World-News

From criminal mismanagement of Iraq's oil revenues to armed private security contractors operating with virtual impunity, this war has created opportunities for an appalling amount of corruption. What follows is a list of some of the worst Iraq war profiteers, who have bilked American taxpayers and undermined the military's mission.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506I.shtml

"No one understands why we are here and what our mission is," says Sergeant Kahlor. "This war is lost. We aren't helping these people. We are just dying and getting injured." "We are here for each other to make it home," said Sergeant Poetsch. "That's what our motto is. After Potocki went down we sat the platoon down and talked about that even if you don't believe in what is going on, at least we fight for each other. That is how we are going with it now."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506G.shtml

"No incumbent senator or candidate for a senate seat should be allowed to make it to November without addressing the issue of Net Neutrality and the broader question of whether media policy in this country should serve a few telecommunications giants or the great mass of Americans and the great potential of American democracy," writes John Nichols.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506D.shtml

Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith write: "The US War Crimes Act of 1996 makes it a felony to commit grave violations of the Geneva Conventions. The Washington Post recently reported that the Bush administration is quietly circulating draft legislation to eliminate crucial parts of the War Crimes Act. Observers on The Hill say the administration plans to slip it through Congress this fall while there still is a guaranteed Republican majority - perhaps as part of the military appropriations bill, the proposals for Guantanamo tribunals, or a new catch-all 'anti-terrorism' package."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506B.shtml

Valerie Plame was no analyst or paper-pusher. She was an operations officer working on a top priority of the Bush Administration. Armitage, Rove and Libby had revealed information about a CIA officer who had searched for proof of the President's case. In doing so, they harmed her career and put at risk operations she had worked on and foreign agents and sources she had handled.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506A.shtml

A CONTROVERSIAL phone mast in High Wycombe has been pulled down to the delight of neighbours who have campaigned for six months to have it removed.

The 45ft mast in Arnison Avenue was dismantled last Tuesday just as Barry Evans, founder of the NO2 Mast Group, was preparing to fight the mobile phone giants before a judge the next day.

Mr Evans, 59, from Amersham Road, said: "I am pleased. It shows that you need to push them and they will back down. This could all have been sorted over a cup of coffee weeks ago."

The mast was put up in February despite O2 failing to get planning permission from Wycombe District Council after the company used a legal loophole.

The phone company realised the council had missed the deadline to respond to its application by one day, giving it automatic permission to install the mast. The council has 56 days to respond to applications.

Jim Stevenson, from O2, said it was a "coincidence" that the court case was the next day and promised the mast would not be making a reappearance.

He said: "We have tweaked a few of our other antennae and we realised we don't need this one any more. It will go back in storage and be used somewhere else in the country."

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisisbucks.co.uk/news/businessmonthly/businessnews/display.var.907989.0.phone_company_takes_down_controversial_mast.php

"It's hard to believe that nearly six years after the disasters of Florida in 2000, states still haven't mastered the art of counting votes accurately. Yet," write the editors of the New York Times, "there are growing signs that the country is moving into another presidential election cycle in disarray."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506P.shtml

"It took no time at all for the administration to start systematically undercutting the efforts of experienced health administrators in New York and at the national Centers for Disease Control," write David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz. "By pressing them to return the city to 'normal' and feeding them doctored information about dust levels - ignoring scientific uncertainties about the dangers that lingered in the air - the administration lied to support a national policy of denial."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506O.shtml

Mit dem Begriff des islamischen Faschismus hat US-Präsident Bush die kommenden Wahlen im Blick.

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/23/23484/1.html

A message from Eleanor

Patrick Cockburn, the award-winning journalist and author, has reported extensively from Iraq, Afghanistan and Jordan. Here, he explains how the 'war on terror' has fuelled resentment of the West and brought new levels of death and destruction.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article1362708.ece

For nearly three years, the small community of McCloud, situated at the foot of Mount Shasta in northern California, has kept a Nestlé water bottling plant and distribution center at bay. But the Swiss-based food and beverage giant continues to push forward its plans for a 1-million square foot plant that would drain nearly 2 million gallons of water every day for less than 1/64 of a cent per gallon!

