Mittwoch, 3. Januar 2007

Stand with Lt. Ehren Watada against illegal & immoral war in Iraq

http://tinyurl.com/yzd398



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

Merkel will liberale Märkte und Partnerschaft mit USA

03.01.07

Zur Beginn der deutschen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft setzen die Spitzen der großen Koalition unterschiedliche Akzente für die Arbeit im ersten Halbjahr 2007. Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) betonte, dass sie eine engere wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Europäischen Union und den USA anstrebt. Außerdem wolle sie eine weitere Liberalisierung des Energie- und Telekommunikationsmarktes einfordern.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15035



"Neue Handelsstrategie": Harte Kritik am Kurs der deutschen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft

03.01.07

Das globalisierungskritische Netzwerk Attac hat am Dienstag in Berlin das Programm der deutschen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft scharf kritisiert und "Alternativen für ein friedliches, demokratisches, soziales und ökologisches Europa" vorgestellt. Mit der Ankündigung der Bundesregierung, die europäische Energieversorgung notfalls auch militärisch zu sichern und die Reaktivierung der EU-Verfassung ins Zentrum ihres Vorsitzes zu stellen, sei ein weiterer Sozialabbau und eine Militarisierung in der EU zu befürchten, meint Sven Giegold von Attac. Die gebürtige US-Amerikanerin und Mitbegründerin von Attac Frankreich, Susan George, sagte, das europäische Sozialsystem sei es Wert, "bewahrt zu werden und dafür zu kämpfen".

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15030

Help Stop the Next Wolf Massacre

Soon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to release a proposal to strip wolves of crucial Endangered Species Act protections across most of Wyoming and de-list wolves in Idaho, where the state is poised to kill up to 75% of the wolves living in the Lolo district of the Clearwater National Forest.

This proposal could allow the use of aerial gunning and other lethal control methods to kill as many as two-thirds of the wolves in Wyoming and as many as 54 of Idaho’s 65 wolf packs!

Help stop the massacre! Fill out the form below to urge the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dale Hall, to maintain federal protections for gray wolves.

Help Stop the Next Wolf Massacre

The stage has been set for the largest massacre of wolves to occur in the lower 48 United States in decades. Unless we stop it, hundreds of wolves -- including mothers and pups -- could die.

http://action.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=609&s_einterest=C3C4

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Hunters Target Wolves in Idaho and Montana
http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=5645311



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

Vogelgrippe und H5N1, Impfen und AIDS

http://www.faktuell.de/Hintergrund/Background367.shtml


Informant: Sibylle Gabriel



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

Doubling Down on the Imperial Mission in 2007

Tom Engelhardt writes: "Imagine! The Marine Corps is willing to pay young people to go to a uniformless summer camp to test their 'leadership potential,' with no commitment to the Corps necessary. Consider that; then consider what was certainly the president's only significant decision of the holiday season past - to permanently expand the US military by as many as 70,000 troops."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307H.shtml



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

Death of Zarqawi Only Inflamed Violence

When US forces killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, six months ago in a village near here, they hoped security would improve in this strategic province just north of Baghdad. Instead, security has collapsed in Diyala province, which now ranks as one of Iraq's most troubled regions. Insurgent attacks have more than doubled in the last year.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307E.shtml



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

Protecting Internet Democracy

The editors of the New York Times write: "One of the big winners in the last election may turn out to be the principle, known as net neutrality, that Internet service providers should not be able to favor some content over others. Democrats who are moving into the majority in Congress - led by Ron Wyden in the Senate and Edward Markey in the House - say they plan to fight hard to pass a net neutrality bill, and we hope that they do. It is vital to preserve the Internet's role in promoting entrepreneurship and free expression."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307D.shtml



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

Torture, Lies, and Videotape

Arlen Parsa writes: "Not long before Christmas Day 2002, a young man was being held in a US facility known as the Bagram Collection Point, in Afghanistan. Like many other Afghan nationals, he had only one name: Dilawar. He led a simple, quiet life. He had a wife, a young daughter, and one friend. He was 22 years old, and weighed only 122 pounds. Most of his captors believed he was not guilty of anything and had 'simply driven his taxi past the American base at the wrong time.' He died on December 10th. The incident was covered up by the Pentagon."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307B.shtml



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

Keith Olbermann: Senseless 'Sacrifice' in Iraq Must End

Special Comment About "Sacrifice"

Keith Olbermann states: "The former labor secretary, Robert Reich, says Senator John McCain told him that the 'surge' would help the 'morale' of the troops already in Iraq. If Mr. McCain truly said that, and truly believes it, he has either forgotten completely his own experience in Vietnam ... or he is unaware of the recent Military Times poll indicating only 38 percent of our active military want to see more troops sent ... or Mr. McCain has departed from reality."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307A.shtml

