World-News

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/december2006/051206gingrichlies.htm



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

Adam Cohen writes: "To the long list of recent Election Day horrors, from butterfly ballots to six-hour lines, add 'vote flipping.'"


http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506H.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=election
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ballot

For Bolton, the fine points of diplomacy took a back seat to his aggressive pursuit of President Bush's global agenda. Those efforts ranged from pressing for sanctions against North Korea and Iran to installing UN peacekeepers in conflict-wracked Darfur and overhauling the 61-year-old United Nations so it can meet the challenges of the 21st century.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506F.shtml



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

Aside from patrolling the nation's borders and guarding against terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security also is battling fraud, theft, bribery, smuggling and other crimes by American citizens - with some of the most disturbing examples coming from the sprawling agency's own employees.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506E.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Homeland+Security+Agency

Tom Engelhardt writes: "Last week, someone slipped New York Times reporters Michael R. Gordon and David S. Cloud the secret memo finished by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld just two days before he 'resigned.' It was the last in a flurry of famed Rumsfeldian 'snowflakes' that have fluttered down upon the Pentagon these past years. This one, though, was 'submitted' to the White House and clearly meant for the president's eyes. In it, the Secretary of Defense offered a veritable laundry list of possible policy adjustments in Iraq, adding up to what, according to Gordon and Cloud, is both an acknowledgement of failure and 'a major course correction.'"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506D.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tom+Engelhardt

ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net

In the 1968 presidential campaign Richard Nixon promised to end the war in Vietnam, but would not tell anyone exactly he would do it. In as many words this came to be known as his "secret plan." Yet, after his election the war still dragged on for another five years with 20,000 more American deaths and 100,000 wounded.

Now along comes the Iraq Study Group supposedly with a plan for extricating ourselves from the strategic disaster in Iraq, if not the moral one. And let us be not deceived, their proposals will make no meaningful difference whatsoever in really bringing the troops home. John Murtha, who so far has only spoken out for redeployment (something short of immediate withdrawal), has said he believes they represent no actual change of policy. They are just kicking the can of casualties down the road and trying to fool us into thinking they might in fact leave.

The policy is, always was, and in the minds of the Bush cabal will always will be, to occupy Iraq indefinitely while we install 14 permanent military bases, where they have absolutely no business of the Iraqi people to be there. And until they are absolutely forced to do otherwise that is where they will stay, which is what is precisely meant by Bush's recent rejection of any kind of "graceful exit."

Dennis Kucinich is calling for an end to funding for the war and occupation now. Ultimately, that's the only reason the war in Vietnam ended at all. Congress stopped paying for it. That's what must happen now.

The Iraqi people want us out now and their patience is at an end. It matters not that demagogues in other countries are calling for the same thing. It is our misfortune that we have made it so easy for them to exploit our strategic idiocy. But it is NOT an excuse to prolong the inevitable. This may be our last chance to use withdrawal of our unwelcome troops as some kind of bargaining chip. In perhaps another six months we WILL be forced to leave, and not by naysayers of some kind at home as the right wingers have accused, but by the Iraqi people themselves.

In the meantime, Bush, pathologically obstinate to the ignorant last, will continue to say we will win if we just keep fighting. Fighting who? They still haven't got a clue as to whom they are really fighting. That's the plan whether they will admit it or not. And no report the Iraq study group is likely to produce will have any impact worth writing home about. It's up to us to demand an immediate withdrawal of all American forces from Iraq, INCLUDING their support staffs, lest that be the excuse to keep any combat troops in place. Only cutting off the money will force their hand.

Not next year. Not in six months. Now. NOW now. We demand it.

ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net/

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours.

Powered by The People's Email Network Copyright 2006, Patent pending, All rights reserved May be reproduced for activist purposes

05.12.06

Die Umweltschutzorganisation Greenpeace hat am Dienstag vor dem Bundespatentgericht in München mit ihrer Klage gegen ein Patent zur Herstellung von Nervengewebe aus embryonalen Stammzellen einen Teilerfolg erzielt. Zwar wurde die Klage zurückgewiesen, die Vorsitzende Richterin Eva-Maria Schermer erklärte aber die Verwendung und Gewinnung von Stammzellen aus menschlichen Embryonen im zur Debatte stehenden Patent des Bonner Neurobiologen Oliver Brüstle für nichtig. Schermer sagte, die Verwendung und Gewinnung menschlicher Embryonen verstoße gegen die öffentliche Ordnung und sei daher mit dem deutschen Patentrecht nicht vereinbar. Das Patent für die Arbeit des Bonner Forschers mit nichtmenschlichen Stammzellen bleibe aber bestehen.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=14885

Urlaub zu Hause: Fast elf Millionen Menschen in Deutschland von Armut bedroht (05.12.06)

In Deutschland sind einer Studie zufolge 10,6 Millionen Menschen und damit 13 Prozent der Bevölkerung von Armut bedroht. Darunter befänden sich allein 1,7 Millionen Kinder, teilte das Statistische Bundesamt am Dienstag in Wiesbaden mit. Gefährdet ist laut Statistik, wer mit 60 Prozent des mittleren Nettoeinkommens auskommen muss. Menschen mit Armutsgefährdung müssen laut Statistischem Bundesamt im Alltag auf viele grundlegende Dinge verzichten: Mehr als die Hälfte der Armutsgefährdeten in Deutschland könnten es sich nach eigenen Angaben nicht leisten, eine Woche Urlaub woanders als zu Hause zu verbringen oder unerwartete Ausgaben zu bewältigen - zum Beispiel eine defekte Waschmaschine zu ersetzen. 14 Prozent der armutsgefährdeten Menschen lebten in Haushalten, in denen aus Kosten­gründen im Winter an der Heizung gespart werden müsse.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=14886

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Deutschland: mehr als 10 Millionen sind arm - Anzahl der Millionäre vervielfacht sich
http://www.meta-info.de/?lid=24599

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Armut und Lebensbedingungen – Ergebnisse aus LEBEN IN EUROPA 2005 für Deutschland

Erstmals EU-weit vergleichbare Daten zu Armut

„Das Statistische Bundesamt hat Ergebnisse aus der 2005 erstmals durchgeführten Statistik LEBEN IN EUROPA zu Armut und sozialer Ausgrenzung für Deutschland vorgestellt. Danach waren in Deutschland im Jahr 2004 13% der Bevölkerung armutsgefährdet; das sind etwa 10,6 Millionen Menschen, darunter 1,7 Millionen Kinder unter 16 Jahren. Die Armutsgefährdungsquote – das ist nach EU-Definition der Anteil der Personen, der mit weniger als 60% des mittleren Einkommens auskommen muss – liegt in den neuen Ländern (einschließlich Berlin) bei 17%, im früheren Bundesgebiet bei 12%...“ Pressemitteilung des Statistischen Bundesamtes vom 5. Dezember 2006 http://www.destatis.de/presse/deutsch/pm2006/p5050530.htm

"Armut und Lebensbedingungen – Ergebnisse aus LEBEN IN EUROPA 2005 für Deutschland"

Der Bericht (pdf, 2,9 MB) http://www.destatis.de/presse/deutsch/pk/2006/eu_silc_i.pdf

Die Europäische Statistik über Einkommen und Lebensbedingungen

Themenseite LEBEN IN EUROPA im Internet http://www.destatis.de/lebenineuropa

Armut wird vererbt

„In der Bundesrepublik lebt jedes sechste Kind von Sozialleistungen, in Stadtstaaten jedes dritte. Auch ein Vollzeitjob der Eltern schützt nicht mehr vor Bedürftigkeit. Jedes sechste Kind in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland wächst in Armut auf, in den Stadtstaaten Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen sogar jedes dritte. Dies geht aus dem Jahresbericht der Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen hervor. Heutige Löhne sind oft so niedrig, daß auch Vollzeitbeschäftigte ergänzende Hilfen aus dem »Arbeitslosengeld II« in Anspruch nehmen müssen: Laut Bundesagentur für Arbeit war dies im September 2006 bundesweit in über 900000 Fällen so…“ Artikel von Jürgen Heiser in der jungen Welt vom 01.12.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-01/022.php

siehe dazu auch: Armut in Bremen - Bericht 2006 (pdf, 1,02 MB) http://www.arbeitnehmerkammer.de/download/berichte/armutsbericht/armutsbericht2006.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 7. Dezember 2006



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

CAMPAIGNERS are bracing themselves for a decision on plans for a controversial mobile phone mast.

Melton residents have been locked in discussions with communications giant O2, which wants to site a 15m mast in Asfordby Road.

Although the company was granted full planning permission it was forced to look elsewhere after protesters blockaded the site.

The firm says no other spots are suitable and will soon decide whether or not to push on with the mast.

Angela Johnson, the company's regional spokesman, said: "It's difficult to say how this can be resolved. We do need coverage in the area and the actual protest group is fairly small whereas the silent majority want a good mobile phone service.

"As far as we're concerned no decision has been made yet but one should be made soon."

Campaigners are concerned the mast will be a threat to their health and are unconvinced by O2's reassurances.

The firm has offered to perform radio frequency tests to reassure residents, but the two sides cannot agree on a company to perform the test.

A residents' public meeting was held recently to discuss what to do next and rally more support, and among the speakers was Brian Stein, chief executive of Melton food giant Samworth Brothers.

Mum of two Elanor Shaw's house is just 100 yards from the proposed site near Melton Town Estate's sports ground.

She organised the meeting at Sysonby Church, off Sysonby Grange Lane, and said she is still determined to ensure the mast is never built.

Mrs Shaw said: "The meeting went well and a lot more people have come forward to offer their help. I've also put it to O2 that we wouldn't be happy about a radio frequency test unless it was conducted by a company recommended by Powerwatch.

