World-News

Harassed when they defend individuals against local government abuses, these courageous Chinese lawyers deserve vast international support.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606G.shtml

Michael Schwartz describes the Myth of More: "Almost without exception, whatever proposals are being raised about changing Iraq policy avoid mentioning, or explicitly reject, the idea that the United States should abandon its three-year-old attempt to occupy Iraq and actually withdraw its troops. Instead, each new suggestion or set of recommendations calls for the United States to do not less, but a whole lot more of something that is already a part of existing policy."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606F.shtml

Robert Scheer writes: "Jose Padilla, a US citizen, has been tortured by his own government for the better part of three and one-half years, suffering years of systematic sensory deprivation documented in his attorneys' filings and supported by photos of the prisoner published this week by the New York Times. In that time, Padilla, who has been judged by professionals as mentally ill as a consequence of his brutal treatment, has been denied his Constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial and was permitted no legal representation for 21 months."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606E.shtml



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

"As Tony Blair flies out to meet George Bush, the latest admission of failure in Iraq has made the two leaders appear even more isolated." The editors of the Independent wonder when they will join the others who are telling the truth about Iraq.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606C.shtml

06.12.06

Der stellvertretende Vorsitzende der Linksfraktion, Klaus Ernst, griff in Zusammenhang mit den vom Statistischen Bundesamt vorgelegten Zahlen, nach denen 10,6 Millionen Menschen in Deutschland von Armut gefährdet seien, heftige Kritik an der SPD. "Die neue Armut trägt die Handschrift von Sozialdemokraten. Das schmerzt", so Ernst, der eigenen Angaben zufolge vor zwei Jahren für seine Kritik an der Schröder-Politik aus der SPD "verstoßen" wurde. Man müsse den Menschen die Wahrheit sagen und die heiße: "Man hat euch arm gemacht und zwar zugunsten einer Schicht, die inzwischen in Reichtum regelrecht badet". Die Steuer- und Abgabenpolitik habe "den einen das Geld aus der Tasche gezogen und den andern zugesteckt".

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=14893



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

06.12.06

Der erneute Fall von Journalistenbespitzelung durch staatliche Behörden ist bei Rechtsexperten und Verbänden auf Empörung gestoßen. Laut einem Bericht der "Süddeutschen Zeitung" hörte die Staatsanwaltschaft München bei ihren Ermittlungen im Fall des 2004 vom US-Geheimdienst CIA nach Afghanistan verschleppten El Masri gezielt Telefonate von Journalisten ab, um - wie es heißt - die Entführer des Deutsch-Libanesen zu finden. Grüne und FPD sprachen am Mittwoch von einem Skandal. Der Deutsche Journalistenverband (DJV) forderte einen besseren Schutz vor Lauschangriffen des Staates. FDP-Fraktionsvize Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger sagte, niemand habe sich vorstellen können, dass solche Abhöraktionen im deutschen Rechtsstaat möglich seien. Die Bürgerrechte seien in Gefahr.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=14891

Gähnende Kluft
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24149/1.html

HLV INFO 127/AT
http://www.wdr.de/tv/q21/3294.0.phtml

HLV INFO 127/AT

Volker Hartenstein, MdL a.D. 6-12-06


Liebe Mitstreiter,

wie wir gerade erfahren haben findet morgen eine Anhörung im Landtag statt. Programm anbei. Ich hoffe, dass noch einige von uns teilnehmen können, trotz der kurzfristigen Ankündigung!!! Bitte weitersagen!!

Mit freundlichen Grüssen

Susanne Oszwald,
Bayern


Der Ausschuss führt am

Donnerstag, 07. Dezember 2006

von 09.15 bis 13.00 Uhr im Konferenzsaal

eine Anhörung zum Thema

"Einfluss des Mobilfunks auf die menschliche Befindlichkeit“

durch.

Die Damen und Herren der Medien sind zu dieser Anhörung herzlich eingeladen.

s. pdf-Anlage
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/bayerischer_landtag_anhoerung.pdf

6-12-2006

A message from Debs

Original Message

HERE WE HAVE PETITIONS FOR THE CHILDREN. PLEASE BE KIND ENOUGH TO CONSIDER SIGNING THEM, CPOST AND IF POSSIBLE MAKE SHARES AND HAVE THESE IN GROUPS.

tks, hugs- agnesC

We are asking For: Victims of Child Welfare Memorial Day http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/986173347

Autism - Support - Health Insurance - Research/Studies http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/199918963

Epidemic out of control
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/312229626

Jennie B.