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Keith Olbermann: Senseless 'Sacrifice' in Iraq Must End
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0103-61.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Olbermann
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=surge
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=3,000

Health warning over safety of bottled water

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2121674.ece


Informant: binstock

US-Studie spricht von 2,2 Millionen Kreditnehmern, die ihr Eigenheim verlieren werden

Am amerikanischen Subprime-Hypothekenmarkt droht ein Desaster
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24355/1.html

SCIENTISTS' REPORT DOCUMENTS EXXONMOBIL'S TOBACCO-LIKE DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON GLOBAL WARMING SCIENCE

OIL COMPANY SPENT NEARLY $16 MILLION TO FUND SKEPTIC GROUPS, CREATE CONFUSION

Union of Concerned Scientists
January 3, 2007

http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html

WASHINGTON, DC - A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.nhne.com/files/exxon_report.pdf offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science.

"ExxonMobil has manufactured uncertainty about the human causes of global warming just as tobacco companies denied their product caused lung cancer," said Alden Meyer, the Union of Concerned Scientists' Director of Strategy & Policy. "A modest but effective investment has allowed the oil giant to fuel doubt about global warming to delay government action just as Big Tobacco did for over 40 years."

Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco's Tactics to "Manufacture Uncertainty" on Climate Change details how the oil company, like the tobacco industry in previous decades, has:

- Raised doubts about even the most indisputable scientific evidence

- Funded an array of front organizations to create the appearance of a broad platform for a tight-knit group of vocal climate change contrarians who misrepresent peer-reviewed scientific findings

- Attempted to portray its opposition to action as a positive quest for "sound science" rather than business self-interest

- Used its access to the Bush administration to block federal policies and shape government communications on global warming

ExxonMobil-funded organizations consist of an overlapping collection of individuals serving as staff, board members, and scientific advisors that publish and re-publish the works of a small group of climate change contrarians. The George C. Marshall Institute, for instance, which has received $630,000 from ExxonMobil, recently touted a book edited by Patrick Michaels, a long-time climate change contrarian who is affiliated with at least 11 organizations funded by ExxonMobil. Similarly, ExxonMobil funds a number of lesser-known groups such as the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy and Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. Both groups promote the work of several climate change contrarians, including Sallie Baliunas, an astrophysicist who is affiliated with at least nine ExxonMobil-funded groups.

Baliunas is best known for a 2003 paper alleging the climate had not changed significantly in the past millennia that was rebutted by 13 scientists who stated she had misrepresented their work in her paper. This renunciation did not stop ExxonMobil-funded groups from continuing to promote the paper. Through methods such as these, ExxonMobil has been able to amplify and prop up work that has been discredited by reputable climate scientists.

"When one looks closely, ExxonMobil's underhanded strategy is as clear and indisputable as the scientific research it's meant to discredit," said Seth Shulman, an investigative journalist who wrote the UCS report. "The paper trail shows that, to serve its corporate interests, ExxonMobil has built a vast echo chamber of seemingly independent groups with the express purpose of spreading disinformation about global warming."

ExxonMobil has used the laudable goal of improving scientific understanding of global warming -- under the guise of "sound science" -- for the pernicious ends of delaying action to reduce heat-trapping emissions indefinitely. ExxonMobil also exerted unprecedented influence over U.S. policy on global warming, from successfully recommending the appointment of key personnel in the Bush administration to funding climate change deniers in Congress.

"As a scientist, I like to think that facts will prevail, and they do eventually," said Dr. James McCarthy, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University and former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's working group on climate change impacts. "It's shameful that ExxonMobil has sought to obscure the facts for so long when the future of our planet depends on the steps we take now and in the coming years."

The burning of oil and other fossil fuels results in additional atmospheric carbon dioxide that blankets the Earth and traps heat. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased greatly over the last century and global temperatures are rising as a result. Though solutions are available now that will cut global warming emissions while creating jobs, saving consumers money, and protecting our national security, ExxonMobil has manufactured confusion around climate change science, and these actions have helped to forestall meaningful action that could minimize the impacts of future climate change.

"ExxonMobil needs to be held accountable for its cynical disinformation campaign on global warming," said Meyer. "Consumers, shareholders and Congress should let the company know loud and clear that its behavior on this issue is unacceptable and must change."


Informant: NHNE

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World Bank Chastised

An external audit concludes that the World Bank's research is too-frequently mediocre, politicized, and unreliable.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307G.shtml



Exxon Mobil Cultivates Global Warming Doubt

Energy giant Exxon Mobil borrowed tactics from the tobacco industry to raise doubt about climate change, spending $16 million on groups that question global warming. "Exxon Mobil has manufactured uncertainty about the human causes of global warming just as tobacco companies denied their product caused lung cancer," said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407M.shtml

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ExxonMobil Accused of Disinformation on Warming
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0104-05.htm



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

Europe Must End Their "Deforestation Biofuel" Energy Policy

Please forward alerts widely!