"If it comes back to build the mast I will get in the way again. That's how we stand at the moment."

chris.breese @meltontoday.co.uk

05 December 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.meltonmowbraytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=752&ArticleID=191366

Die US-Behörden machen es Bayer in der Affäre um den Gentech-Reis LL601 leicht, der in einen Großteil der US-Reisernte gelangt ist.


http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24141/1.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=LL601

A message from Lil

Peggy, I had signed all of them except for the one about the poor Orca. That's cruel beyond contempt. Poor spirit. It's amazing that she hasn't killed anyone by now. She's in a prison worse than Alcatraz. I will now forward this to my friends on care2

Lil


Original Message

Ways to help today.
Please take these actions and forward.
Thanks

Catman P.


Lolita is an Orca Whale surviving at the Miami Seaquarium. She lives in the smallest and oldest tank built for killer whales and she has been there for nearly 40 years, the past 25 years she has been alone. Her previous mate killed himself 25 years ago, by thrashing his head against the wall of their tiny tank. Lolita is a 20 foot long Orca whale living in an 18 foot deep tank, imagine living inside a bathtub all your life. She has no protection from the hot Miami sun, and other than two performances a day, no exercise. Lolita often spends time in between shows expressing signs of boredom and depression. This petition aims to bring Lolita to a better, more suitable home.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/763762490

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A message from Lil

Rosemary,

this is such a sad story I'm forwarding it to all of my network. I'm sending out the letter they have prewritten as well.

Poor beautiful Orca. Her life is not what it should be.

Lil


Original Message

http://www.orcanetwork.org/captivity/captivity.html

Hello my friends...This link will bring you to Lolitas unfinished story...She is an amazing captive orca..currently being held at Miami Fla's.."Seaquarium"....Lolita continues to defy all odds for survival...as she survives,not thrives.. in a tank which clearly violates gov.standards..We are up against a true monster here.. something bigger..and more destructive than anything our world has seen...and it feeds on money,money and more money!!!!..Please take a moment to read up on the horrific crimes..Seaquarium has committed....These crimes against, not only Lolita..but hundreds and hundreds of other marine lives..must be stopped..Lets do all we can to close the gates of this rundown,outdated,hazzardous..facility..for good! Only then, will it be wise for the parks owner to send her back home..where her family pod is waiting...The link above will provide you with ALL you need to know and do,on behalf of Lolita...Thanks to you all..for caring about a very special girl..who misses her kind more than we could know...Lets.."Rattle the Cage"... Love and Light...Stacey Messer

Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) wants legislation on President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. And Representative Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) still insists that the District of Columbia should be granted a vote in the House while the Republicans control Congress. They shouldn't count on it. Congress will convene on Tuesday for what some fear will be the lamest of lame-duck sessions, and GOP leaders have decided to take a minimalist approach before turning over the reins of power to the Democrats.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406S.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Arlen+Specter
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=wiretapping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP

The Circle Of Poison Continues
http://ga3.org/ct/j120pgF1HXUf/



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

Ask For Little, Get Nothing
http://ga3.org/ct/u120pgF1HXUB/



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

by Alan Jenkins, TomPaine.com

The U.S. needs a radical approach to deal with a new breed of radical leaders in the Middle East.

http://ga3.org/ct/ud20pgF1HXUX/

There are about 100,000 government contractors operating in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is approaching the size of the U.S. military force there, according to the military's first census of the growing population of civilians operating in the battlefield.

http://tinyurl.com/y6l6j3


From Information Clearing House

Kofi Annan interview: Full Text: BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6205056.stm


From Information Clearing House

Video - BBC Investigates

This is a film that demands action. It reveals that we may have grossly underestimated the speed at which our climate is changing. At its heart is a deadly new phenomenon. One that until very recently scientists refused to believe even existed. Click here to watch. Video and transcript.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15809.htm

By Karl Sanchez

The greatest miscarriage of justice in modern times far beyond Ford's pardoning Nixon--the Democrats will provide the members of the Bush administration--who've committed known, documented, most heinous crime.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15813.htm

By Alfred W. McCoy

This (new) legislation has effectively legalized the CIA’s right to use methods that the international community, embodied in the Red Cross and the UN Human Rights Committee, considers psychological torture.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15806.htm

Cindy Sheehan writes: "What George Bush calls 'that goddamned old scrap of paper' has taken a beating all over the country, but particularly in George's part of Texas, where he has convinced people that loyalty to him, as he converses with God, is more important than upholding an oath of office or oath of service."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406R.shtml

Click:

„Auf seiner letzten Sitzung hat das Studierendenparlament (StuPa) der Universität Dortmund mit großer Mehrheit den Boykott von Coca-Cola-Produkten in allen Mensen und Cafeten der Hochschule beschlossen: Die Studierenden fordern die Auswechslung aller Produkte und aller Automaten der CCC und ihrer Tochtergesellschaften in sämtlichen Gebäuden, bei allen Veranstaltungen und im Studentenwerk der Universität Dortmund…“ Meldung auf der Seite des Asta der Uni Dortmund vom 29.11.2006 http://www.asta.uni-dortmund.de/?id=147


Aus: LabourNet, 5. Dezember 2006



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Coca-Cola

Militarisierung und die Bundeswehr: Armee der Arbeitslosen

Außendienst der Bundeswehr am Arbeitsamt außer Dienst

„Der zunehmende Druck für Erwerbslose, jeden noch so beschissenen Job annehmen zu müssen, lockt die Bundeswehr, immer offensiver für den "Job" der SoldatIn zu werben. In Kamp-Lintfort biedert sich die Bundeswehr derzeit an, einen Teil der entlassenen BenQ/Siemens MitarbeiterInnen "übernehmen" zu wollen. So wie in fast allen Städten versucht die Bundeswehr bei der Kölner Arbeitsagentur regelmäßig, junge Arbeitslose mit Anzeigen und Werbeveranstaltungen anzuwerben. (…) Am 30. November kamen rund 30 AntimilitaristInnen vor dem Berufsinformationszentrum am Kölner Arbeitsamt zusammen, um die dortige Werbeveranstaltung des Wehrdienstberaters "umzugestalten"…“ Bericht vom 30. November 2006 bei „Bundeswehr wegtreten!“ http://www.bundeswehr-wegtreten.tk/

Siehe dazu auch:

Lasst euch nicht verarschen… vor allem nicht beim Preis, den Du, Deine Familie oder andere zu zahlen haben, wenn Du zum Bund gehst!

Flublatt der Initiative „Bundeswehr wegtreten!“ für Bundeswehrinteressierte (pdf) http://home.arcor.de/bundeswehr-wegtreten/30112006.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 5. Dezember 2006

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Proteste bei Werbeveranstaltung am Arbeitsamt am Donnerstag, 25.1. 2007

„30 BundeswehrgegnerInnen erwarteten am 25. Januar vor dem Kölner Arbeitsamt in der Luxemburger Straße SchülerInnen und Arbeitslose, die sich von der Werbung der Bundeswehr haben anlocken lassen. Nach der Schlappe vom November letzten Jahres hat der Wehrdienstberater nun erstmals zu seinem (zukünftig monatlichen) Veranstaltungs- und Beratungstermin ins Berufsinformationszentrum geladen. Doch bevor es zu Werbefilmchen und lockerem Plausch über Teamfähigkeit in erlebnisreichen Arbeitsfeldern bei "anständiger" Bezahlung ging, mussten sich die potenziellen RekrutInnen draußen der Musterung der AntimilitaristInnen unterziehen. Ein Bewerbungs-Sofortbild mit Knochen und Totenkopf vor einer Bergkulisse in Afghanistan sowie ein Fragebogen gehörten zum antimilitaristischen Vorab-Prozedere…“ Kurzbericht und Fotos von den Protesten gegen die Bundeswehr-Werbeshow am Arbeistamt in Köln (25.Jan.07) bei Bundeswehr wegtreten!: http://www.bundeswehr-wegtreten.tk


Aus: LabourNet, 29. Januar 2007

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Militarisierung und die Bundeswehr

Einmal Hindukusch und zurück. Bundeswehreinsatz außen und innen

„Akteure der aktuellen politischen Diskussion in Deutschland erfinden freudig zusätzliche Einsatzmöglichkeiten für die Bundeswehr. Seitdem die Verteidigung Deutschlands auch am Hindukusch stattfindet, steht nun auch der erweiterte Einsatz im Inland auf der Tagesordnung. Michael Berndt beleuchtet artikulierte und hintergründige Motive bisheriger und anvisierter Erweiterungen….“ Artikel von Michael Berndt, AG Friedensforschung, vom 4. März 2007 beim Friedenspolitischen Ratschlag http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/regionen/Afghanistan/berndt.html


"Krieg im Staat - Staat im Krieg - Wie der neue Kolonialismus den Krieg nach Hause bringt"

Dokumentation des 9. IMI-Kongresses - Analyse des Zusammenspiels zwischen der Militarisierung nach Außen und nach Innen (pdf) http://www.imi-online.de/download/februar2007.pdf


Störung von Innen: Bundeswehr am Arbeitsamt

„Am 1. März 2007 besuchten 15 AntimilitaristInnen die Kölner Arbeitsagentur (Luxemburger Str.) schon deutlich vor Beginn der Bundeswehr-Werbeshow. Den MitarbeiterInnen des Arbeitsamts wurde zur Diskussion ein offener Brief gereicht. Darin werden sie aufgefordert, den Rekrutierungsveranstaltungen der Bundeswehr ein Ende zu bereiten. "Trotz (und gerade in) größter Perspektivlosigkeit darf niemand animiert werden, als Zeitsoldat zum Bund und damit zum mittlerweile verpflichtenden Auslandseinsatz zu gehen!" Trotz gelegentlich erteilter Hausverbote konnten rund 70% der Mitarbeiter erreicht werden und hunderte von Aufklebern "Army go raus - aus dem Arbeitsamt" angebracht werden….“ Meldung von bundeswehr-wegtreten vom 02.03.2007 bei indymedia http://de.indymedia.org/2007/03/169588.shtml