Now, the Draft Environmental Impact Review of the project is open for comment. This report downplays the serious impact of Nestlé's plant on the community and region. You have an opportunity to speak out before the comment period ends on September 12.

Tell the Siskiyou County Planning Department that you want all the impacts of this project thoroughly analyzed in order to protect the environment and water resources. They must do everything they can to protect McCloud's water--not turn it over to Nestlé to exploit for profit.

Add your comments to the sample letter below and we'll send it to the Siskiyou County Planning Department--help McCloud citizens protect their water from Nestlé.

Tell me more
http://www.stopcorporateabusenow.org/campaign/nestle_eir

By Rami G. Khouri, TomPaine.com

A grown man playing make-believe instead of delivering a sensible foreign policy endangers us all.

http://ga3.org/ct/3d20pgF1tRuJ/

A message from Debs

Original Message

Please sign this petition authored by my husband.
Blessings and thanks,

Launi



Dear Friend,

One of the primary lessons we are taught in childhood is to share. As we become adults, we learn that sharing is not just about toys, it is about food and water, it is about culture and respect, it is about our mother earth. No matter how many would choose to divide us for their personal gain, we are one species, we are one family. It is time that as a species, we act as responsible adults not like misbehaving children. We must see that it is in the interest of each and every one of us to make this world a place where all are safe and secure, a place which is worthy of our children, and grandchildren and all of the generations to follow.

We waste so much money on war and destruction. If we took all that money and effort and put it into food, housing, health care and education, we could transform our world from one of fear and sorrow into one of joy and thanksgiving. We have been told, in so many settings, it is us against them. This is a lie. When we destroy rather than build, it is us against ourselves. Peace and cooperation is the road to the future, if there is to be a future. It is time for the people to stand up and say “we will no longer tolerate this abomination”. It is time for all parties to lay down their arms. It is time for the people of the every country and every creed to come together and tell the war mongers to step aside and let a new era open for mankind. Let us give power to those who advance the cause of peace and prosperity not doom and destruction.

We must do this. We can do this. We will do this. Please do three things to help make this possible:

1) sign this petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/495764839
2) forward this email to everyone you can
3) wear red on October 9th

The petition will be presented to Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, and forwarded to leaders of all the countries of the world. We are using the worldwide web to make this a truly international event and it will only happen if you help. Please include your contacts in other countries. October 9th was chosen because it is the birthday of John Lennon who wrote the song “Imagine”. It also happens to be an especially opportune time in the political calendar of the United States.

While gatherings and marches are encouraged in an effort to gain local media coverage, the wearing of red has deep significance. Red is the color which indicates “stop” and is the color of blood. Therefore, the statement being made is to “stop the bloodshed”. There are many situations where people may have to work and may not be able to carry written expressions of their feelings. In this way, everybody can participate and it will give us the opportunity to really see how very many of us there are who feel this way. Together we can change the world.


Sincerely,

Edwin S. Purcell, Ph.D.
WEBSITE: http://drpurcell.tripod.com/imagine

Whether righteous or misguided in their ire toward Fitzgerald's perceived attacks on them, the US commercial press has abandoned objectivity in their reporting of the Plame investigation. Fitzgerald's investigation is ongoing, there are multiple individuals under examination, and right now US commercial press can't bring themselves to say it.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090506Z.shtml

Members 'denied right to speak on key issues'

Rob Waugh

LEADING Tories have attacked a local government watchdog created by John Prescott's former Department, and called for its abolition.

The Standards Board for England is accused of overseeing a regulatory system which denies councillors the right to speak on key issues affecting their communities because of a tough interpretation of rules governing personal interests.