--------

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

by David Corn, TomPaine.com

Sizing up the the likely presidential candidates based on a crucial decision: How they voted on Iraq.

http://ga3.org/ct/N120pgF1Fzhk/

by John Prados, TomPaine.com

His acceptance of Bush's definition of the mission in Iraq shows Robert Gates lacks the independence we need in a new defense chief.

http://ga3.org/ct/Mp20pgF1Fzhi/



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

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1206/p02s01-uspo.html


Informant: binstock



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

The richest 2 percent of adults in the world own more than half of all household wealth, according to a new study by a United Nations research institute.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606P.shtml

--------

World's richest 1% own 40% of all wealth, UN report discovers
http://money.guardian.co.uk/news_/story/0,,1965033,00.html


Informant: binstock

Jesse Jackson begins: "Should President Bush be impeached? The very idea seems extreme, if not loony. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has explicitly ruled impeachment off the Democratic majority's agenda. But activists and legal scholars are organizing to pressure Democrats to begin impeachment hearings. And the incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, has issued two remarkable studies on abuses of presidential authority, raising the question of impeachable offenses."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606J.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jesse+Jackson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Conyers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach

This is one Christmas tree that is unlikely to be covered in lights and decorations this year, at least mobile phone users will hope so as it's really a phone-mast.

Vodafone erected this phone mast - or base station as it's known as in the telecommunications industry - in 2005 near the Cappagh Road in Galway.

A spokesperson for Vodafone said that base stations like this are standard practice and are designed, in consultation with local authorities, to suit the look of the area.

However local residents want the mast to be removed despite its pleasant aesthetics.

They claim that they were not informed of the correct final date to appeal its erection to Bord Pleanala and therefore missed out on their chance to stop it being put in place.

They also allege that is a health risk and damaging to the environment.

http://www.galwayindependent.com/news/9596.html

Urgent action is needed to make sure a warming climate doesn't slash crop yields, heighten the risk of famine and deepen poverty for the world's most vulnerable, international experts said on Monday. "Climate change is not just in the future. It's happening now," said Cynthia Rosenzweig, a NASA scientist and co-chair of an international panel on climate change.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120506EC.shtml

The future of some of the West's most unspoiled national forestlands remains in flux more than two months after a federal judge reinstated protections on nearly 50 million acres of backcountry. Nowhere is that uncertainty more in evidence than in Idaho, which has the largest and wildest assemblage of roadless national forest in the lower 48 states.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120506EB.shtml

Environmental rollbacks from the Bush administration "in the dead of the night" are history, the incoming head of the Senate environment committee declared Tuesday. "That's over. We are going to bring these things into the light," Senator Barbara Boxer said.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120506EA.shtml

"As we approach the end of 2006, the economy's prospects for next year appear more gloomy with each new piece of economic data," says Dean Baker. "And, just like President Bush in his assessment of the situation in Iraq, the economic forecasters are gradually revising their forecasts downward, as it no longer appears credible to present the rosy pictures that they had been trying to sell. The trouble began early in the year, when the housing boom that was supposed to continue forever turned into a housing bust."

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

The Bush administration repeatedly sought ways to limit payouts to nuclear weapons workers sickened by radiation and toxic material, according to a memo written by congressional investigators and obtained by USA TODAY.

http://tinyurl.com/vc6kj


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

If the Australian government thinks it can breeze through yet another anniversary of David Hicks imprisonment in an American military hellhole, they are going to brutally surprised.

http://tinyurl.com/y96ktn


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Hicks's lawyers granted urgent court hearing

The legal team has launched an action against the Commonwealth, alleging the Federal Government has failed in its duty to protect an Australian citizen abroad.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1805427.htm


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Hicks
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture

Finance Minister: Iran has decided to replace dollar with euro in its foreign trade given the continual impediments and hostile policies directed by U.S. toward the country, Iranian finance minister said on Monday.

http://www.payvand.com/news/06/dec/1041.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

David Attenborough - BBC Video Documentary

David Attenborough explores just how much climate change is altering our planet. He looks ahead to find out what needs to be done to save Planet Earth from the worst impact of global warming and discovers what could happen to the planet once a 'tipping point' of carbon emissions is reached. He also discusses the solutions we can all adopt to prevent catastrophic change.