Siehe dazu:

Vom Arbeitsamt nach Afghanistan? Die Bundeswehr macht mobil zu großen Rekrutierungsoffensive

Die Mitteilung an die MitarbeiterInnen im A-Amt (pdf) http://media.de.indymedia.org/media/2007/03//169590.pdf


Gegen die Militarisierung des Alltags. Warm up G8 - Hinein in die Arbeitsagentur Berlin-Mitte am 22.03.2007, 15h

Siehe das Mobilisierungsflugblatt bei indymedia (pdf) http://media.de.indymedia.org/media/2007/02//169354.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 6. März 2007

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Bundeswehr: Armee der Arbeitslosen

„Wer die Öffentlichkeit sucht, muss sie auch ertragen“. Rekrutierungsoffensive der Bundeswehr am Arbeitsamt

Artikel der Initiative Bundeswehr-Wegtreten zur Situation der U25 Arbeistlosen und den Rekrutierungsbemühungen der Bundeswehr (pdf) http://bundeswehr-wegtreten.125mb.com/main/Bundeswehr-Wegtreten.pdf


PR-Strategien der Bundeswehr in Zeiten von Jugendarbeitslosigkeit und "Hartz IV"

„Die Bundeswehr (Bw) spannt ein feines Netz über die ganze Gesellschaft. Ihre Strategien zielen auf mehr oder weniger subtile Beeinflussung aller Menschen im militaristischen Geist. Dabei richtet sich die PR-Arbeit der Bundeswehr keineswegs nur, aber schwerpunktmäßig auf Jugendliche, insbesondere die Arbeiterjugend. Die Bundeswehr bedient sich bei ihrer Einflussarbeit professioneller Apparate aus Forschern und PR-Experten, aber auch "unabhängiger Journalisten", Fernsehstationen, diverser staatlicher und halbstaatlicher Stellen sowie Städten und Kommunen. Dabei geht es allgemein gesprochen um Deutungshoheit über die Auslands- und Kriegseinsätze der Bundeswehr, um ein "normales", positives Image der Streitkräfte und im Speziellen um Nachwuchswerbung, also um Rekrutierung von Kanonenfutter für aktuelle und künftige Kampfeinsätze in aller Welt…“ Artikel von Heiko Humburg bei der Initiative Bundeswehr-Wegtreten (pdf) http://bundeswehr-wegtreten.125mb.com/main/PRStrategienderBundeswehr.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 27. März 2007

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Polizeistaat, Ausnahmezustand oder Kriegsrecht? Eine Diskursanalyse zum Einsatz der Bundeswehr im Innern von 2001 bis 2006

Studie von Michael Haid als IMI-Studie 2007/06 vom 4.4.07 (pdf) http://www.imi-online.de/download/MH-Studie-Kriegszustand.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 5. April 2007

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Erdöl-Interesse oder Friedenssicherung? Bundestag stimmt mit 90 Prozent-Mehrheit für Bundeswehr-Einsatz im Sudan

Die Bundeswehr wird für weitere sechseinhalb Monate Militärbeobachter in den Sudan schicken, um sich an der so genannten "UN-Friedensmission" UNMIS im Süden des Landes zu beteiligen. Das beschloss der Bundestag am 27. April mit großer Mehrheit in Berlin. Für die Verlängerung des Einsatzes votierten 497 Abgeordnete, das sind 90 Prozent der 552 abgegebenen Stimmen. Das bis zum 15. November befristete neue Mandat sieht die Entsendung von bis zu 75 Beobachtern vor, die Kosten werden auf 800.000 Euro veranschlagt. Nach offizieller Darstellung geht es um Friedenssicherung. Zugleich ist von Rohstoffinteressen die Rede. Die Weltmächte konkurrieren im Sudan um das begehrte Erdöl und andere Rohstoffe.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=15851



Mitgliederbefragung SPD-Mitglieder skeptisch bei Militäreinsätzen der Bundeswehr

Die SPD veröffentlichte am 27. April die Ergebnisse einer Mitgliederbefragung zum Entwurf für ein neues Grundsatzprogramman. An der Befragung nahmen laut SPD rund 40.000 der insgesamt 560.000 Genossen teil. Zum ersten Mal in ihrer Geschichte und als einzige Partei in Deutschland habe die SPD eine Mitgliederbefragung zu zentralen programmatischen Weichenstellungen organisiert, heißt es in einer Mitteilung der Partei. Im Februar seien alle Sozialdemokratinnen und Sozialdemokraten angeschrieben worden, um ihre Meinung zum "Bremer Entwurf" für ein neues Grundsatzprogramm zu erfragen. Mit Deutlich zurückhaltender bewerteten die Sozialdemokraten die Beteiligung der Bundeswehr an Militärmissionen, auch dann, wenn er durch ein UN-Mandat legitimiert sei, "der Einsatz dem deutschen Interesse nicht widerspricht" und der Deutsche Bundestag zustimmt. Dieser Aussage der Parteiführung stimmten 24 Prozent der an der Umfrage teilnehmenden Sozialdemokraten voll zu. 18 Prozent stimmten nicht zu. 57 Prozent der Befragten waren sich unschlüssig, ob sie dieser Linie der Parteiführung folgen wollen. Mit überwältigender Mehrheit lehnen die SPD-Mitglieder Angriffs- und Präventivkriege ab.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=15853



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Militarisierung+und+die+Bundeswehr
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Armee+der+Arbeitslosen

When the US military began shipping prisoners from the war on terror to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one goal was clear: to keep them outside the reach of the US court system. But nearly five years later, those cases remain stuck exactly where the Bush administration didn't want them to be.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506P.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=war+on+terror
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo

"As things stand," writes Dave Lindorff, "we have an ignorant president who openly scoffs at the whole idea of global warming, and who is actively working to block even small efforts to combat it."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506N.shtml



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

The Price of Liberty
by Doug Newman

12/04/06

In a recent column on World Net Daily, Robert Ringer states that 'In order to preserve freedom, some freedoms must be restricted.' Although I have heard similar things God knows how many times since 9/11, this particular column got my dander up. I guess it is because it so neatly summarizes the panic mentality that has come over so many Americans in the last five years. Ringer says he wishes things were otherwise, but in a world gone mad he believes that surrendering freedom in order to preserve freedom is a 'reality.' Orwellian Doublethink doesn't get much more straightforward than this...

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/12/04/newman.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Christian Science Monitor
by John Hulsman & Anatol Lieven

12/04/06

The American people rightly, and overwhelmingly, punished the Republican Party in the midterm elections, chiefly because of the Iraq war and the neoconservative ideology that helped bring it about. Iraq is a disaster today partly because of the neoconservative fantasy that democratic nationhood can be built from scratch, at the point of a gun. This is crazed nationalist utopianism -- and it is wholly alien to core Republican traditions. Worse still, neoconservatism has endangered the core values and traditions of America itself. As Thomas Jefferson pointed out, empires require emperors. ... The Founding Fathers would be horrified by the shameful excesses of such neoconservative folly: warrantless wiretaps, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, renditions, and torture...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p09s02-coop.html



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

Independent Institute

by Ivan Eland

12/04/06

The Baker Commission report calls for a phased withdrawal of combat forces in Iraq and for the United States to talk to adversarial neighboring countries -- that is, Iran and Syria -- about playing a more constructive role in that country's civil war. If his rhetoric before the release of the report is any indication, President Bush will pretend to adjust his Iraq policy but spurn the commission's main recommendations. From this inflexible man, that course is not surprising. The president, somewhere in a parallel universe, continues to talk about 'victory,' despite a clear warning from then soon-to-be-sacked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that he should alter his failed strategy in Iraq and begin downplaying expectations in case that strategy change didn't work."

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1863


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Baker+Commission
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ivan+Eland

Please post this widely to your networks!

We are writing to ask you to urgently support the following statement on the right to water, in advance of the Second Summit of Heads of States of the Community of South American Nations, taking place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Dec. 8-9, 2006.

The sign-on statement and list of signatories will be distributed to all 12 heads of state by our friends in Bolivia.

It is our intention to also take out a full page advertisement in the Cochabamba newspaper to highlight our collective efforts - included at the bottom will be the names and countries of all signatories. Please ensure your organization is represented in this effort by responding promptly. The deadline for sign-on is Dec.7th

If you want to be part of this exciting initiative please respond quickly to Roberto Cruz at rcruz @magma.ca - please include the name of your organisation and your country, this will be used in the ad to show the international solidarity and strength of our movement.

Statement:

We, the undersigned organizations, endorse the efforts to establish water as a human right, outlined in the proposal from President Eva Morales to the head of states and people of South America, dated October 2, 2006

This proposal calls for a:

South American convention for human rights and access for all living beings to water. As a region privileged with 27% of fresh water supplies in the world, we need to discuss and approve a South American Convention on Water that guarantees access to this vital resource to all living beings. We need to preserve water, in its different uses, from processes of privatizations and the market logic that are imposed in trade agreements. I am convinced that this South American treaty on Water would be a decisive step towards a Global Convention on Water.

Our organizations endorse this position and insist governments work with social movements to ensure democratic participation in reaching these ends. We renew our call for an international water convention which guarantees people’s right to water, protects our environment, prevents interference and abuses by corporations, trade agreements and international financial institutions, and supports governments to meet this responsibility.

We affirm that water belongs to the earth and all species for all time, It is an inalienable human right and a public trust to be protected and nurtured by all peoples, communities and nations.