A report drawn up by Owen Paterson, Tory Shadow Transport Minister, and Gerald Howarth, Shadow Defence Minister, details a series of instances where councillors have allegedly been barred from speaking out because of the monitoring system and Code of Conduct brought in by Mr Prescott's former Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Much of the issue revolves around the interpretation of a councillor's personal interest in an issue.

The Tories contend that the current Standards Board regime is encouraging a nonsensical view which effectively could stop councillors doing the job they were elected to do.

It also involves so-called "predetermination", under which councillors are expected to have an open mind before reaching a decision, apparently precluding the expression of any strongly held opinions prior to then.

The report cites the example of senior council officials in Chester and Reigate and Banstead councils, who wrote to all candidates standing for election earlier this year telling them that they must avoid mentioning any controversial local issues during campaigning because, if they were elected, it would it disbar them from taking part in any discussion of those issues in council.

And in one of the more bizarre examples, the report says that members of South Cambridgeshire District Council have been told by their monitoring officer that they might be disqualified from discussing the siting of a mobile phone mast if they themselves used a mobile phone. Neither could they pronounce on a park-and-ride scheme if they drove a car, the report adds.

It concludes: "This would appear to negate the very basis of representative democracy. Voters, it would appear, cannot expect a councillor to hold fixed views on anything or to represent their views in the debating chamber."

Last night, a spokeswoman for the Standards Board said: "A lot of the report seems to concern the common law principle of bias and predetermination as it has been interpreted by the courts and the Court of Appeal.

"This predates the Standards Board for England and the Code of Conduct by many years.

"We have recently consulted with local government and put forward proposals for a revised Code of Conduct suited to modern community based local government. We expect the Local Government Minister to put a revised code to Parliament very soon.

"We receive around 300 complaints a month, the majority from members of the pubic who feel their elected representatives have, in some way, fallen short of their expectations. We believe they need the confidence of an independent body that ensures that their concerns are addressed."

Comment: Page 12.

HAVE YOUR SAY
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Fax: 0113 238 8537.
e-mail: yp.editor@ypn.co.uk

05 September 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1743130

Liberty For All
by BetteRose Ryan

09/03/06

It occurred to me that just in my lifetime, not only has technology accelerated, but so has the loss of our freedoms. When I was a young girl in school, we studied about the feudal system. We were told how awful it was, how the serfs had to yield up to 25% of what they grew or created to the lord and his knights. This of course was given for protection against raiders and space within the castle walls if that became necessary. Today, we - as a ‘free’ people - give more than 50% of our earnings up to those who govern us!

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=42


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://tinyurl.com/k27yt


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Tom Paine
by Rami G. Khouri

09/04/06

There is something sad about a grown man playing children's make-believe war games in a tree-house in grandpa's backyard -- which is how George W. Bush came across Thursday night in his speech on the importance of winning the war in Iraq in the global battle against terrorism. Rarely does a leader of a great country like the United States malign history, his people's intelligence and the dignity of over a billion Muslims in one speech. But Bush did that Thursday night and will probably keep doing it for a while. Terrorism is no joke or game, I know: The 9/11, and subsequent, attacks around the world were tragic and criminal deeds. Nobody has to tell us in the Middle East about terrorism's evil, because we suffer its negative impact in two ways -- as victims of terror for many decades, and also as the owners of the societies that give birth to so many terrorists...

http://tinyurl.com/klxzx


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Information Liberation

by staff

09/01/06

The federal government has quietly begun using an incredibly intrusive new census form called 'The American Community Survey.' Up to 1 million households a year will receive this form. This new 'census' form is 24-pages long, and demands that you lay bare every detail of your life, including how much you earn, what your home is worth, details of your health, when you leave for work, previous addresses, pregnancies, monies received from government, and on and on. I say demand because you can be fined up to $1,000 for each of the 72 questions you don't answer or which you answer 'incorrectly.' However, so far no one has been fined for not answering, nor are they likely to be if public resistance is strong...

http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=15240


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The Price of Liberty

by Robert Greenslade

09/06

Congress recently passed, and President Bush signed, The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005. The stated purpose of the act is: 'To ensure that the right of an individual to display the flag of the United States on residential property not be abridged.' While this language sounds real patriotic and all that stuff, the Act is nothing but another attempt to pander to voters in the name of patriotism because the Constitution does not grant Congress any general jurisdiction over flags or residential property within one of the United States...