Click to watch.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15818.htm

By Patrick J. Buchanan

America is failing in the Middle East because our leaders of both parties will not look at the region through Arab eyes. What Bush saw as a glorious liberation of Iraq, Arabs saw as an invasion.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15814.htm

Mother Jones
by Daniel Schulman

12/04/06

Intelligence cherry-picked for ideological purposes; the claims of a single, unreliable source treated as fact and stovepiped straight up to the White House; a National Intelligence Estimate riddled with dubious claims; efforts made to connect an enemy regime with international terrorism. Echoing the prelude to the Iraq War, these are, in fact, a sampling of the allegations directed at Robert Gates 15 years ago, when the Senate Intelligence Committee considered Gates' nomination to be the director of Central Intelligence...

http://tinyurl.com/ynd6dx


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Boston Globe
by H.D.S. Greenway

12/05/06

America has been consumed by semantic silliness over whether the catastrophe in Iraq is a civil war. It has been clear for almost a year that a civil war between Shia and Sunni factions is in progress, but the White House remains in denial, just as it previously refused to admit there was an insurgency. There are good reasons for not admitting to a civil war. During our own internal conflict, Southerners spoke of 'The War of Northern Aggression.' In the graveyards of New England, you find monuments honoring those who died putting down 'The Great Rebellion.' Neither side wanted to admit to any moral equivalence that the neutral term civil war might imply. Both sides wanted grander terminologies to justify their losses. In contrast, the Bush administration wants to minimize Iraq's struggles because insurgency and civil war spell failure...

http://tinyurl.com/umxy3


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Philadelphia Inquirer
by Justin Logan

12/05/06

Early reports indicate that the Baker-Hamilton commission will recommend that U.S. troops 'pull back' from the fighting in Iraq, perhaps cutting the U.S. presence in half. But James Baker and Lee Hamilton aren't in charge of U.S. foreign policy, and the report itself can do little more than provide political cover for the president to change course -- if he wants to. However, as President Bush said on Thursday: 'This business about a graceful exit just simply has no realism to it at all.' Part of the problem is rooted in the neoconservative ideology by which the president is inspired. The track record of neoconservative thought is not good...

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/16164905.htm



Baker-Hamilton can't save us

Cato Institute
by Justin Logan

12/05/06

Next week, the Baker-Hamilton Commission will make its recommendations on U.S. Iraq policy, and Congress will begin hearings on defense secretary nominee and Cold War realist Robert Gates. Both events will reflect the failings of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq. But even as a grudging acceptance of reality takes hold in Washington, the architects of the war are urging that we double down on the losing bet in Iraq. Amid spiraling sectarian violence, the leading advocates of invading Iraq seem now to have centered on an explanation for how their idea has driven that country to blood-soaked disaster: deposing Saddam Hussein and replacing him with a secure, stable and democratic government would have required around 400,000 troops -- as well as a willingness to occupy Iraq for many, many years. But that was never going to happen...

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6818


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Liberty For All
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

12/05/06

Mark your calendar. On December 10th, Human Rights Day, Americans from across the country will meet to discuss the Impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney, President and Vice-President of the United States. The congruence of Human Rights Day and consideration of Impeachment is curiously appropriate. What better day to begin the process that is so needed to mend the lives of Americans? While Nancy Pelosi considers the color of her drapes and tables discussion of an impeachment sentiment that propelled her and other Democrats into office Congresspersons ready themselves for oncoming rounds of business as usual...

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=409


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp




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

Manchester Union Leader

11/28/06

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday in Manchester said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism. Gingrich, speaking at a Manchester awards banquet, said a 'different set of rules' may be needed to reduce terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message. ... Gingrich spoke to about 400 state and local power brokers last night at the annual Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment award dinner, which fetes people and organizations that stand up for freedom of speech...

http://tinyurl.com/w8rqb


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Informant: Amy Sasser

Thank you for all your help and support.

We urgently need to push the US Congress to pass effective election integrity legislation ASAP and not the kind of ill-considered legislation that Common Cause helped push through in 2002 or has been trying to push through recently.