Finally, we proclaim that the management and protection of the world’s water resources must absolutely be based on the principles of justice, solidarity, reciprocity, equity, diversity, and sustainability, because water is a fundamental right for humans and all living things.


Signed;

Gen-Weizen: Dienstaufsichtsbeschwerde

Das Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (BVL) hat Ende November die Freisetzung von Gen-Weizen im sachsen-anhaltinischen Gatersleben genehmigt. Gegen den Versuch hatten wir im September mehr als 30.000 Einwendungen überreicht. Wegen langjähriger öffentlicher Parteinahme für die Agro-Gentechnik und des Verdachts der Befangenheit haben wir unmittelbar nach der Genehmigung eine Dienstaufsichtsbeschwerde gegen zwei leitende Beamte der Bundesbehörde eingereicht. Wenige Tage später wurde bekannt, dass das BVL in seinem Genehmigungsbescheid die Kontamination der wertvollen Saatgutbestände der Genbank für rechtmäßig erklärt hatte. Das BVL schließt eine Verunreinigung der Genbank nicht aus, begründet die Zulassung aber damit, dass die Genbank Eigentum des antragstellenden Instituts für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK) sei. Das IPK, eine Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts, könne als Eigentümer mit der Sache nach Belieben verfahren. Doch bei den Pflanzen in der Genbank handelt es sich um einen zentralen Bestandteil der Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit und nicht um Privateigentum, das man nach Belieben zerstören kann. Lesen Sie unsere Pressemitteilungen und die Dienstaufsichtsbeschwerde auf http://www.umweltinstitut.org/genweizen

by Pastor Chuck Baldwin

Couple the implementation of the Military Commissions Act with the already-passed USA Patriot Act and all the legalities necessary to completely eviscerate America's constitutionally-protected liberties are in place. Think of it. Without firing a shot or dropping a bomb, President George W. Bush has done more to strip the American people of their liberties than all the world's despots and dictators combined!......

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin334.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Military+Commissions
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Chuck+Baldwin

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1915) is one of the most important animal welfare bills in U.S. history. Its passage would end the slaughter and international transport of live horses or horse flesh for human consumption in this country, saving the lives of almost 100,000 wild and domestic horses every year.

Thanks in part to the mobilization of animal advocates, the House passed their version of the Act (HR 503) several months ago, but the Senate bill has not yet reached the floor for a vote. There are only a few days left in the current session, and if the Senate doesn't vote on S. 1915 before it ends, the House bill will be dead and animal advocates will have to start the process all over again next year. In the meantime, horses would continue to be slaughtered for meat.

Horse slaughter industry lobbyists are working our elected officials for all they're worth to preserve their clients' privilege to profit from equine suffering and death. It is therefore crucial that animal advocates let U.S. leaders know that there is widespread support for a horse slaughter ban, and that the public puts horses' welfare above the greed of special interests.

CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY and urge them to bring S. 1915 to a vote before Congress adjourns and to VOTE YES on it.

Richard Burr U.S. Senate 217 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-0001, (202) 224-3154

Elizabeth Dole U.S. Senate 555 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-0001, (202) 224-6342

If the above information is incorrect, get phone numbers for your elected officials here, or call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Even if you have called before, please call again; we need to flood Senate offices with phone calls in favor of protecting horses. All you need to say is something like: "I am a constituent and I am calling to ask that Senator _______ immediately protect our horses from slaughter and cosponsor S. 1915, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. I am very concerned about horses and I don't want them slaughtered for meat exports or any other purpose."

Also please tell your family, friends and co-workers to call their Senators today. Working together, we can bring an end to horse slaughter in the U.S.



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

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6140191.html?tag=nl.e539


Informant: NHNE



http://tinyurl.com/un5jb

by Nancy Levant

Today, we are overwhelmed, frightened, and day by day, delusional. We are apathetically destroyed by our denial – translation: useless Americans. Today’s American follows well over 1,000,000 known rules for the rabble, and 99.9% of the American people are 100% clueless about what, when, how, or where the rules and regulations of our new government exist.....

http://www.newswithviews.com/Levant/nancy70.htm



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul354.html



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts185.html



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis58.html



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/pavlovian-state.html



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

Another Day in the Empire
by Kurt Nimmo

12/02/06

Surrendering to Big Brother is now cool, as even James Bond, in the remake of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, has himself a microchip -- for the sake of safety, of course. ... Increasingly, it would seem that if you want to eat, you will be forced to surrender your biometric data. Acceptance begins at the grade school lunch line...

http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=685


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1204-20.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1204-33.htm

--------

The economic quagmire

The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

The dollar just hit a 20-month low against the Euro. It now costs over $1.33 to buy one Euro, and the dollar is falling against other currencies as well. The greenback is sinking mainly because the United States runs an immense trade deficit with the rest of the world, especially East Asia. Countries like China, Korea, and Japan have an unhealthy co-dependency with the United States. Their governments help their industries capture leadership in technologies, products, and jobs. They then sell America far more then they buy. However, their central banks happily lend those dollars back to us, so that we can finance the trade deficit and keep on buying their exports. We now owe foreigners over a trillion dollars, about half of it to central banks. Our annual trade deficit is over seven percent of one year's Gross Domestic Product, and it keeps growing. If any other country ran such a deficit, foreigners would lose confidence and its currency would crash...

http://www.prospect.org/web/view-web.ww?id=12273


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=dollar
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Galbraith

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1204-31.htm

Gates: Comments from Former CIA Analysts
http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1204-08.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Gates
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ray+McGovern

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1204-04.htm

--------

Video Is a Window Into Jose Padilla's Isolation

By DEBORAH SONTAG

Lawyers for Mr. Padilla, 36, suggest that he is unfit to stand trial. They argue that he has been so damaged by his interrogations and prolonged isolation that he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and is unable to assist in his own defense. His interrogations, they say, included hooding, stress positions, assaults, threats of imminent execution and the administration of “truth serums.”

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15808.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1204-03.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=election

Villagers were due to hold a crunch meeting with mobile phone bosses today over controversial plans for a new mast. The meeting will be held in West Felton, near Oswestry.

Villagers have called for the mast, in fields near The Avenue, to be taken away from homes and schools as they are frightened of possible health risks from radiation.

They recently snubbed an alternative site put forward by the mobile phone giant Orange, who own the mast.

Campaigners say the new site proposed at Aston Moor will still be an eyesore for residents in The Avenue and will also be intrusive for those living in Queens Head and Lady Hill, who have now also joined the fight.

Full story in tonight’s Oswestry edition

http://www.shropshirestar.co.uk/2006/12/phone-giant-talks-over-new-mast/

Justice Stephen G. Breyer says the Supreme Court must promote the political rights of minorities and look beyond the Constitution's text when necessary to ensure that "no one gets too powerful."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406F.shtml

Paul Krugman writes: "We need people in Washington who are willing to stand up to the bully in chief. Unfortunately, and somewhat mysteriously, they're still in short supply."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406B.shtml



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

"The New York Times Sunday ran a series of articles by prominent historians who endeavored to answer the question, 'Is Bush our worst president?' In the interest of balance, there was a 'yes' piece, a 'no' piece, and a 'we don't know yet' piece. Fair enough," writes William Fisher. "But what struck me about these articles is how little attention they devoted to Bush's second-biggest mistake."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406A.shtml

Torture doesn't require being beaten; the case of citizen Jose Padilla reveals what the war on terrorism can do to a human.

http://ga3.org/ct/zp20pgF1YRhm/



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

Africa Is Burning
http://ga3.org/ct/ad20pgF1YRhO/

Furnace Creek is a rare desert stream that drains America's largest desert mountain range, the White Mountains of California's eastern Sierra. The creek's surrounding ecosystem of cottonwoods and willows provides habitat to endangered species such as the southwestern willow flycatcher and the western sage grouse.

The Bureau of Land Management has proposed constructing a new
(and unnecessary) road through the heart of Furnace Creek that would cut across the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area and invite motorized vehicles into other fragile lands of the White Mountains. The road also would lead to illegal off-road vehicle activity, resulting in habitat damage and conflicts with hikers, equestrians, hunters, anglers and other visitors.

The BLM is accepting comments on its road proposal through December 11th.

== What to do == Send a message, before the December 11th comment deadline, urging the BLM not to build the road through Furnace Creek and the surrounding wilderness of the White Mountains.

== Contact information == You can send an official comment to the BLM directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

Hector Villalobos, Field Office Manager BLM Ridgecrest Field Office
300 South Richmond Road Ridgecrest, CA 93555 Fax: 760-384-5499 Email: hector_villalobos@ca.blm.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject: Adopt Alternative 2 for Furnace Creek

Dear Field Manager Villalobos,

I urge you to protect the rare desert riparian ecosystem of Furnace Creek and the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area. I oppose any new road construction in this endangered riparian wetland.

I urge you to adopt Alternative 2 of the Furnace Creek Environmental Assessment. This alternative offers the best management, follows the law and would advance the public's interest in conservation and sustainable recreation for these lands. I strongly oppose Alternative 4 because building a road along Furnace Creek is unjustifiable, harmful and illegal.

Current laws clearly prohibit motorized vehicles and new road construction in wilderness study areas, and require a full environmental impact statement before approving any road through such an area. The proposal also fails to demonstrate a sufficient need for a road through Furnace Creek, where there are no private lands or other driving access needs. In addition, building a road through Furnace Creek would lead to unauthorized off-road vehicle use throughout these wilderness lands, resulting in more habitat damage and conflicts with hikers, equestrians, hunters, anglers and other visitors. The proposal also fails to demonstrate how the BLM would effectively monitor and enforce motorized use in this fragile area and the wild lands that surround it.