ACTION ALERT

Europe Must End Their "Deforestation Biofuel" Energy Policy

Rainforest Portal, a project of Ecological Internet, Inc.
http://www.rainforestportal.org/
January 3, 2007

TAKE ACTION Industrial biofuels threaten Rainforests and European land sustainability
http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=europe_biofuel

There exist serious concerns regarding the production of plantation crops on lands cleared of ancient rainforests for production of biodiesel in Europe in particular. For example, remaining natural orangutan habitat and their rainforest ecosystems in Southeast Asia are threatened by the unsustainable harvesting of palm oil for the use of biofuels. The campaign to stop Europe's "Deforestation Biofuel" Energy Policy is now at an important decision point, as the European Commission is expected to finalize the "Biomass Action Plan" policy by January 10th for biofuels sourced from plantations cleared from ancient rainforests. Earlier the European Parliament voted for rapid market expansion before safeguards are put in place. Please tell the European Commission now that they must prevent biofuels from causing ever greater deforestation, biodiversity losses, and evictions and impoverishment of local communities both in tropical rainforests and Europe. Unrestrained industrial biofuel expansion will accelerate, not slow down, climate change; as peatlands, rainforests, forests and croplands across the world are converted to energy crop monocultures and release their carbon in the process.

TAKE ACTION NOW at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=europe_biofuel

Discuss this alert at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2007/01/alert_europe_must_end_their_de.asp

While thundering about the need for U.N. reform, the U.S. has steadfastly refused to permit staff whistleblower protection

Stabbing U.N. Reform In The Back
http://ga3.org/ct/np20pgF1bRkg/

This Congress will be inconsistent on digital rights, posing a challenge for activists

The Digital Give And Take
http://ga3.org/ct/8120pgF1bRkb/

Are candidates like John McCain doomed by their lack of visible piety?

The GOP's Religious Litmus
http://ga3.org/ct/8d20pgF1bRk6/



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

Release the aged research chimps!

A message from Pam

Some of you may have already signed, but if so, please forward, and crosspost - whatever it takes!

50 YEARS in a laboratory is just unconscionable!

Monika V.

Petition to release aged research chimps December 08, 2006 12:13 PM

US petition to release aged research chimps

Please sign the petition asking for the release of aged research chimps. Thanks!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/283409529

The United States is the biggest user of chimpanzees in research - an estimated 1,300. Many have been in research for decades. The oldest known is Wenka - she is 52. After nearly 50 years, it's time for her and the other elders to retire so they can spend their remaining days in peace and comfort.

More on this site: http://releasetheelders.blogspot.com/

Navy SEAL officer’s report on ‘remote viewing’ urges ‘transcendent’ intelligence

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=18354


From Our bill of rights

Democrats Finalize New Ethics Rules

House Democrats hurried yesterday to put the finishing touches on ethics reforms that would ban lawmakers and staffers from accepting trips, gifts and meals from lobbyists and prevent the new majority from holding votes open in order to change the outcome.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307N.shtml

Activists Seek Bolder Approach to War, Spying

Activists will greet the new Congressional leaders at the Capitol tomorrow demanding a ban on torture, an end to warrantless domestic spying, and a restoration of curbed civil liberties. The rally will be followed by an evening forum calling for the president's impeachment, led by the Center for Constitutional Rights, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, and a pro-impeachment group called World Can't Wait.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307L.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=warrantless+domestic+spying
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sheehan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach

Support Our Human Rights Campaigns

Support Our Human Rights Campaigns

1. Please help us expose the perpetrators of genocide against the native peoples of Canada and bring them to justice. Endorse our petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/661180925

2. Support our Call to Boycott Westpac Banking Corporation until the bank and their major shareholders have compensated Maori, as well as other deprived New Zealanders. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/679477073

CASF Human Rights Campaign Team www.restorative-business.org

Stop Genocide against Native Peoples in Canada Summary Creating A Sustainable Future (CASF) is calling on United Nations General Assembly, International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) to establish an International War Crimes Tribunal to investigate the complicity in genocide against native peoples in Canada, past and present, by Canadian government and its agencies, the multinational corporations, the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Church of Canada and other forces. Full petition is available at URL: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/661180925

A Call to World Citizens and Ethical Investors to Boycott Westpac Summary The Bank of New South Wales, later Westpac Banking Corporation, opened 7 branches in New Zealand in 1861, which facilitated and was enormously enriched by the theft of Maori land, gold and all other resources. MSRB is calling on world citizens and ethical investors to boycott Westpac New Zealand until such time the bank and their major shareholders have compensated Maori, as well as other deprived New Zealanders. Full petition is available at URL: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/679477073

This Strategy Is New?

