven für Langzeitarbeitslose. Bezogen auf eine unzweifelhaft sinnvolle und nachhaltige Kostendämpfung sollte statt der Bestrafung der Betroffenen ernsthaft geprüft werden, ob die Entlohnung der „staatstragenden Menschen“ aus öffentlichen Kassen eingestellt werden kann (muss), die unermüdlich einen derartigen Schwachsinn verbreiten und gesetzlich verankern.“ Helmut Malmes


Aus: LabourNet, 8. Juni 2006

--------

Hartz IV > Leistungen und Auswirkungen > Kostenexplosion?

BA-Überschuss 2006: voraussichtlich 9 Milliarden Euro – 7 Milliarden Euro mehr als veranschlagt

Eine aktualisierte Prognose des BA-Überschusses 2006 des Bremer Instituts für Arbeitsmarktforschung und Jugendberufshilfe (BIAJ) vom 11.8.06 (pdf) http://www.arbeitnehmerkammer.de/sozialpolitik/doku/01_aktuell/ticker/2006/2006_08_11_biaj.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 16. August 2006

--------

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

„Juni 2006, „panem et circenses“, Brot und Spiele bewegen die Menschen, nicht – oder noch nicht – oder besser: noch nicht wieder die weiteren Zumutungen, die die Politik unter dem Label der „weiteren Reform“ des „sozialen Netzes“ dem Menschen zumutet…“ Artikel von Karl-Ludwig Ostermann vom 27.05.2006 in Linkezeitung.

http://www.linkezeitung.de/cms/content/view/564/32/


Aus: LabourNet, 31. Mai 2006

Dossier Pathologies (nelle serie), aujourd'hui: Antennes relais et Saignements de Nez - avec un reportage vidéo (hypertension artérielle), des témoignages, et les réponses aux bonnes questions . . .

http://www.next-up.org/pages/nouvellesdumonde58.php

House Resource Committee Chair Richard Pombo now gets most of his campaign cash from the gambling, energy, and real estate development industries rather than the ranching and agriculture industries in his district. This reflects Pombo's increasing national prominence and agenda-setting role in Washington's "pay to play" system.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053006EB.shtml



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

Richard Heinberg says that without a detailed knowledge of energy geopolitics, "The modern world affairs analyst is in little better position to discern the patterns and portents than was his or her ancient Roman counterpart, the reader of entrails."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/053006EA.shtml

Granny D says that although we have yet to take the actions needed to save the planet, all is not lost because "the problems of the carbon age are not based on innate self-destructiveness, they are based on addiction, and all the enabling supports of that addiction are unsustainable and are now teetering."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053006S.shtml

Larry Johnson says that journalists have an obligation to disclose family connections that cause conflicts of interest. One example is Howard Kurtz, media reporter for the Washington Post, whose wife works as a Republican consultant.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053006R.shtml

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

31. Mai 2006

Zu den von SPD und Union geplanten weiteren Verschärfungen von Hartz IV erklärt die stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Katja Kipping (MdB):

"Wer nicht arbeitet, soll auch nicht essen." Diesen Satz von SPD-Arbeitsminister Franz Müntefering wollen SPD und Union nun in die Tat umsetzen. In einer Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktion haben die Regierungsparteien weitere Angriffe auf Hartz-IV-Betroffene verabredet, in deren Folge Erwerbslose verstärkt in die Obdachlosigkeit getrieben werden. Vom ursprünglichen Anspruch "fordern und fördern" bleibt für die Betroffenen dann nur noch "betteln und frieren". Bei den gestern von CDU und SPD eingebrachten Änderungsanträgen zum sogenannten Fortentwicklungsgesetz geht es im Kern um folgende Verschärfungen: Zukünftig soll "kein Anspruch auf Leistung bestehen, wenn sich der Leistungsberechtigte außerhalb des zeit- und ortsnahen Bereichs aufhält". Damit wird faktisch eine Residenzpflicht für ALG-II-Bezieher eingeführt. Von dieser Einschränkung der Bewegungsfreiheit ist es nicht mehr weit bis zur Einführung einer elektronischen Fußfessel. Um die Sanktionen besonders schmerzhaft zu gestalten, sollen zukünftig nicht nur die Leistungsbezüge um 100 Prozent gekürzt werden können, sondern auch die Kosten der Unterkunft. Damit wird das Recht eingeräumt, Erwerbslose in die Obdachlosigkeit zu schicken, wenn sie sich nicht willfährig verhalten und jede Maßnahme annehmen. Das "Aushungern" soll lediglich begrenzt werden, wenn der Hilfsbedürftige mit minderjährigen Kindern zusammen lebt. Diese erneuten Verschärfungen stellen einen Angriff auf Grundrechte von Erwerbslosen dar. Die Linkspartei.PDS wird diesem Ansinnen entschiedenen Widerstand entgegensetzen im Parlament und auf der Straße, zunächst bei der Demonstration am 3. Juni in Berlin.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=32855