Again, I urge the BLM to live up to its stewardship responsibilities for Furnace Creek and the White Mountains by halting this ill-conceived and illegal proposal.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]


From California Activist Network Action Alert, 12/4/06

In 1999 California passed the Marine Life Protection Act, the first law of its kind in the country. The act requires the state to improve the way it protects its coastal waters and marine life. After two failed attempts to implement the law, the Fish and Game Commission is now poised to adopt a network of protected areas along California's central coast, a region from Half Moon Bay to Point Conception. This region contains some of the most remote areas of the coast, such as Big Sur, the deep Monterey Canyon, elephant seal rookeries at Point Ano Nuevo, kelp forests and near-shore rocky reefs.

In August the commission announced its "preferred alternative" -- a network of underwater parks and wilderness sites covering 18 percent of California's central coast. Of the overall area of more than 200 square miles, eight percent would be fully protected marine reserves, 10 percent would allow limited fishing and the remaining area of the coast would remain open.

The proposed network is the product of an unprecedented partnership of the state and local fishermen, business owners and residents, involving more than 100 hours of public input, scientific review and economic analysis. Weakening the network now would undermine that process and could leave key habitats and species without safe havens. But industry is pressuring the commission to make the network even smaller.

The commission will adopt a final proposal at its March 1 meeting, and is accepting public comments through February 23rd.

== What to do == Send a message, before the February 23rd comment deadline, urging the Fish and Game Commission to adopt the proposed network of marine protected areas for the central coast.

== Contact information == You can send a message to the commission directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

John Carlson, Executive Director California Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Fax: 916-653-5040 Email: fgc@fgc.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject: Adopt the proposed marine reserve network for the central coast

Dear Mr. Carlson and members of the commission,

California's coast defines the state, and all of us who live, work and play here have a responsibility to see that our coastal waters thrive for future generations. This is why I support the commission's proposed regulations for marine protected areas along the central coast.

Marine reserves are an investment in the future health of our coastal waters. Scientific studies confirm that these areas harbor more and bigger fish and support a greater diversity of life than fished areas. With the oceans facing serious problems from years of abuse, California has the chance to take real action to help restore them.

The commission's proposed regulations account for the needs of fishermen by leaving more than 80 percent of the region open to fishing. The divers, scientists, teachers, fishermen, local business owners and central coast residents who participated in this process asked for more protection than the commission has proposed; the state certainly deserves no less.

We are facing a new era where we manage oceans for their long-term health, not just our short-term needs; in the end, when we protect the ocean, we all benefit. I urge you to adopt the proposed network of marine protected areas for the central coast and expand it along the rest of the coast as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]


From California Activist Network Action Alert, 12/4/06

As California's largest lake and a key stopover for threatened brown pelicans, snowy plovers and millions of other migratory birds every year, the Salton Sea is a national treasure. The more than 400 species of birds (including five endangered species) that live at and visit the sea each year have attracted avid birders from around the world.

But the fate of this southern California desert jewel hangs in the balance. The water that sustains the 360-square mile lake will decrease by more than 30 percent within the next 20 years, rapidly shrinking the lake and increasing the amount of dust and salt that blows through the Imperial and Coachella valleys.

The California Department of Water Resources has just released a draft environmental impact report assessing eight potential plans to restore the sea and outlining the consequences if we fail to act. No single plan, however, provides a solution that would maximize fish and wildlife habitat while protecting air and water quality. Instead, adopting a plan that incorporates different parts of all of the report's alternatives would provide the best path to restoring the Salton Sea while protecting the people and wildlife that depend on it.

The Department of Water Resources is accepting comments on its proposed plans through January 16th.

== What to do == Send a message, before the January 16th comment deadline, urging the Department of Water Resources to set the best possible course for a successful restoration of the Salton Sea.

== Background information == Salton Sea Coalition http://saltonseacoalition.org/

Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program http://www.saltonsea.water.ca.gov/

== Contact information == You can send an official comment directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

Dale Hoffman-Floerke Salton Sea PEIR Comments CA Department of Water Resources Colorado River & Salton Sea Office
1416 9th Street, Room 1148-6 Sacramento, CA 95814 Fax: 916-654-4925 Email: SaltonSeaComments@water.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject: Comments on Draft PEIR for Salton Sea

Dear Ms. Hoffman-Floerke,

I am writing to offer my comments on the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for the Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program.

There is no question that California must take action at the Salton Sea. A shrinking Salton Sea would subject the residents of Imperial and Coachella valleys to hundreds of additional tons of harmful dust each year that would be blown off the exposed land. A smaller, saltier sea also would be of little or no value to many of the 400 species of birds that currently use the sea. With the loss of nearly 95 percent of California's wetlands, many of these birds would have no other place to go, leading to catastrophic losses.

Fortunately, a successful plan can be pieced together from the proposed alternatives in the draft report. I therefore urge your department to combine the following features from the proposed alternatives into a final preferred alternative to restore the Salton Sea:

** as described in Alternatives 1 and 2, include 38,000 to
50,000 acres of shallow habitat for shoreline species at the southern and northern ends of the sea;

** as described in Alternative 4, create concentric rings using geotubes or other dirt-filled barriers to provide additional shallow habitat, deeper marine habitat, shoreline and view protection, air quality protections and recreation opportunities;

** similar to the lakes found in Alternatives 5 through 7, provide a large (approximately 10,000-acre) North Lake, which would be the largest recreational lake in southern California, fed by the Whitewater River to provide recreation and development opportunities without the costs and risks associated with a major mid-sea barrier or the costs of pumping water from the southern end of the sea;

** as described in Alternatives 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8, provide at least one-half acre-foot of water per acre of exposed seabed to prevent dust pollution; and

** as described in all of the proposed alternatives, construct shallow saline habitat (known as "early start habitat") immediately to provide resources for birds during the long permitting and construction process.

A final preferred alternative that includes all of these components, each of which is present and analyzed in one or more of the draft alternatives, would best meet the legal requirements to maximize habitat, air quality and water quality, while also providing substantial recreation and development opportunities.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]


From California Activist Network Action Alert, 12/4/06

R.W. Behan writes, "Ron Suskind of the New York Times learned how the Bush administration works, from a 'senior advisor to Bush' (Karl Rove is a suspect): 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.' They have done that, incessantly, and it is the source of the surrealism. Spins, evasions, omissions, jingoisms, distortions, 'perception management' (i.e., propaganda), and deliberate lying, all contribute to a political discourse adrift from what is honest, true, and reliable."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406P.shtml



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

The White House found itself on the defensive from the second recent leak of an insider's memo on Iraq in a week. The latest, first reported in Sunday's New York Times, showed that Donald H. Rumsfeld called for a "major adjustment" in US tactics on November 6 - the day before an election that cost Republicans the Congress and Rumsfeld his job as defense secretary.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406M.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+memos
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld

Robert Parry writes, "George W. Bush's back-of-the-hand to the Baker-Hamilton Commission's Iraq War troop drawdown plan - and the disclosure that Bush ousted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after he sought a major shift in war policy - has given new urgency to the December 5 hearings on Robert M. Gates to be Bush's new Pentagon chief. Senators who were inclined to rubber-stamp Gates's nomination may have reason to think twice."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406K.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Gates
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Parry

Unable to win Senate confirmation, UN Ambassador John Bolton will step down when his recess appointment expires soon, the White House said Monday. Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406Z.shtml



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

By Rob Devey

FURIOUS parents are threatening to boycott services at a church which has won planning permission to install four mobile phone antennae in its bell tower.

Councillors granted permission for Vodafone to install the 20-metre high antennae at St John the Evangelist Church in Church Street, Farnworth, despite being handed a 201-name petition opposing the plan. Vodafone will pay the church £5,000 a year "rent" on the antennae.

Parents whose children attend St John's CoE Primary School began the protest petition. They say that their children's health will be put at risk from radiation emitted by the masts.

Now some parents are considering withdrawing their children from the weekly school service at the church Michelle Daubney, of Hesketh Walk, Farnworth, who organised the petition, said parents were "disheartened." by the council's decision.

Miss Daubney, whose son Jack, aged five, attends St John's, said: "I think people will be angered by this decision.

"There's no proof these masts are not harmful and the safety of our children should come above everything.

"I am now considering whether I should stop Jack from attending the church services because of the phone antennae."

St John's headteacher, Tom Heaton, said he was confident the antennae would not pose a risk to his 150 pupils.

He said: "From what I've read, you get more radiation from using mobile phones than from the masts and most of our children have mobile phones.

"I wouldn't countenance anything I thought would harm our children."

The vicar, the Rev Cherry Vann, said the Vodafone rental would help meet the building's £90,000 annual running costs.

She added that only one member of the church's 100-strong congregation had raised health concerns.

Bolton Council's planning and highways committee approved the scheme by eight votes to six.

Committee members claimed that they were faced with the dilemma of conflicting guidelines when reaching a decision.

The Government-commissioned Stewart Report suggests masts could be rejected if opposed by a nearby school community.

However, official government guidance to local authorities states health grounds should not be considered if the applicant has an International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection certificate.

Cllr Ian Hamilton said: "The Government has made it quite clear that there's no evidence to say there's anything wrong with these masts."

Vodafone spokesman, Rob Matthews, said: "We design and operate our mast sites in accordance with stringent international exposure guidelines."

Omega read "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk?" under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1055941.0.parents_to_boycott_phone_mast_church.php

Liberty For All
by Lady Liberty

12/02/06

In part because of the military overextension and in even larger part thanks to entitlement programs, the federal budget is entirely out of control. The tax-and-spend Democrats just elected to control of Congress are likely to escalate the programs of the tax-and-spend Republicans we just kicked out of office, and little will change except the names of the people we’re blaming. And still I’d be willing to bet that more people will watch the Super Bowl than will vote (in 2004, a presidential election year which enjoyed what was considered a high voter turn-out, only 55% of eligible voters bothered)...