Please print this 2 page (2-sided) document and send it to your two U.S. Senators and your one U.S. Representative:

http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/EI-FederalLegislationProposal.pdf

I've attached a cover letter that you could revise and use to send it if you would like. Please be sure to include your Senator or Representative's name and address at the top of any cover letter, and your own name and address at the bottom. Here are the web sites to obtain the fax numbers or mailing addresses of your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative:

http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and http://www.house.gov/

It is critical to mankind's future that we ensure the integrity of our democracy in time for the 2008 federal elections, which means that legislation must be passed by Spring 2007.

Please pass this request on to your friends and ask them to also send letters and include our recommendations for federal legislation to ensure the integrity of our democracy. Please do this in December because bills are being written now, in advance of the January session, and it is urgent that Congress not hastily pass another ill-considered bill without sufficiently consulting with experts.

There is nothing more important to safeguard our future than to safeguard our democracy.

Thank you.

I am currently working on creating a list of experts (computer scientists, attorneys, researchers, investigators, mathematicians/statisticians specializing in voting and elections) soon who can help review detailed legislative language.

The fact that the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) rejected the advise of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to require software independent voting systems this week, shows how urgently some of our recommendations are needed - before the TGDC votes to adopt the 2007 voluntary federal voting system guidelines.

Best Regards,


Kathy Dopp
http://electionarchive.org

http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M7220026810612138238415165

--------

Movie Fans: Write to your Local Newspaper about Dirty Gold

The recent Hollywood release, Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio, may be on your holiday viewing list. The film has received widespread media attention because it highlights how the illegal diamond trade has helped to fuel and finance armed conflict in parts of Africa.

Natural resources, instead of bringing wealth, have fuelled conflict in the Dem. Republic of Congo. Credit: Richard Wainwright/CAFOD Unearth Justice

Gold mining, too, bears the scars of conflict, destruction, and human rights abuse. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), armed groups fighting for control of gold mines and trading routes have tortured and killed civilians and used gold sales to buy weapons. Rather than bringing prosperity to the nation, gold has been a cause of enormous human suffering in the DRC.

Please help us raise awareness that "dirty gold" is as great a threat as "blood diamonds" by writing a letter to your local newspaper. The letters section is widely read, and it offers a great opportunity to reach your entire community.

We have provided some helpful facts and figures that you can use to craft your letter. It is helpful to relate your letter to topics the newspaper has covered recently, so keep an eye out for articles relating to the movie "Blood Diamond".

Thank you, and best wishes for the holidays, The No Dirty Gold Campaign team

P.S. Please share your letter with us by emailing it to info @nodirtygold.org. Send us a link to your published letter and we will send you a No Dirty Gold t-shirt.

Use these helpful facts and figures about "dirty gold" to write your letter to the editor. NOTE: Newspapers generally limit letters to between 100 and 200 words.

* Gold mining is one of the dirtiest industries in the world. The production of a single gold wedding ring generates 20 tons of mine waste.

* As with "blood diamonds," gold mining bears the scars of conflict, destruction, and human rights abuse. Gold mining fueled a war in the Democratic Republic of Congo that led to more civilian deaths than any war since World War II.

* In places as diverse as Guatemala, Ghana, Peru, and Indonesia, local communities and indigenous peoples have encountered intimidation, abuse, and even violent suppression when voicing opposition to mining projects.

* The majority of gold is used to make jewelry. Jewelers should ensure that they are not selling their customers gold that has been produced at the expense of communities and the environment.

* Jewelers can take an important step by endorsing the No Dirty Gold campaign's "Golden Rules" and supporting an independent certification system to weed out "dirty gold."



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

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116528658477840719-jofbJ2_QK2t3zS8cLrzJesf9dx0_20061212.html


Informant: NHNE

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061204/ap_on_sc/brazil_amazon_1


Informant: NHNE

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1205-02.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1205-09.htm



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

Report Calls for Closing Mississippi River Channel that Costs U.S. Taxpayers Tens of Millions of Dollars Annually, Was Major Cause of Katrina Damage.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1205-08.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1205-21.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1205-24.htm



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

http://www.infowars.net/articles/december2006/051206Impeachment.htm



http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=62961422&blogID=201909154



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt245.html

--------

The Rumsfeld Memo: “I was just about to change everything….Really!?!