William Fisher writes: "Bush is taking a hard look at economic initiatives as he prepares to let the nation in on his new strategy for Iraq. But he faces two huge problems. The first is that he's been here before - and his Coalition Provisional Authority, under the aegis of Viceroy Jerry Bremer, botched this job, as he did most others back in 2003 and 2004. The second is that, whatever economic development projects Bush may try to put in place, it may just be too late for any of them to be effective."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307J.shtml



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

Fremdgemachter Aufschwung selbstgemachter Abschwung

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

03. Januar 2007

Zur Situation auf dem Arbeitsmarkt im Monat Dezember erklärt der Bundesgeschäftsführer Dietmar Bartsch (MdB):

4,007 Millionen Menschen sind in Deutschland ohne Arbeit, viele von ihnen seit Jahren. Der konjunkturelle Aufschwung hält an, der Anstieg der Arbeitslosenzahlen ist weit weniger stark als im Dezember üblich. Die Freude über den nur geringen Zuwachs wird erheblich getrübt durch die Millionen Menschen ohne Chance. Im Osten des Landes ist die Arbeitslosenquote nach wie vor doppelt so hoch, wie in den westlichen Bundesländern. Wer eine Chance bekommt, bekommt diese oft nur im
1-Euro-Job-Bereich und hat keinen existenzsichernden Arbeitsplatz. Für die von ihr gefeierten, vermeintlichen Erfolge am Arbeitsmarkt hat die Bundesregierung wenig getan. Der Zuwachs an Beschäftigung insgesamt resultiert vielfach aus der guten Konjunktur, speziell im Export, und beschränkt sich zu großen Teilen auf den Niedriglohnbereich oder ist Ergebnis statistischer Veränderungen, sowie dem Wetter und dem Konsumverhalten vor der Erhöhung der Mehrwertsteuer geschuldet. Die Situation der Arbeitslosen verbessert sich auch nicht dadurch, dass die Überschüsse der Bundesagentur zweckentfremdet zum Stopfen von Haushaltslöchern genutzt werden, statt sie intensiv in die Förderung von Arbeitslosen zu investieren. Schädlicher als diese Unterlassung ist die Erhöhung der Mehrwertsteuer auf 19% - Studien sagen in Folge der Erhöhung eine Vernichtung von 190.000 Arbeitsplätzen in den nächsten Jahren voraus. So sorgt die Regierung Merkel dafür, dass dem Aufschwung die Luft ausgeht. Von Dauer wären hingegen Maßnahmen, die die Linkspartei vorschlägt. Beispielsweise die Überschüsse der Bundesagentur für eine verstärkte Investition in öffentliche Beschäftigung nutzen. Das
100.000-Jobs-Programm für Langzeitarbeitslose, das die Bundesregierung aufgelegt hat, reicht bei weitem nicht aus. Gut ist, dass damit ein Vorschlag der Linken aufgegriffen wird, was uns freut, aber mit ernsthaftem Willen sind hier bis zu 500.000 Arbeitsplätze bis 2009 möglich. Diesen Willen muss die Regierung noch beweisen.

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=34886

RADIATION EMITTING DEVICES ACT

http://tinyurl.com/yhaoxx

Zeigt her eure Daten: der gläserne Internet-User

http://www.meta-info.de/?lid=24683



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

Ford, Cheney, checks and balances

The Nation
by John Nichols

01/02/07

There has been much discussion over the past several days about the many contributions former President Gerald Ford made to the American political experiment. Surely, his was a steady hand at the helm of a ship of state that Richard Nixon had steered into turbulent waters. And, surely, the grand old Republican's moderation was a necessary corrective against the sort of ideological abuses committed by too many of his fellow partisans. But Ford's greatest contribution involved the respect he showed for the system of checks and balances that the founders established in order to protect and maintain the Republic. A man of Congress who came to the Oval Office by the accident of appointment rather than the design of candidacy, Ford moved in the first months of his presidency to renew proper relations between the executive and legislative branches...