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/09/04/greenslade.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.rense.com/general73/sshe.htm


Informant: Kev Hall

I thought the news images we had seen from New Orleans during the worst days of Katrina were fundamentally unvarnished. And then I saw these.

http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2005/09/katrina_afterma.html


From Information Clearing House

Video

A trailer-esque montage spectacle of Hollywood's relentless vilification and dehumanization of Arabs and Muslims.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14836.htm

"Some soldiers come home missing limbs and other parts of their bodies. Still others will live with permanent scars from horrific events that no one other than those who served will ever understand."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14835.htm

By James Petras

While world attention has focused largely on Washington’s military interventions and violent covert operations as the most visible signs of empire building, they have overlooked the far more successful domestic and overseas economic strategies designed to enhance the US economic empire.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14832.htm

by award winning journalist John Pilger

Video documentary
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12555.htm

By Mickey Z.

The excuse of ignorance is not valid when graphic images are available within minutes. It's not lack of knowledge; it's denial...or perhaps even acquiescence. There are no innocent bystanders when our money and/or rhetoric support the world's most powerful military and the corporate status quo.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14827.htm

By Kim Gongre

Standing amid the swirling ashes of our own destruction, we deny the cinders of the charred bodies even as we try in vain to wipe them from our eyes.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14828.htm

Video

Marine Corporal Grant Collins describes what it was like to participate in the war in Iraq. He also describes what it is like to live with giving orders that resulted in the deaths of civilians.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14834.htm

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/09/doj-seeks-court-permission-to-continue.php


Informant: ranger116

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0904-02.htm

The War on Terror, Five Years on: An Era of Constant Warfare
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0904-06.htm

The New Zealand sealion is a globally threatened species that numbers around 7,000 mature adult animals. Since 1980 more than 2,000 sealions have been drowned in the southern squid fishery with more than 100 being killed each year in recent years.

This year Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton increased the number the fishery is allowed to drown by 52% to 150 animals. Half those killed are adult females which means their sealion pup starves back on land because it is unable to survive without its mother to feed it.

Please use the form below to voice your concern about the increase in the number of sealions that can be killed as a result of squid fishing. Forest & Bird will deliver your petition signature to the Government before a decision is made later this year on the 2007 squid season allowable sealion catch.

I urge the Government to reduce the number of threatened New Zealand sealions that fishing vessels are allowed to kill in the southern squid fishery each year to close to zero.

Take action:
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/support/petition/petition.asp

This many New Zealand sea lions have been killed so far this season by the Auckland Islands squid trawlers
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/Marine/sealions/sealionkillcount.asp

http://militaryweek.com/columns/withoutreservation.php?id=46


Informant: Lew Rockwell

Ask a nursery for care tips or google your tree. Find out how to care for it. Redwoods like Iron, Acid, Mineral Soil, Nitrogen and Water! Iron: carot compost, iron scrap metal, rusty nails, bolts etc. But not toxic galvanized nails. Acid: coffee grounds or some fancy water filters make acid water and alkali water. Drink the alkali water and pour the acid water on your Redwoods, Doug Firs, Rhodedendrons, Hydrangeas, etc. google acid loving plants. Mineral Soil: sand, chalky sand bags, crushed rock, etc. sprinkle all around. Nitrogen: compost, manure, poo, etc. Water: there is no such thing as too much water for a Redwood, so long as the soil can breathe. On top of the compost you lay around the tree, apply a thick cover of mulch, or wood chips. Wood chips can be dumped in your driveway for free anytime you see one of those chipper shredder trucks. (Saves them a trip to the dump!) Just be sure they did not remove the tree because of bugs. Ask them! Look at the wood they cut. Be sure there are no pinholes in the bark from boring beetles, termites, etc. Wood chips can be piled as high as you like. But NOT near the tree trunk of some trees. Beware fungus, etc. If you pile woodchips high enough, catching all the winter rain, you do not have to water in the summer. Sound like a good idea? this is how forests do it, and forests don't use pipes, artificial irrigation, or pay a water bill. Forests are smart! Wood chips keep the sun from drying the soil. Wood chips catch and hold rainwater, slowly releasing it to the roots. Wood chips eventually break down / decompose, becoming soil! Wood chips are fun!