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=404


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Foundation for Economic Education
by Sheldon Richman

12/01/06

A recent Wall Street Journal editorial nicely illustrates how Washington works. The Bush administration has been pushing for a measure to 'normalize' trade relations with Vietnam. (Normalize is a Washington term that does not mean free trade.) Congress said no just as President Bush was preparing to visit that country last week, a major embarrassment for the administration. But as the Journal pointed out, '[T]his failure is an even bigger fiasco than it appears because of the White House's pandering to the U.S. textile industry. It's a case study in how protectionists never stay bought'...

http://www.fee.org/in_brief/default.asp?id=953


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

FreedomWorks
by Dick Armey

12/01/06

Before leaving town for the holidays many Members of Congress are hoping that the current lame-duck session will deliver more spending, more earmarks, and more pork. Some big spenders just didn’t seem to learn a lesson from the recent elections and are content to drive spending through the roof with an omnibus package of no less than nine spending bills that they will seek to pass next week. This is one package Americans don’t need to find under the tree!

http://tinyurl.com/tghrv


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Iron Mountain Daily News

12/03/06

In Iraq and Afghanistan, women warriors are writing a new chapter in military history, serving by the tens of thousands, fending off enemy fire and taking on — and succeeding in — high-profile roles in the battlefield and the skies as never before. 'The American public is beginning to realize that women are playing an equal part in this war and that they are facing the same risks,' says Duckworth, who lost both legs in the 2004 insurgent attack...

http://tinyurl.com/y4hvs7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/kuypers1.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=war+on+terror

Rausschmiß von Betriebsrat nicht rechtens

„Arbeitsgericht weist Kündigung von Interessenvertreter in Recklinghausen zurück. Betroffener hatte Einsatz von Ein-Euro-Jobbern in Seniorenheim kritisiert. Eine Schlappe mußte die Geschäftsführung des Städtischen Seniorenzentrums Grullbad in Recklinghausen am Mittwoch nachmittag vor dem Herner Arbeitsgericht hinnehmen: Die fristlose Kündigung des Betriebsratsvorsitzenden Rolf Kohn war nicht rechtmäßig. Ihm war Vorteilsnahme durch fehlerhafte Abrechnung von Essensmarken vorgeworfen worden…“ Artikel von Werner Sarbok in der jungen Welt vom 01.12.2006 http://www.jungewelt.de/2006/12-01/039.php


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Dezember 2006

Diakoniewerk setzt Pilotprojekt durch.

„Neue Hoffnung für Ein-Euro-Jobber: Das Diakoniewerk Arbeit und Kultur hat mit der Sozialagentur der Stadt eine Regelung vereinbart, die Pilotcharakter hat. Ab sofort können Ein-Euro-Jobber beim Diakoniewerk vier statt bislang nur ein Jahr lang Geld hinzuverdienen. Wie der Leiter der evangelischen Einrichtung, Ulrich Schreyer, erklärte, "wird damit eine der unsinnigsten Vorschriften von Hartz IV beseitigt". Für kaum einen der 300 Ein-Euro-Jobber beim Diakoniewerk an der Georgstraße war nach dem Ablauf von zwölf Monaten ein regulärer Job in Aussicht. Und die Leute danach "zurück zu Bierflasche und Glotze zu schicken, ist ein Aberwitz", sagt Schreyer. Das Mülheimer Modell sieht zunächst ein Kontingent von 60 Plätzen vor, befristet auf drei Jahre. In dieser Zeit zahlt die Sozialagentur weiterhin einen Euro als Stundenlohn. Das Diakoniewerk, sagte Schreyer, ist bereit, einen weiteren draufzulegen…“ Artikel in Neue Ruhr Zeitung/Neue Rhein Zeitung vom 30.11.2006 http://www.nrz.de/nrz/nrz.nachbarstadt.volltext.php?kennung=on2nrzPOLStaMuelheim39049&zulieferer=nrz&kategorie=POL&rubrik=Stadt&region=Muelheim&auftritt=NRZ&dbserver=1

Siehe dazu: „Ist dies der vom DGB geforderte 2. Arbeitsmarkt? Wenn ja, wo sind die DGB Vertreter die hier für sozialversicherungspflichtige Vergütungen eintreten?...“ Kommentar im Sozialticker http://www.sozialticker.com/vier-statt-ein-jahr-arbeit-fuer-ein-euro-jobber-diakoniewerk-muelheim-setzt-pilotprojekt-durch.html


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Dezember 2006

--------

Vier statt ein Jahr Arbeit für Ein-Euro-Jobber: Diakoniewerk setzt Pilotprojekt durch

Hartz IV: Offener Brief an die Diakonie

Offener Brief an Herrn Schreyer, Diakoniewerk Mühlheim, von Thomas Müller vom 05.12.06 http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/0344e198900b0e804.php

Aus dem Text: „… Wie ist es möglich, daß sich christliche/kirchliche Organisationen ohne vor Scham im Boden zu versinken, dazu herablassen ein weiteres Mal vom Elend der Menschen zu profitieren? (…) Es profitieren nur die Sklavenhalter, nicht die Sklaven. Egal wie man versucht es schön zureden. Und wir verbitten uns die Unterstellung, daß wir alle Säufer wären, die vor dem Fernseher verblöden würden, wenn man uns nicht alternativ in Zwangsarbeit ausbeutet. Das ist üble Nachrede die in Deutschland sogar strafrechtlich relevant ist: Die Erwerbslosen Deutschlands erwarten eine Entschuldigung! Und wir erwarten die Abkehr der Diakonie von der Unterstützung von Zwangsarbeit!...“


Aus: LabourNet, 7. Dezember 2006



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ein-Euro-Job

Unterbringungssituation und Sachleistungsauszahlung von Flüchtlingen und MigrantInnen in den einzelnen Bundesländern - Überblick über die Praxis der Bundesländer von Tobias Pieper, Stand November 2006 (pdf) http://www.materialien.org/migration/texte/pieper-lagerunterbringung.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Dezember 2006

Info Ladenschluss von ver.di-Thüringen FB 12 (pdf, gezippt)
http://hd.verdi-th.de/PDF/Info-ladenschluss-nr3-2006.zip


Aus: LabourNet, 4. Dezember 2006

Congressman Dennis Kucinich's Special Assistant sent me his statement yesterday regarding the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) and asked that I post it to my blog ( http://animalrighter.blogspot.com ). However, I figured it would be more widely read if I posted it in discussion groups.

Kucinich has been the only elected official in Congress (out of 100 Senators and 435 Representatives) to speak out and vote against the AETA. To thank the Congressman for standing by those who exercise their first amendment rights to protect animals from abuse, visit his website ( http://www.kucinich.us ), where you can also learn about and join his efforts to support humane treatment of farm animals.

Mat Thomas
http://www.animalrighter.org


Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act:

I stand with every Member of the House in defense of the rights of individuals to be free of bodily harm or injury under all and any circumstances. But, the fact of the matter is, existing Federal law already includes any place which does Federal research.

So the question is, why create a new and specific classification here?

We, of course, need to protect peoples' right to conduct their work without fear of assault. But, a larger question remains yet unanswered by this Congress: How should animals be treated humanely?

There are some specific principles with respect to humane treatment of animals but, these do not go far enough. My concern about this bill is that it does nothing to address the real issue of animal protection but, instead targets those advocating animal rights. This legislation will have a real and chilling effect on people's Constitutionally protected First Amendment rights.

I am not talking about people who would threaten anyone with death because they don't agree with them, but there are individuals who love animals, who don't want to see animals hurt, who have a point and a right to speak out. I think for that reason, this bill has not yet reached its maturity.

I understand what the sponsors of this bill are trying to do, but I don't think that they will reach the end they are hoping to achieve unless this Congress makes a clear statement about ethical principles with respect to animals and how we treat animals in research and other enterprise.

These are very serious questions that millions of Americans care about. I understand the intent here, but I think that you must be very careful about painting everyone with the broad brush of terrorism who might have a legitimate objection to research with or treatment of animals that is inhumane.

Bringing up a bill like this under procedures that only allow limited debate, and no amendments, no matter how well intentioned, is problematic.

I am not and never have been in favor of anyone using a cloak of free speech to commit violence. The Supreme Court Justice said, your right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose. No one has the right to yell "fire'' in a crowded theater. We have heard those kinds of admonitions.

I am not for anyone abusing their rights by damaging another person's property or person, but I am for protecting the First Amendment and not creating a special class of violations for a specific type of protest.

Balancing Constitutional concerns against the protection of people and property is never easy. Unfortunately, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act goes too far in the wrong direction.


Informant: Scott Munson



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Animal+Enterprise+Terrorism+Act

Another safe way forward for wireless.

Eileen O'Connor


LAN Lamps – transmission through light waves instead of radio waves

In Japan, the Ministry of Communication, in conjunction with scientists, telecommunications operators and electronics manufacturers, is in the process of forming a consortium to develop the use of visible light for the wireless transfer of large quantities of data. The new technology shall be ready to be introduced into the market within the next five years. The consortium aims for a data transfer speed of 100 Mbps. This means the technology will also be capable of transmitting moving images in high resolution over short distances.

The new technology would provide an alternative to today’s wireless Lan networks in closed environments. The technology is based on LEDs which transmit data as waves within the visible light spectrum, which can then be received by a computer interface placed within the cone of light. The vision: Wherever you are, in a restaurant, the library or at home – just connect the lamp to an electrical cable which also carries data, switch on, and immediately start streaming videos on your screen under comfortable lighting.