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=153082


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Harpy, hero, heretic: Hillary

Mother Jones
by Jack Hitt

01/07

Almost every American has an opinion about Hillary. Consider her poll numbers. Hillary Clinton has favorables in the high 40s right now and unfavorables running about even. Her 'no opinion' numbers are in the low single digits, approaching zero. Most politicians start with a huge swath of 'no opinion' voters whom they can then try to convert. If Hillary runs, she will need to invent a whole new form of campaign strategy: She will need to flip voters who pretty much hate her. Hillary-hating is such a national pastime, for both Democrats and Republicans, that it should be its own verb: 'Hillarating'...

http://tinyurl.com/y6se9q


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

FBI report details possible detainee abuses

Amarillo Globe News

01/02/07

FBI agents documented more than two dozen incidents of possible mistreatment at the Guantanamo Bay military base, including one detainee whose head was wrapped in duct tape for chanting the Quran and another who pulled out his hair after hours in a sweltering room. Documents released Tuesday by the FBI offered new details about the harsh interrogation practices used by military officials and contractors when questioning so-called enemy combatants. The reports describe a female guard who detainees said handled their genitals and wiped menstrual blood on their face...

http://tinyurl.com/uuo3t



FBI Details Possible Detainee Torture

Documents released Tuesday by the FBI offered new details about torture and the harsh interrogation practices used by military officials and contractors when questioning so-called enemy combatants. The documents were released in response to a public records request by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing Rumsfeld and others on behalf of former military detainees who say they were abused.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307K.shtml



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

German Muslim held, denied US entry

Lima News

01/02/07

A German businessman of Syrian descent who wanted to surprise his daughter with a holiday visit was detained for four days in a Las Vegas holding cell before being sent back home without explanation. A civil rights group called authorities' treatment of Majed Shehadeh a case of anti-Muslim discrimination. Shehadeh, 62, flew from Frankfurt to Las Vegas last Thursday, hoping to meet with his wife and drive to Bakersfield, Calif., where his American-born daughter had just gotten news she'd passed the California bar exam. Instead, he wound up shivering in a holding cell without ever being told why he couldn't enter the country, he said...

http://tinyurl.com/yx9mqq


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Democrats pressed to show progress in first 100 hours

USA Today

01/02/07

Democratic leaders will be pressed in coming weeks to move their legislative agenda and show voters they made the right choice in November to shift control of Congress. 'Democrats have an urgent need to show they can make a difference,' said Hugh Price, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, adding that Democrats have to 'demonstrate to voters that by putting them in charge of Congress that's not a continuation of business as usual'...

http://tinyurl.com/yb53ww


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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Protesters already mobilizing against Democrats' timidity
http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5519/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Endangered Wildlife

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Beautiful video, Stacey! Thanks for using your talent as a voice for the voiceless. Be Forever Blessed.

Linda H.

STOP LIVE DOG BURNING TESTS IN CHINA

I have just read and signed the petition: "STOP LIVE DOG BURNING TESTS IN CHINA"

Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. Please sign here:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/454118246

Thanks!

Pam F.

Compounds From Household Products Found in Human Blood

Since 2000, the federal government, environmental groups, and private citizens have been steadily turning up the heat on DuPont with a series of lawsuits and proposed regulatory actions in states across the nation.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010207EC.shtml



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

Concern for Rainforest Forces RWE to Scrap Palm Oil Project

A leading German utility has abandoned plans to convert a British power station to run on palm oil, in a blow to the promotion of biofuels in Europe. The company halted production because it was unable to secure sufficient supplies without risking damage to tropical rainforests.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010207EB.shtml



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

India's Forgotten Tribes Gain Rights Over Forests

Over 40 million of India's most impoverished and marginalized people live in the country's forests. A new law will for the first time enshrine their right to live there, but conservationists are worried about endangered wildlife.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010207EA.shtml

Bush May Oust Top Commander for Backing Troop Withdrawal

General Casey's strategy in Iraq was to transfer responsibility for security to the Iraqis and begin a gradual withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Bush seems all but certain not only to reverse the strategy that General Casey championed, but also to accelerate the general's departure from Iraq.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010207R.shtml

Security Firms Granted Full Police Power

Private firms with outright police powers have been proliferating in some places - and trying to expand their terrain. The trend is triggering debate over whether the privatization of public safety is wise.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010207S.shtml

Global Warming & Omnivore Man

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." -- Albert Einstein

Informant: NHNE


OMNIVORE MAN
January 1, 2007

Joseph Dillard Writes:

While I am happy to see the rising number of articles on Global Warming at many news sites that are awakening people to the reality of imminent catastrophic change that is upon us, too few articles are making the connection between diet and global warming. Gore doesn't address it in "An Inconvenient Truth." I just read a great call to energy self-sufficiency on Kos and it has nothing on the impact of nutritional decisions on global warming. This is surprising, since the consumption of cows, lambs, chickens, pigs, fish, shrimp, and shellfish is the largest personal contributor to global warming and the one easiest to change, since diet is totally a matter of personal choice.

I think the lack of emphasis on diet has to do with how deeply entrenched eating habits are culturally, socially, and personally, in terms of personal sense of well-being and self-worth. Nevertheless, this is probably going to be the Next Big Awakening. People pretty much are buying the need to change to florescent bulbs and make their next car purchase the most fuel efficient one they can find. They are not yet ready to embrace the idea that they can do without meat and not only do well, but do better than they are doing right now.