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

31. Mai 2006

Zur Situation auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt im Monat Mai erklärt der Bundesgeschäftsführer der Linkspartei.PDS Dietmar Bartsch:

Trotz Frühjahrsbelebung sinkt die Zahl der Arbeitslosen in Deutschland nicht unter die 4,5 Millionen-Grenze. 255 000 Personen weniger waren im Mai arbeitslos als im Vormonat, das ist für jeden einzelnen ein berechtigter Grund zur Freude. Euphorie ist aber fehl am Platz, denn ein wirklicher Umschwung ist nicht in Sicht. Die Bundesregierung doktert wie ihre Vorgängerin auch an den Symptomen, ohne das Übel an der Wurzel zu fassen. Denn für die Bundesregierung sind das Grundproblem nicht fehlende Arbeitsplätze sondern "viel zu hohe" Ausgaben. Und so bekämpft man weiterhin die Arbeitslosen mit Leistungskürzungen und Reglementierungen und nicht die Arbeitslosigkeit. Dazu die Hiobsbotschaften vom Ausbildungsmarkt: Hier droht eine Versorgungslücke, die größer ist als im vergangenen Jahr. Statt Sanktionen für Unternehmen, die keine Ausbildungsplätze zur Verfügung stellen, beschränkt sich die Bundesregierung hier weiterhin auf Appelle. Die Linkspartei.PDS bleibt bei ihren Vorschlägen. Sie zielen auf eine gerechte Verteilung von Arbeit und die Schaffung Existenzsichernder Arbeitsplätze. Das beinhaltet sowohl die Forderung nach Einführung einer Ausbildungsplatzumlage, als auch die Verkürzung von Wochen- und Lebensarbeitszeit und die Einführung des gesetzlichen Mindestlohnes. Somit hätte Jugend in diesem Land wieder eine Chance, die gerechte Verteilung von Arbeit würde Arbeitslosen die Möglichkeit der Rückkehr aus dem Abseits der Gesellschaft in den ersten Arbeitsmarkt bieten.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=32854

In a country that spends so much time extolling the glories of democracy, it's amazing how many elected officials go out of their way to discourage voting. States are adopting rules that make it hard, and financially perilous, for nonpartisan groups to register new voters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/opinion/30tue1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin


From Information Clearing House

Gonzales and Mueller want to know what you're doing online.
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/deanna/36859


From Information Clearing House

Now Introducing, the Office of Iranian Affairs (Formerly Doing Business as the Office of Special Plans).

http://www.counterpunch.com/leupp05302006.html


From Information Clearing House

13 Minute Video: Narrated by Susan Sarandon. Windows media and transcript.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13436.htm

More than a half-century after hostilities ended in Korea, a document from the war's chaotic early days has come to light - a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that American soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13432.htm

Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday his patience was wearing thin with excuses from U.S. troops that they kill civilians by "mistake" and said he would launch an investigation into killings at Haditha last year.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13430.htm



Haditha Massacre

Was it an Isolated Event and Did the Military Try to Cover it up?

Audio and transcript
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13434.htm



New details found in deaths of Iraqis

Investigators say they have found drone video from the same day when Marines allegedly killed civilians after bombing.

http://tinyurl.com/oacv9



Marines Haunted By Killings In Haditha

Two Marines were severely traumatized after following orders to photograph corpses of unarmed Iraqi civilians whom members of their unit are suspected of killing, their families said Monday.

http://tinyurl.com/ne7ph



Murtha: Military Still Trying to Spin Haditha Massacre

Video

Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha appeared on CNN America Morning where he expressed outraged at military's handling of the massacre of innocent Iraq's by Marines in Haditha, Iraq.

http://tinyurl.com/oqr9x


From Information Clearing House



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

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13421.htm



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

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/4573/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0530-21.htm



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

Marino Polvani meets me outside Via Carlo Alberto 53 with a briefcase in hand. It’s a Friday night and he has just got back from work but he wants me to see the outside of the building where one night almost two years ago – 14 July 2004 to be exact – workers came to install a mobile phone mast on the roof. Or rather, to erect a mast they had already laid out on the terrace with the help of an enormous crane.

That night Polvani was woken at around 01.00 by a woman living in Via Carlo Alberto. She had come home to find the crane blocking the road and was immediately suspicious.