Read more (in German): http://www.heise.de/tr/artikel/81551

--------

The debate about a safe way forward for wireless
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/debate_about_safe_way_for_wireless.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wi-Fi

Anbei eine eMail des Hamburger Rechtsanwalts Armin Fiand mit der Bitte um Beteiligung (Name und Anschrift eintragen, unterschreiben und per Post abschicken) und Weiterverbreitung...

Anneliese Fikentscher und Andreas Neumann
Arbeiterfotografie - Forum für Engagierte Fotografie
Anneliese Fikentscher
Andreas Neumann
Merheimer Str. 107
D-50733 Köln
Tel: 0221/727 999
Fax: 0221/732 55 88
eMail: arbeiterfotografie @t-online.de
Web: http://www.arbeiterfotografie.com


Die Medien haben darüber berichtet:

Ein internationales Bündnis renommierter Rechtsanwalts- und Menschenrechtsorganisationen sowie elf Folteropfer haben am 14. November 2006 beim Generalbundesanwalt in Karlsruhe Anzeige gegen den ehemaligen US-Verteidigungsminister Donald Rumsfeld, den ehemaligen CIA-Chef George Tenet, die ehemaligen Regierungsjuristen John Yoo und Jay Bybee, General Ricardo Sanchez sowie weitere Mitglieder und Angehörige der US-Regierung und US-Streitkräfte erstattet. Ihnen wird darin vorgeworfen, Kriegsverbrechen begangen sowie gegen die UN-Anti-Folterkonvention verstoßen zu haben.

Die Anzeige hat der bekannte und sehr aktive Berliner Rechtsanwalt Wolfgang Kaleck eingereicht. Sie ist eingehend und juristisch überzeugend begründet (383 Seiten!). Ich meine, daß die Aktion unsere volle Unterstützung verdient. Diese Unterstützung sollten wir konkret in der Weise leisten, dass wir uns der Anzeige anschließen. Nach beiliegendem Muster.

Vervollständigt bitte den Text, unterschreibt ihn und sendet die Erklärung sodann möglichst umgehend mit der normalen Post (bitte keine Mail und kein Fax) an den Generalbundesanwalt. Je mehr sich der Anzeige anschließen, umso besser. Zu wünschen wäre, dass der Generalbundesanwalt ganze Waschkörbe voller Post erhält. Er muß jedem eine Antwort geben.

Die Anzeige selbst und die hierzu herausgegebenen Pressemitteilungen können auf der WebSite der Rechtsanwälte Kaleck http://www.diefirma.net/ abgerufen werden.


Armin Fiand
Rechtsanwalt
Minsbekweg 4 a
22399 Hamburg
tel.: 040-60849595
fax: 069-1330-4218963
email: fiand @arcor.de

--------

Neue Strafanzeige gegen US- Verteidigungsminister

Muster-Brief (Word-Datei) zur Beteiligung an der Strafanzeige des internationalen Bündnisses renommierter Rechtsanwalts- und Menschenrechtsorganisationen sowie elf Folteropfer haben am 14. November 2006 beim Generalbundesanwalt in Karlsruhe Anzeige gegen den ehemaligen US-Verteidigungsminister Donald Rumsfeld, den ehemaligen CIA-Chef George Tenet, die ehemaligen Regierungsjuristen John Yoo und Jay Bybee, General Ricardo Sanchez sowie weitere Mitglieder und Angehörige der US-Regierung und US-Streitkräfte erstattet. Ihnen wird darin vorgeworfen, Kriegsverbrechen begangen sowie gegen die UN-Anti-Folterkonvention verstoßen zu haben. http://www.labournet.de/krieg/usa/oth/musterbrief.doc


Aus: LabourNet, 5. Dezember 2006



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tenet
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sanchez

Housing bosses in Leeds raked in £410,000 last year from controversial mobile phone mast schemes.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 38 of the city's masts are located on council-owned land and buildings.

Last year Leeds City Council was paid the sum by phone firms for renting out space on its property, the highest for any of the 84 councils across the UK who have made their phone mast income public.

Another 50 authorities said they would not, or could not, disclose how much they were making from the telecommunications industry.

News of the council's deals was greeted with alarm today by campaigners.

They say no more phone masts should be built on council property until the confusion over their potential health risks is cleared up.

Although many people are convinced that long-term exposure to the radio waves emitted by the structures is dangerous, scientific opinion remains divided.

Mark Dobson, who fought a long-running battle against plans for a 12-metre high mast near East Garforth train station, said the number of council-backed schemes in Leeds was of "great concern".

Mr Dobson, a member of Garforth Residents' Association, told the YEP: "What is really worrying is that the odds are stacked against the public when it comes to objecting to these things.

"Because of the uncertainty surrounding the health risks, they are not taken into account when the planning decisions are made - and that, to me, is grossly unfair."

Thirty six of the masts are sited on residential properties - many of them tower blocks.

One more is at an office complex in Hunslet while another is on Potternewton playing fields in Chapel Allerton.

Today council leader Andrew Carter said the majority of the masts in question had been given the green light under the authority's previous, Labour-run, administration.

Admitting he had concerns about the possible impact of phone masts in general, Coun Carter said: "We are now taking a very strict line on this - for example, we are advising schools not to put them on their premises."

He also pointed out that many of the residential properties involved were the responsibility of the arms' length management organisations which now run the city's council housing.

The local authority would, though, be undertaking a review of the sites under its control, added Coun Carter.

WHERE THE MASTS ARE:
Apart from two, all are on residential properties.
Marlborough Towers, Little London; Grayson Heights, Kirkstall; Queenswood Heights, Headingley; Clayton Court, Stourton; Lovell Park Towers, Little London; Potternewton playing fields, Chapel Allerton; Gledhow Towers and Lidgett Towers, Potternewton; Shakespeare Towers, Burmantofts; Gipton Gate West and East; Middleton Road, Middleton; South Point, Hunslet (offices); Meynell Heights, Holbeck; Cottingley Towers, Cottingley; Holbeck Towers, Holbeck; Gaitskell Grange and Whincover Grange, Wortley; Burnshall Grange and Burnshall Gardens, Moor Top; Beecroft Hill, Bramley; The Heights East and The Heights West, Armley; Poplar Mount, Stanningley; Barncroft Grange, Barncroft Court, Barncroft Heights and Barncroft Towers, Seacroft, pictured; Elmete Towers, Parkway Towers and Parkway Grange, Gildersome; Queensview, Headingley; Sherburn Court, Swarcliffe; Seacroft Gate, Seacroft; Lakeland Court, Alwoodley; Norman Towers, Kirkstall; Leafield Towers, Moortown; Clayton Court, Stourton.

04 December 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://thisisleeds.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1911848

Tell the New Congress:

Act NOW to Bring the Troops Home!

Join United for Peace and Justice in a massive march on Washington, D.C., on Sat., January 27, to call on Congress to take immediate action to end the war.

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/

On Election Day the voters delivered a dramatic, unmistakable mandate for peace. Now it's time for action. On January 27, 2007, we will converge from all around the country in Washington, D.C. to send a strong, clear message to Congress and the Bush Administration: The people of this country want the war and occupation in Iraq to end and we want the troops brought home now!

Congress has the power to end this war through legislation. We call on people from every congressional district in the country to gather in Washington, DC -- to express support for those members of Congress who are prepared to take immediate action against the war; to pressure those who are hesitant to act; and to speak out against those who remain tied to a failed policy.

The peace and justice movement helped make ending the war in Iraq the primary issue in this last election. The actions we take do make a difference, and now there is a new opportunity for us to move our work forward. On Election Day people took individual action by voting. On January 27 we will take collective action, as we march in Washington, DC, to make sure Congress understands the urgency of this moment.

Join United for Peace and Justice in this crucial push for peace!

1) Make a donation right now to support the January 27 mobilization and help give us the funds we need to make this a truly massive outpouring for peace.

https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/ufpj/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1166

2) Make sure your organization endorses the January 27th mobilization. Click here to add your endorsement. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/modinput4.php?modin=127

3) Ride Board: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ride.php

4) Help spread the word! Pass this email along to everyone you know, post it on blogs and websites -- do everything you can to help us get the word out about January 27th.


- Pat Elder for UFPJ

"With Iraq falling apart, it's getting lonely at the top for President Bush. His hawkish neo-con advisers are deserting him. He had to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Democrats have won control of Congress. US allies are angry at his Iraq policies. And even Henry Kissinger - one of Bush's foreign policy advisers and a key architect of the Vietnam debacle - has decided Iraq is a can't-win situation," says Helen Thomas.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306G.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+Study+Group
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=hawkish
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kissinger
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam

Eleanor Clift writes: "Every so often a politician comes along who doesn't pander to the president. Fresh off a nasty campaign that centered on the war in Iraq, Virginia senator-elect Jim Webb had no interest in a picture of himself with President Bush, and he didn't want to exchange small talk with the man whose war policies he opposes. So he skipped the receiving line at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress, creating the first of what we should all hope will be many ripples in Washington."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306F.shtml



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

State and national Republicans will pay $135,000 to settle a suit involving a scheme to jam Democratic get-out-the-vote calls on Election Day 2002.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306E.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=election
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote

Army officials destroyed critical evidence that could have determined who shot and killed Pfc. Jesse R. Buryj at an Iraq checkpoint in May 2004, one of several problems with the friendly-fire inquiry that may permanently shroud Buryj's death in mystery.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306D.shtml

During a 22-year career, Bobby L. Maxwell routinely won accolades and awards as one of the Interior Department's best auditors in the nation's oil patch, snaring promotions that eventually had him supervising a staff of 120 people. He and his team scrutinized the books of major oil producers that collectively pumped billions of dollars worth of oil and gas every year from land and coastal waters owned by the public ... Gale A. Norton, then the secretary of the interior, in a 2003 citation, praised Mr. Maxwell's "perseverance and leadership" while cataloguing his "many outstanding achievements." Less than two years later, the Interior Department eliminated his job in what it called a "reorganization." That came exactly one week after a federal judge in Denver unsealed a lawsuit in which Mr. Maxwell contended that a major oil company had spent years cheating on royalty payments.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306B.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=whistleblower

Please sign Bill's petition Friday, 1:33 PM

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/902584609

This petition started in January, so you may not have seen it. It is to have an ageing and sick chimp, named Bill, removed from the dreadful conditions he presently exists in, to a sanctuary where he can live out what remains of his life with a measure of comfort.