Consequently, there needs to be a major educational push addressing this correlation. PETA has some excellent materials to this end to help people envision a happy, healthy vegetarian life:

http://goveg.com/vegetarian101.asp

We are going to witness a revolution in consciousness away from eating animals well before we see man abandon warfare, looking at it in the same way that we presently view those who advocated slavery.

The Freedoms We're Fighting for But Not Allowed to Have

What My Brother Is Fighting for
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-61.htm

3,000 troops dead: 3,000 precious lives, so unnecessarily lost
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/3125001/

The Freedoms We're Fighting for But Not Allowed to Have
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-62.htm

Wrapped around a Bullet

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-51.htm
http://vcnv.org/wrapped-around-a-bullet

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Wrapped Around a Bullet

Kathy Kelly writes: "Although we have paltry financial means compared to the weapons makers who wield so much influence on Capitol Hill, we do have resources. We have our bodies. We have our determination. We have our compassion for Iraqi people and for US soldiers. We have our concern for future generations, who will not only have to live with the consequences of this violence, but who will also live on a planet spoiled by global warming, in no small part because we spent our resources on war instead of on developing clean energy sources. These are the grains of sand that will stop the cogs of war from turning. Now is the time for seriously strategizing about the best ways, in our hometowns, to engage in sustained civil disobedience at the offices of elected representatives, demanding that they vote against the supplemental spending bill."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010407K.shtml

Middle-Class French Join Sleep-In Over Homelessness

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0102-56.htm

Officers Won't Let Protesters Cross Bridge; Traffic Snarled as 10 CodePink Members Are Arrested During Vigil for Slain GIs

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0102-54.htm

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Arrested on the Golden Gate bridge

Common Dreams
by Col. Ann Wright (USA, Ret.)

01/02/07

On New Year's Day, sixty peace activists organized by Codepink Women for Peace gathered on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge to walk across one of America's great landmarks in vigil for the 3,000 US servicemen and women killed in Iraq and for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died since the US invasion and occupation. ... In October 2005, several of us were arrested in front of the White House when the US death toll hit 2,000. Now on January 1, 2006, we were arrested to commemorate 3,000 US deaths.It was ironic that I, as a retired US Army Colonel, was arrested on the Golden Gate Bridge in sight of the Presidio of San Francisco, a former US Army base. The Presidio was my first assignment in the Army almost forty years ago...

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-50.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Codepink
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=3,000

Grandmothers Hold Manhattan Vigil to Spotlight Iraq War Deaths

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0102-52.htm

Deutschland ist nun auch im All militärisch präsent

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24351/1.html

Bush's 'strategy for victory' in 2006 was anything but

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5509/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

A nation held hostage: the final phase

by Devvy Kidd

The first thing that can be done is disassociate yourself with any group or organization whose only goal seems to be membership building which translates into money. Take a stand. We must unite, target our battles, stay focused and become a force. Turn off the boob tube. Stop feeding our enemies your hard earned dollars. Stop funding America's economic destruction. Stop supporting individuals (radio/tv talk show hosts, politicians and church leaders) who are promoting one world totalitarian government......

http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd240.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/Devvy

On the Imperial Path in 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt251.html



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

Life Is Not an Embassy Party

http://www.lewrockwell.com/reed/reed117.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/reed

Falling Into the PIT

http://www.lewrockwell.com/nicholas/nicholas23.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/nicholas

Another Crime, Another Disaster

http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10238


Informant: Lew Rockwell



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

The Foolish Bush/McCain Iraq Escalation

http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnwell/barnwell67.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/barnwell

US Hypocrisy Reaches All Time High

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts191.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/roberts

A Lament for Lost Freedom

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gottfried/gottfried96.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/gottfried

Fear During a Recession

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north499.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/north

Major Interests of the State

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff127.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/rozeff

Der Tod, mit dem Handy gefilmt

http://www.taz.de/pt/2007/01/02/a0134.nf/text.ges,1

Saddams Hinrichtungs-Video wird zum Handy-Hit im Irak
http://www.nachrichten.at/politik/aussenpolitik/505897

Saddam: Suche nach dem Handy-Filmer läuft
http://www.20min.ch/news/dossier/irak/story/19955566

Hinrichtungs-Video sorgt für Empörung
Handy-Aufnahme als "Renner" im Internet
http://www.wormser-zeitung.de/politik/objekt.php3?artikel_id=2659928

Henker mit Handy
http://www.intern.de/news/find--links/--200701021033.html

Handy-Clip von Saddam-Exekution
http://derstandard.at/?id=2712586

U.S. cities, states linking intelligence 'fusion' sites

The new "fusion centers" are now operating in 37 states and another covers the Washington area, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The centers, which have received $380 million in federal support since the 2001 terrorist attacks, pool and analyze information from local, state and federal law enforcement officials.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4438063.html