An Esquilino committee against the illegal and mass proliferation of mobile phone masts had been created a couple of months earlier after a huge white hut containing the mast’s engine and metal clasps had been fixed to the roof of number 53. “We were rather naïve. We didn’t think things could happen so quickly,” says Polvani.

On the night of 14 July, the committee members were the ones who moved quickly. Within minutes they had called the police and rounded up at least 50 local residents, who came out on to the street. The workmen, contracted by mobile phone operator TIM, claimed they had come to repair a mast, but Polvani and company knew very well that the mast in question had not yet been installed. After much wrangling they got the crane and workmen to go home, but not, ironically, because they were putting up a mobile phone mast without the consent of everyone in the building, and certainly not because those living closest to it were worried about the long-term health implications. “We got them to leave because they didn’t have all the right permits, among which was the right to park their crane on public property,” Polvani says.

That same night the committee members and other people living close to Via Carlo Alberto 53 (but no-one actually resident in the building itself) made a life-changing decision. They agreed that they would take turns to stay up all night, every night, in all weather, to make sure the mast was never installed. And they would use the entrance of no 63 just a few doors down (its terrace is attached to that of no 53) as their campaign base, sitting inside in bad weather, or outside when it was warmer.

Since that day Polvani and seven or so other zealous residents have done the majority of the shifts (“And let me tell you, being here at 04.00 in winter is no laughing matter,” he says), but at least another 20 people have occasionally helped out and done a shift or two. Some nights, inhabitants with windows looking out on to Via Carlo Alberto do their shift from home. “Are you sure they stay up all night?” I ask. “Oh yes,” says Polvani.

A few months ago, one young man who had done the lion’s share of the shifts along with Polvani suffered a potentially very serious epileptic seizure – his first. Doctors put it down to stress since otherwise he was in good shape. He has two young children, one of whom is just a few months old, and if the mast goes up the distance between it and his children’s bedroom will be just five metres. “He is the first one who will get fried,” Polvani exclaims, half-jokingly and within earshot of his campaigning and thankfully fully-recovered friend. Then, more quietly: “There is a proven link between electromagnetic radiation and infantile leukaemia.”

Polvani and the other 30 or so committee members now form just one of many citizens’ groups in Rome that belong to the “No Elettrosmogroma” campaign (see website below). The Esquilino group is the most visible merely because, as Polvani admits, “we are the only people crazy enough to do a nightly watch.”

There is a lot of work to be done in the daytime too. The group has hired a lawyer to help write reports, file complaints, and prepare so-called “self-protection” or autotutela procedures. It has also organised countless petitions and even outdoor lessons on electromagnetic radiation. And though so far it has managed to block the installation of the mast – thanks in great part to the help of a green party member of parliament, Paolo Cento, a green city councillor, Giuseppe Teodoro, and the ministry for fine arts and cultural heritage – the struggle is long and uphill.

There are plans to install a second mast, a Vodafone one this time, on the same building in Via Carlo Alberto, and yet another one in Via Principe Amedeo 148, also in the Esquilino. There are already several existing masts in the area, including one on Via Filiberto just metres from a primary school. “In Rome the installation of at least another 4,000 masts is planned,” says Polvani with a pained expression. “It will be like living in a microwave oven.”

But doesn’t everyone in a building have to agree for a mast to go up on its roof? In theory yes, says Polvani, but “building administrators approve their installation without the consent of every home-owner.” Why?

Because they and many apartment-owners – who may not even live in the building – are lured by annual rental fees paid by the mobile phone companies of anything between €20,000-€40,000. “So the few owners who don’t agree with the installation tend to be silenced or threatened,” explains Polvani. “This mast we are talking about here [at Via Carlo Alberto 53] was approved with just over half of the proprietors’ consent for example.”

The main problem, according to Polvani, is twofold: the infamous Gasparri law, which makes the bureaucratic procedure for putting up a mast much simpler than before and allows it to bypass the approval of the local health unit or ASL; and the advent of the third generation of mobile phones, the so-called UMTS phones, which can send images and data and be used to connect to internet. With the text and voice-only mobiles, masts could be several hundred metres away from one another, says Polvani; for the latest 3-G technology they need to be between 100 and 150 m apart. “We will need a mast on every street corner,” he adds.

Polvani ends on a wistful note: “What I have learnt is that citizens count for nothing. We are good for paying taxes and are useful on election days, but that is all.” He smiles as he says this but it is in fact a truly devastating indictment.

For more information on the Rome anti-mast proliferation campaigning groups see http://www.noelettrosmogroma.org . For more information on the Esquilino group Esquilino Senza Elettrosmog email: noagliantennati@yahoo.it .

http://www.wantedinrome.com/articles/complete_articles.php?id_art=369

http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs43.html



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