By Mike Whitney

Rumsfeld’s memo is great reading for fiction-lovers. It provides a revealing snapshot of a leader who carefully considered every alternative before making a decision. It’s a stark contrast to the intractable narcissist who ignored his advisors and bullied his generals. But, like I said, it’s great fiction.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15816.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com%2Fengelhardt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rumsfeld

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lind/lind115.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=lewrockwell.com%2Flind%2F

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1205-04.htm



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

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5375/


From ufpj-news

Informant: Charles Jenks

A message from Linda

Original Message

Check out, consider to sign and forward the petitions in the end of the message, thank you!

peace, and joy!

jouni


DECLARATION OF THE INDIGENOUS WORLD URANIUM SUMMIT Window Rock, Navajo Nation, USA December 2, 2006

We, the Peoples gathered at the Indigenous World Uranium Summit, at this critical time of intensifying nuclear threats to Mother Earth and all life, demand a worldwide ban on uranium mining, processing, enrichment, fuel use, and weapons testing and deployment, and nuclear waste dumping on Native Lands.

Past, present and future generations of Indigenous Peoples have been disproportionately affected by the international nuclear weapons and power industry. The nuclear fuel chain poisons our people, land, air and waters and threatens our very existence and our future generations. Nuclear power is not a solution to global warming. Uranium mining, nuclear energy development and international agreements (e.g., the recent U.S.-India nuclear cooperation treaty) that foster the nuclear fuel chain violate our basic human rights and fundamental natural laws of Mother Earth, endangering our traditional cultures and spiritual well-being.

We reaffirm the Declaration of the World Uranium Hearing in Salzburg, Austria, in 1992, that "uranium and other radioactive minerals must remain in their natural location." Further, we stand in solidarity with the Navajo Nation for enacting the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005, which bans uranium mining and processing and is based on the Fundamental Laws of the Dine. And we dedicate ourselves to a nuclear-free future.

Indigenous Peoples are connected spiritually and culturally to our Mother, the Earth. Accordingly, we endorse and encourage development of renewable energy sources that sustain - not destroy - Indigenous lands and the Earth's ecosystems.

In tribute to our ancestors, we continue centuries of resistance against colonialism. We recognize the work, courage, dedication and sacrifice of those individuals from Indigenous Nations and from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, the United States, and Vanuatu, who participated in the Summit. We further recognize the invaluable work of those who were honored at the Nuclear-Free Future Awards ceremony on December 1, 2006. And we will continue to support activists worldwide in their nonviolent efforts to stop uranium development.

We are determined to share the knowledge we have gained at this Summit with the world. In the weeks and months ahead, we will summarize and disseminate the testimonies, traditional Indigenous knowledge, and medical and scientific evidence that justify a worldwide ban on uranium development. We will enunciate specific plans of action at the tribal, local, national and international levels to support Native resistance to the nuclear fuel chain. And we will pursue legal and political redress for all past, current and future impacts of the nuclear fuel chain on Indigenous Peoples and their resources.


Jamie Kneen
Communications & Outreach Coordinator
ofc. (613) 569-3439
MiningWatch Canada
250 City Centre Ave., Suite 508
fax: (613) 569-5138
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7
e-mail: jamie @miningwatch.ca
Canada
http://www.miningwatch.ca
Skype: jamiekneen


Join signing following petitions and forward, spread the word, thank you

Tell the Department of Energy that we reject Nuclear Bombplex 2030! (US Citizens only) http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/Peaceact/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6141

One million signatures against nuclear power http://www.million-against-nuclear.net/#sign

Britain is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has made 'an unequivocal undertaking' to accomplish the total elimination of its nuclear arsenal. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/notrident/

Sign Declaration against Nuclear Weapons http://abolition2000europe.org/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2&blogId=1

We undersigned strongly urge the City Council, the Mayor and Citizens to take steady steps to join Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision and stating that the City and Citizens support the Program to Promote the Solidarity of Cities toward the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/621077558

Campaign: International Petition to Ban Uranium Weapons http://web.bandepleteduranium.org/campaign/person.php?id=1&id_topic=1

Safer Energy Policy for EU, Russia and World http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/856918651

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
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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



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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

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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

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



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