From Information Clearing House

US unit works quietly to counter Iran's sway

For nearly a year, a select group of US officials has been quietly coordinating actions to counter the looming threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, including increasing the military capabilities of Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

http://tinyurl.com/y4eggy


From Information Clearing House

An all-consuming 'war on terror'

The official mantra is that we fight in Iraq because it is the "central front in the War on Terror." The exact opposite is the case.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/baltsun09.html


From Information Clearing House

Chaos Overran Iraq Plan in ’06, Bush Team Says

President Bush began 2006 assuring the country that he had a “strategy for victory in Iraq.” He ended the year closeted with his war cabinet on his ranch trying to devise a new strategy, because the existing one had collapsed.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/sf/nyt1_2_7_1.htm


From Information Clearing House

Bush 'to reveal Iraq troop boost'

The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq to focus on ways of bringing greater security, rather than training Iraqi forces.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6223923.stm


From Information Clearing House

Dienstag, 2. Januar 2007

Wyoming targets wolf packs

By WHITNEY ROYSTER
Star-Tribune environmental reporter
Sunday, December 31, 2006

http://www.trib.com/articles/2006/12/31/news/wyoming/015584daa8e79309872572540026943d.txt

JACKSON -- As they move toward delisting, many of the wolf packs in northwest Wyoming may be in the crosshairs.

There are estimated to be 23 wolf packs outside Yellowstone National Park, with three packs in the park. Under federal guidelines, Wyoming needs to maintain a minimum of seven packs outside the park, in addition to three inside, to ensure that wolves will not become endangered again.

Wyoming representatives have said they would like the federal government to eliminate the extra packs -- about 16 -- before removing wolves from federal protection and turning over management to the state.

The prospect of eliminating wolf packs has been mentioned in recent discussions between state and federal officials about a possible new approach to wolf management in Wyoming. The state's wolf management plan has been rejected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because it would subject the animals to unregulated killing in areas except Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and surrounding wilderness.

A new proposal aimed at resolving the dispute would increase the area where wolves would be treated as "trophy game," meaning they could only be killed with permission from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Regardless of which management plan prevails, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said reducing packs has always been on the table.

"In terms of reducing the packs, that's always been a state objective from the outset," Freudenthal said. "Frankly, it's essential for both wildlife and domestic livestock that we do that."

Meredith Taylor of the Wyoming Outdoor Council called the idea "a recipe for relisting."

"Why would we waste all the wildlife conservation success that we've invested by killing up to 16 wolf packs now?" she asked. "Wyoming took a big step forward with wolf recovery 10 years ago, but this shift in management by the (Fish and Wildlife Service) is a giant step back into the dark ages of wolf slaughter that got the wolves listed in the first place."

She also said managing for the minimum number of wolves would be more costly for the state -- through extensive monitoring and killing -- than letting wolves live as long as they don't get into trouble.

State Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody, who has been working with federal officials on possible negotiations, said nothing is definite and any plan will have public input.

Mitch King, regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said there has been "some discussion about moving more aggressively with wolf control." He said attorneys are looking at that possibility.

"I'm not overly optimistic, but I want to hear what the lawyers say," King said. He said his optimism was "measured" because there would likely be outcry over the wolf killings.

"Although it sounds like a lot of bloodshed, that's more of an emotional argument," King said. "Experts said for wolves to be fully recovered, all we needed to do was have 10 breeding pairs and 100 wolves, and wolves would survive that way. It does not mean wolves will be heading again toward extinction."

Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the lower 48 states for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in the last 10 years, about 550 wolves have been killed because of predation on livestock. He said how many wolves a state chooses to maintain, as long as it meets the federal standard, is at that state's discretion.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster @tribcsp.com.

Copyright © 1995–2007 Lee Enterprises


Informant: binstock



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

Your Affirmation of Nuclear Freedom

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

You will probably have signed one of our Affirmations of Nuclear Freedom which we hope to take to the World Court in support of a request for the judges to rule on whether negotiations to abolish nuclear weapons are being carried out in good faith. You can read more about the Affirmations on http://www.abolition2000europe.org/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=4&blogId=1

It would be a great help if you could pass on news about the Affirmations to friends, family or colleagues, and the way people can sign one online you can get in touch with me if you want more information about this.

So far we have Affirmations in several languages which I list below. However, if you are a born speaker of any other language, or know someone who is, would you be able to help by providing a translation into any languages not listed? We just a need translation of the following with the line endings in the same place:

AFFIRMATION OF FREEDOM FROM NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Signed by .................................................................................

.................................................................................................

Address .....................................................................................

.....................................................................................................