Oak trees do NOT like acid. Do not water the base of an Oak. Do not cover the base of an Oak. Native Americans would apply volcanic ash to Oak trunks and soil. You too can apply minerals / whitewash your trees! All trees like minerals. http://suddenoaklife.org explains how! Dr Lee Klinger of Santa Cruz whitewashes trees with http://azomite.com Azomite (60 minerals) to which he adds Calcium, Bentonite, and Lime. Mineals absorbed by bark and root strenghthen the tree, boosting tree immunity. Opportunists such as phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death fungus), bugs, etc. rely on weak trees.

Do not park or drive cars under the drip line of a tree. The drip line of a tree is the shadow the tree casts if the sun is directly overhead. The drip line of a tree is the cirlce in which water drops would fall from the tips of the longest branches. The drip line of a tree maps closely to the root line of a tree. Protect this soil: do not allow trucks or heavy equipment to compact this precious earth. Do not pave, build, trench or cut into the soil beneath a tree. (It might fall over if you kill roots.)

Please distribute widely!

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/21/18299074.php

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Dont just plant trees in your yard, plant trees for your house! http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/21/18299343.php

Arborsculpture highlighted in new book Sentinel staff report - July 14, 2005 Author Richard Reames is a man on a mission: to help people develop a better appreciation for nature, and to provide insight into the use of trees as more than just oxygen providers growing on the planet. A commissioned arborsculptor, Reames is the author of the recently released "Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet" published by Arborsmith Studios of Williams, Ore. Arborsculpture is the practice of shaping live tree trunks into works of art of construction. Live trees can be shaped into useful, everyday items like chairs, gazebos and tool handles, as well as sculptures such as spirals, boxes and peace signs. Article: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/July/14/style/stories/09style.htm

German Tree Dome: http://www.treedome.com/bilder.htm

Watch small movie about growing a treehouse!: http://www.treedome.com/film.htm

Plantware Cartoon (building a playground with ficus) http://www.plantware.org/movie.html http://www.plantware.org/index2.html

Growing a tree dome: http://www.naturbauten.de/ http://www.lebendlaube.de/

Home Grown: http://www.loiswalpole.com/gallery5/gallery5.htm

Growing a home out of ficus: Ideas http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Oaks/4769/ent.htm

Growing Furnature http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~blackash/pooktrephotos.htm http://www.grown-furniture.co.uk/

Tree sculpture/furnature: http://www.pooktre.com/

Japanese Growing Village project http://www.growingvillage.com/Official_Pavilion.htm

Gilroy, Ca. Circus Trees (Bonfante Gardens) http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/getAttraction.php3?tip_AttractionNo==3554

http://www.loiswalpole.com/

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NASA Study shows common plants help reduce indoor air pollution....
http://www.zone10.com/tech/NASA/Fyh.htm

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Informant: Scott Munson

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

14 August 2006

Everyone knows hot dogs aren't exactly healthy for you, but in a new study chemists find they may contain DNA-mutating compounds that might boost one's risk for cancer.

Scientists note there is an up to 240-fold variation in levels of these chemicals across different brands.

"One could try and find out what the difference in manufacturing techniques are between the brands, and if it's decided these things are a hazard, one could change the manufacturing methods," researcher Sidney Mirvish, a chemist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, told LiveScience.