The creator of the petition, Mara, has been fighting a long and tireless battle for Bill, and very much deserves our support.

Please, sign and forward for this poor old fellow!

Thank you.

Pam.

A message from Linda

Original Message

We need more signatures!
Please sign the petition.............Thanks and
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/384758012

Other nations hold a record 52% of it, leaving U.S. economy vulnerable.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/12/post_1.html



So the dollar's worth 50p. Stay cool

Just when you think War, Death and Pestilence have the field all to themselves, along on the rails comes the fourth horseman — the nightmare of every beleaguered US president — a collapsing dollar.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2480466,00.html



The long, unwinding road to a dollar adjustment

Here are the facts: the US, the richest country in the world, consumes more each year than it produces. Its already high standard of living is being increased by net imports from abroad worth some 6.5 per cent of GDP. These imports (eg from China) are paid for in dollars, with which the Chinese monetary authorities obligingly buy US securities.

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/comment/article2034792.ece



Europe awaits impact of plummeting dollar

The latest slide was triggered by a sharper than expected 1% fall in construction spending, with house building recording the seventh monthly drop in succession.

http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1790072006


From Information Clearing House



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

An official record of the first FBI interrogation of Jose Padilla following his 2002 arrest contains no reference to al Qaeda or a "dirty bomb" plot Padilla was allegedly spearheading.

http://intelwire.egoplex.com/2006_12_01_exclusives.html


From Information Clearing House



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

A bribery investigation threatening the future of 50,000 British jobs followed heavy pressure on Tony Blair from George Bush's administration.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2035172.ece


From Information Clearing House

The US is calling for an arms embargo against Somalia to be lifted and a regional peacekeeping force to be deployed to protect the largely powerless interim government.

http://tinyurl.com/t9ax8



U.S. funding Somali warlords - intelligence experts

CIA-operated flights into Somalia have been bringing in $100,000 to $150,000 per month for the warlords. The flights remain in Somalia for the day, he said, so that U.S. agents can confer with their allies.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=831732006


From Information Clearing House



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

Several of the UK's largest banks fear they could face the full legislative wrath of the US government unless they bow to Washington's pressure to shut their operations in Iran.

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2034764.ece


From Information Clearing House

The Iraqi government is in danger of being brought down by the wholesale smuggling of the nation's oil and other forms of corruption that together represent a "second insurgency".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1962245,00.html


From Information Clearing House

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the White House before he resigned last month the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq was not working and he proposed changes, including possible troop reductions, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

http://tinyurl.com/y2saey


From Information Clearing House



Rumsfeld’s Memo of Options for Iraq War

Following is the text of a classified Nov. 6 memorandum that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent to the White House suggesting new options in Iraq. The memorandum was sent one day before the midterm Congressional elections and two days before Mr. Rumsfeld resigned.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15796.htm



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

The Ministry further threatened to sue journalists who do not modify stories that the ministry deems inaccurate upon receiving a demand to do so.

http://tinyurl.com/y7nq8n


From Information Clearing House

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Iraq was in the grips of a civil war and many people were worse off now than under Saddam Hussein, according to an interview to be broadcast on Monday.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03431252.htm


From Information Clearing House

Residents in the village of al-Lihaib near the town of Garma, said 24 people had been killed and some buildings levelled in the assault.

http://tinyurl.com/smzvl


From Information Clearing House

By Heather Stewart, economics correspondent

Wall Street is now betting that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will slash interest rates to stave off a recession. The dollar ended the week at $1.98 against the pound, and $1.32 to the euro, but analysts say there is further weakness to come. 'I think the dollar's going to hell in a handbag,' said David Bloom, currency strategist at HSBC. '

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15798.htm

By Philip Sherwell

The gulf's two military powers, Sunni-Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, are lining up behind their warring religious brethren in Iraq in a potentially explosive showdown, as expectations grow in both countries that America is preparing a pull-out of its troops.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15797.htm

By Frank Rich

We’ve witnessed the troubling behavior of a president who isn’t merely in a state of denial but is completely untethered from reality. It’s not that he can’t handle the truth about Iraq. He doesn’t know what the truth is.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15803.htm



Is President Bush Sane?

Paul Craig Roberts

The president of the United States is so deep into denial that he is no longer among the sane.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15799.htm



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

BY Eric S. Margolis

Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Al Maliki, governs only over Baghdad’s US-protected Green Zone. The US controls what passes for Iraq’s police and armed forces. Maliki has no army of his own; his Shia supporters are divided and feuding. How can Bush expect a powerless prime minister to do what the mighty US cannot?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15804.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Maliki
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Margolis

On November 7, American voters issued a mandate for peace. Is Congress going to listen?

Call your Representative and Senators at 202-224-3121 and tell them:

Bring the troops home now by cutting off funding for the war!

Members of Congress return to Washington on Monday, December 4. The Democrats in the House have a meeting on December 5 to discuss Iraq strategy. The Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group will release its report on December 6. We must let every member of Congress know that the time for discussions is over. It is time to rein in an outlaw President and cut off the funding for his illegal war.
http://pdamerica.org/petition/mcgovern-petition.php

Call the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

You can find out who your Representative and Senators are and their direct phone and fax numbers here: http://www.usalone.com/get_instantcongress.htm

Please make 3 phone calls: to your Representative and both Senators.

Background:

The United States has now been engaged in Iraq for longer than our engagement in WWII, and as long as our occupation of Iraq has gone on the situation there has grown worse. As long as we stay, we can expect it to worsen further. Only a negotiated peace that follows a commitment by the United States to quickly and entirely depart, and to fund a real reconstruction of Iraq by Iraqis, can give Iraq and all of us a chance at a better future.

A Johns Hopkins/Lancet study estimates that 650,000 Iraqis have died as a result of this war. The U.S. military has suffered 49,369 casualties, including 24,237 from hostile causes, of which 21,921 are wounded and 2,316 killed in action. Another 567 troops have died from "non-hostile" causes, and 147 U.S. contractors have been killed.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to end this war by cutting off the funding, as well as the power to investigate the war's justifications and to impeach its architects. Let Congress know that forgetting the message of the November 7th elections is an option that we're taking off the table!

For more information about the Mandate for Peace campaign, a joint effort of dozens of peace and community groups, go to http://www.mandateforpeace.org

After You Call, Join Rep. Maxine Waters on a Conference Call

Join Rep. Maxine Waters, the Chair of the House Out of Iraq Caucus, and the United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) Legislative Action Network for an Urgent Discussion of the Implications of the Baker- Hamilton Iraq Study Group Report Monday, December 4
4 p.m. eastern time (1 p.m. pacific)
310-632-1100 code: 381726#

The Iraq Study Group has announced that it will release its recommendations on December 6. Congresswoman Waters is eager to discuss this with members of the UFPJ legislative action network and friends and allies who can make it. Please join us!

Prepare for December 10

While you're on the phone, call all your friends and ask them to meet you at an impeachment rally on December 10 (December 9 in NYC): http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/december10


Forward this message to everyone you know!

Hiermit möchte ich Ihnen einen Offenen Brief an den Landrat von Calw, Herrn Hans-Werner Köblitz, zur Kenntnis bringen. Es geht hierin um einen einseitigen Vortrag von Dr. Wetzig, dem Leiter des Gesundheitsdienstes Calw, auf unserer Bürgerversammlung zum Thema Mobilfunk in Neusatz - Bad Herrenalb am 16.11.06. Der Brief darf gerne weitergegeben werden:
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/06_12_1_brief_koeblitz.pdf

Ruth Wolfstieg

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Pressfreiheit und zur Meinungsbildung

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herrn,

anbei sende ich ihnen eine Information. Wir wollten in unserm Amtsblatt -Mittelungsblatt der Stadt Bad Herrenalb eine kostenpflichtige Anzeige schalten wir hätten von der Bürgerinitiative bis zu 300,00 EURO für die Geschäftsanzeige bezahlt, wir wollten es als Gegendarstellung für den Vortrag und als Information von Dr. Wetzig Gesundheitsamt Calw veröffentlichen.

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

Zuerst bekamen wir eine Zusage und Preisabsprache vom Verlag und kurz vor dem Erscheinen des Mitteilungsblattes eine Absage der Veröffentlichung. Ich frage mich wer steckt da nun schon wieder dahinter unser Bürgermeister Herr Mai aus Bad Herrenalb oder die Mobilfunkindustrie.

So viel zur Pressfreiheit und zur Meinungsbildung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Carola Keppler-Merkle

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Aussagen von Dr. Wetzig, Leiter vom Gesundheitsamt Calw, die so nicht stehen bleiben dürfen
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/3001133/

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061202/D8LOVGNO0.html


From Global Network

http://greenmountaindaily.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=704


Informant: Quechick Barnyard



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

The book: The Secrets of the Federal Reserve Read word for word for audio: http://www.apfn.org/audio/Secrets-of-the-Federal-Reserve.mp3

For viewing Secrets of the Federal Reserve and follow along: go to http://www.apfn.org/apfn/reserve.htm