Mirvish and his colleagues examined hot dogs because past research had linked them with colon cancer. Hot dogs are preserved with sodium nitrite, which can help form chemicals known as N-nitroso compounds, most of which cause cancer in lab animals.

Extracts from hot dogs bought from the supermarket, when mixed with nitrites, resulted in what appeared to be these DNA-mutating compounds. When added to Salmonella bacteria, hot dog extracts treated with nitrites doubled to quadrupled their normal DNA mutation levels. Triggering DNA mutations in the gut might boost the risk for colon cancer, the researchers explained.

"I won't say you shouldn't eat hot dogs," Mirvish said. Future research will feed hot dog meat to mice to see if they develop colon cancer or precancerous conditions, he explained.

James Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute Foundation in Washington, noted this study is "a preliminary report that the author concedes requires further investigation. The carcinogenic risk to humans of the compounds studied has not been determined."

The possible hazard presented here is not just limited to hot dogs. Salted dried fish and seasonings such as soy sauce may contain similar levels of these chemicals, Mirvish said.

Mirvish and his colleagues reported their findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060814_hot_dogs.html


From PlantTrees.org

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5074/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

The Bush administration has declared itself immune from whistleblower protections for federal workers under the Clean Water Act, according to legal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. As a result of an opinion issued by a unit within the Office of the Attorney General, federal workers will have little protection from official retaliation for reporting water pollution enforcement breakdowns, manipulations of science or cleanup failures.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090406B.shtml

We used to think the voting system was something like the traffic laws - a set of rules clear to everyone, enforced everywhere, with penalties for transgressions; we used to think, in other words, that we had a national election system. As it turns out, except for a rudimentary federal framework, US elections are shaped by a dizzying mélange of inconsistently enforced laws, conflicting court rulings, local traditions, various technology choices, and partisan trickery. Mother Jones provides a list - partial, but emblematic - of American democracy's more glaring weak spots.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090406Z.shtml

Yahoo! News

08/30/06

A U.S. student who sued school officials after he was made to censor his T-shirt that labelled President George W. Bush 'Chicken-Hawk-In-Chief' and a former alcohol and cocaine abuser won an appeal on Wednesday to wear the T-shirt to school. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Zachery Guiles, who through his parents claimed his free speech rights had been violated when school officials made him put duct tape over parts of his T-shirt that showed a Bush image surrounded by cocaine, a razor blade, a straw and a martini. Guiles, who as a seventh grader in 2004 wore the T-shirt to Williamstown Middle High School in Vermont once a week for two months after purchasing it at an anti-war rally, appealed the case after a lower court ruled in favour of the school...

http://tinyurl.com/o8rkc


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

04. September 2006

Zur heute stattfindenden Sonderkonferenz der Innenminister und der Debatte um eine Antiterror-Datei erklärt die stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Katina Schubert:

Die strikte Trennung von Polizei und Geheimdienst dient dem Schutz der Bürgerinnen und Bürger vor unberechtigten Zugriffen des Staates und gehört zu den Lehren aus dem deutschen Faschismus. Mit der geplanten Antiterror-Datei wird dieses Trennungsgebot faktisch aufgehoben. Es droht ein riesiger Datenwust. Niemand kann mehr nachvollziehen, welche Daten über ihn wo und warum gespeichert sind. Das Grundrecht auf informationelle Selbstbestimmung wird ad absurdum geführt. Die von Bayerns Innenminister Beckstein angestoßene Debatte für die Aufnahme der Religionszugehörigkeit in eine solche Datei führt dazu, dass Menschen muslimischen Glaubens unter Generalverdacht gestellt werden. Das läuft jedem Integrationsansatz zuwider und nährt terroristische Bewegungen eher, als dass es sie bekämpft.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=33850

Strawberry Hill residents are gearing up for the second round of a fight against a phone mast being built within 500m of two primary schools, after a telecommunications giant appealed the council's refusal.

T-Mobile applied to Richmond Council, in March, for permission to install a 18m tower with six mobile phone antennae at Strawberry Hill Golf Club.

The new mast would have been in the southeast corner of Strawberry Hill Golf Club on metropolitan open land next to the railway line between Fulwell and Strawberry Hill stations.

At the time of the application Derek Newson, of Strawberry Hill Road, said this would put it about 450m from St James's RC Primary School, on Stanley Road, and 320m from Stanley Infant School, on Strathmore Road In April, the mast was refused because it would be detrimental to the appearance of the area.

But T-Mobile lodged an appeal against this decision earlier and the national planning inspectorate will now make a final decision.

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.902267.0.phone_company_appeal_mast_refusal.php

Today OPED NEWS, the premier digest of progressive opinion and news, is featuring the controversial new TV spot of Charles Sanders, running in the Special Democratic Congressional primary in the 3rd district of Ohio on FRIDAY, September 15th.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thepen_060903_charles_sanders__28oh_.htm

When a courageous candidate like Charles Sanders stands up to directly confront the Bush administration on their Iraq lies, with no backing down and no apologies, shall we do everything we can to support and stand with him or shall we not?

Most of all Charles needs a hundred more people today to help him make phone calls to his constituents, to get the word out that there is someone in their district who is fighting for them. All you have to do is set a password for yourself (or use your existing Blades of Grass password) and you can be helping out with this valiant campaign right now

PHONE BANK: http://www.charleswsanders.org/virtualphones2_sanders.html

You can also make a donation (if you have not done so already) to encourage Charles to run as many of these "call to action" TV spots as possible.

TV SPOT DONATIONS: http://www.charleswsanders.org/donations4a.php

And be sure to check out all these other insightful opinion pieces on Oped News, with some of the most informed and insightful commentators in the country.

TODAY'S OTHER TOP OPED NEWS ARTICLES

Traitors and Heroes/Traitors as Heroes http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_060827_traitors_and_heroes_2f.htm This is the beginning of a series of articles and conversations about traitors-- to the US, the constitution, humanity, freedom, democracy... It will explore who they are, who they treasonously betray for and what they get in return. You're invited to join the conversation.

Sistani Led His Followers to Elect Iraq's New Regime. Today He Walked Away http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_full_060903_sistani_led_his_foll.htm The Independent is reporting that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has "abandoned attempts to restrain his followers" and no longer believes he can stand in the way of the growing civil war.

Many High Bush Officials Broke Laws Against Torture http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_sherwood_060902_many_high_bush_offic.htm More than 20 high officials in the Bush Administration bear responsibility for the radical change allowing U.S. military jailers and CIA agents to torture prisoners. Former President Bill Clinton and several of his CIA aides also bear responsibility.

First Time Released Documents Expose Subservient Congress http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_sibel_ed_060902_first_time_released_.htm These letters show that oversight of Special Access Programs (SAPs) at the Department of Defense is nonexistent because no one in congress has a high enough security clearance.

Book Review, of Thom Hartmann's SCREWED http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_kall_2c_ro_060829_rob_kall_book_review.htm Hartmann has hit another grand slam homerun with his newest book, Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class -- And What We Can Do About It

Learning from Hezbollah http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__060901_learning_from_hezbol.htm It is ultimately acts of generosity and support that win in people's hearts and minds. The United States and Israel have failed to implement this key truth in Iraq and Lebanon.

US Army Contemplates Redrawing Middle East Map to Stave-off Looming Global Meltdown http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_nafeez_m_060831_us_army_contemplates.htm The US Army is exploring plans to reconfigure national borders across the Middle East, just as a high-level US source warns of imminent convering global crises.

Heil Me! An Open Letter From Donald Rumsfeld http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne__28as_tran_060831_heil_me_21__an_open_le.htm Clarifying Rumsfeld Remarks

Fighting Burnout: An Activist's Lament http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_joan_bru_060830_fighting_burnout_3a__a.htm While I'm not exactly equating my activism with the travails of unexpected twins, there is a certain resemblance. Getting so tired that I can't put sentences together, feeling overwhelmed, having so much to do without the confidence that it's even physically possible to do it all. Actually, the more I think about it, it really is very similar.

Who Most Threatens America? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_full_060831_who_most_threatens_a.htm If the Bush regime is at war with those they hold responsible for the collapse of the World Trade Towers, then it is truly a stealth war. Bush never mentions bin-Laden's name anymore, even though he began his 'hunt' in 2001 demanding his apprehension, "dead or alive."

14 Characteristics Of Fascism / We Have Them All http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_allen_l__060831_14__characteristics_.htm With the four horseman of hubris (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Bush) in full gallop, shouting their war cry of 'Islamic fascism' and systematically misquoting and demonizing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ~ it's time for America to review the 14 characteristics of fascism and, in the process, face our own growing neocon fascist state.


From The Pen

"Ring of Fire Radio Show"
Sun Sep 3, 2006 21:42

Robert Kennedy on Dick Cheney
AUDIO: http://www.apfn.net/pogo/A007I060903am07.MP3


Source: http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=104221;show_parent=1

By Graeme Wilson,
Political Correspondent
(Filed: 04/09/2006)

Councillors have been banned from discussing local park-and-ride schemes if they own a car under an ethical watchdog created by John Prescott. There is shock at the scale of the chaos John Prescott has created

The Deputy Prime Minister is accused today of undermining local democracy and stifling free speech by imposing "draconian" rules on thousands of councillors.

A damning report reveals how local authority members are being barred from speaking or voting on subjects simply because they are perceived to have taken a position on the issue.

Even councillors who have been elected specifically to fight a particular issue have fallen foul of the rules and found themselves told they cannot speak or vote on it.

The controversy centres on the Standards Board for England, which was launched by Mr Prescott in 2001. The Deputy Prime Minister claimed that the new body would help to ensure high ethical standards in local government.

The board handles complaints about councillors' behaviour and is supported by a network of ethical standards officers, who are each paid £61,000 a year. Each authority also has its own monitoring officers who advise councillors on their conduct.

In 2003-04 the board handled more than 3,500 allegations and launched 1,105 investigations. Sanctions were imposed on more than 200 councillors who were judged to have breached the code of conduct.

The report's authors - Owen Paterson, the shadow transport minister, and Gerald Howarth, the shadow defence minister - said they were shocked by the scale of the chaos the Deputy Prime Minister had created.

There is particular concern about the board's belief that councillors should not be allowed to debate a subject if they have already made up their minds on the issue — the crime of "predetermination."

Councillors on South Cambridgeshire district council, for instance, were warned that they should not "pronounce on a park-and-ride scheme if they drove a car", says the report, A Question of Standards.

The report adds that the councillors were also told "they might be disqualified from discussing the siting of a mobile phone mast if they themselves used a mobile phone".

In another example, John Pickersgill, a member of Derwentside council in Co Durham, organised a local referendum on plans to build more wind turbines in his ward. His survey found that four out of five local people opposed the proposals.

However, when he tried to raise his findings in a council meeting on the issue, he was judged to have a "prejudicial interest" and was excluded from the room.

Despite concerns about the system, Sir Anthony Holland, the board's chairman, has defended the rules on pre-determination. "It simply means that decisions shouldn't be made if people are not willing to consider the alternatives, ie they must not have closed minds," he said earlier this year.

However, the Local Government Association, in a recent report, urged ministers "to ensure that councillors are not legally restricted from speaking out for their communities" on issues such as planning.

gwilson@telegraph.co.uk

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/04/nprescott04.xml

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Although I think this must have given everyone a good laugh for a Monday morning when John Prescott and ethics are mentioned in the same sentence, I feel this is very relevant to what we have been discussing recently re OFCOM. They surely are as biased as you can be when it comes to determining ethics and mobile phone masts!

Cheers
Sylvia


From Mast Sanity/Mast Network

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2102-2334839,00.html


Informant: Lew Rockwell

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/avnery6.html



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

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5072/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news