I do not accept that nuclear weapons can defend me, our country, or the values I stand for

.................................


We already have Affirmations in

ARABIC
CHINESE
CZECH
DUTCH
ESPERANTO
FINNISH
FRENCH
GERMAN
HUNGARIAN
IRISH
ITALIAN
JAPANESE
LATVIAN
NORWEGIAN
PORTUGUESE
RUSSIAN
SPANISH
SWEDISH
WELSH


Thanks and best wishes

George Farebrother

Kriegsvölkerrecht: Schäuble will Flugzeugabschuss doch erlauben

02.01.07

Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) will mit einer Verfassungsänderung den Abschuss eines gekaperten Zivilflugzeugs doch möglich machen. Durch die Einführung eines Quasi-Verteidigungsfalls im Grundgesetz soll bei einem drohendem Terroranschlag das Kriegsvölkerrecht angewendet werden können, sagte Schäuble der "Süddeutschen Zeitung". Das Bundesverfassungsgericht hatte am 15. Februar 2006 eine Passage im Luftsicherheitsgesetz für verfassungswidrig erklärt, das den Abschuss eines Passagierflugzeugs erlaubte.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15014

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Schäubles Vorkrieg
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/artikel/853/96757/print.html

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Krücken haben Tücken
http://www.pickings.de/tiki-view_blog_post.php?blogId=9&postId=1697

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Innenminister hält an Plänen zum Bundeswehreinsatz im Innern fest

03.01.07

In der Debatte um den Abschuss von entführten Zivilflugzeugen hat Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) seinen Vorstoß für eine Verfassungsänderung verteidigt. Wenn etwa ein Kernkraftwerk Ziel eines terroristischen Angriffs würde, "möchte ich auf der Grundlage des Grundgesetzes handeln", sagte Schäuble am Mittwoch. Eigentlich geht es Schäuble aber offenbar keineswegs nur um Flugzeuge, sondern generell um die Möglichkeit des Einsatzes der Bundeswehr im Innern. Der Innenminister will im Grundgesetz eine Passage einführen, wonach bei einem "sonstigen Angriff auf die Grundlagen des Gemeinwesens" das Kriegsvölkerrecht anwendbar und somit ein Bundeswehreinsatz möglich sein soll.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15036

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Terrorismusbekämpfung und Grundrechte

Schäuble erklärt den Krieg. Der Abschuss entführter Flugzeuge soll durch eine Grundgesetzänderung ermöglicht werden

„Anfang 2006 hatte das Bundesverfassungsgericht erklärt, dass der Abschuss von Flugzeugen als "fliegende Bomben" nach dem Grundgesetz unzulässig ist, wenn sich Unschuldige darin befinden. Nun wartet Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) mit einem neuen Vorschlag auf, um für den Fall eines "terroristischen Anschlags" durch ein Flugzeug gewappnet zu sein. Seine einfache Lösung: Wenn die gegenwärtigen Verfassungsbestimmungen keine "effektive Sicherheitspolitik" ermöglichen, dann muss wohl die Verfassung geändert werden…“ Artikel von Matthias Lehnert in ak - analyse & kritik - Zeitung für linke Debatte und Praxis vom 19.1.2007 http://www.akweb.de/ak_s/ak513/23.htm


Unkontrollierte Ausdehnung der Europol-Befugnisse befürchtet

„Der britische Rechtsprofessor Steven Peers kritisiert scharf den Vorstoß der EU-Kommission, den Tätigkeitsbereich der europäischen Polizeibehörde deutlich zu erweitern und ihre vertragliche Grundlage aufzuweichen. In einer Analyse für die britische Bürgerrechtsorganisation Statewatch schreibt das Mitglied des Human Rights Centre der Universität Essex, dass durch das Vorhaben "die Macht nationaler Parlamente zur Kontrolle der Europol-Entwicklung eingeschränkt und die Ausdehnung der Befugnisse und Kompetenzen Europols beschleunigt wird." Die in Den Haag ansässige Behörde würde in eine Art Bundespolizei für die gesamte EU verwandelt, die auf nationale Datenbanken frei zugreifen und die darin gespeicherten Informationen in eigene Systeme einbauen könnte. Zugleich würde Europol mehr operative Eingriffsmöglichkeiten erhalten…“ Artikel von Stefan Krempl in heise news online vom 29.1.07 samt Link zur Studie http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/84430


Aus: LabourNet, 30. Januar 2007

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Einige Innenminister wollen noch immer Abschuss von Zivilflugzeugen ermöglichen

Die Innenminister einiger Bundesländer fordern ein "handhabbares Luftsicherheitsgesetz" bis hin zur Neuregelung eines möglichen Abschuss eines Zivilflugzeuges. Nach dem Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts - das eben dies untersagte - habe der Staat "die Verantwortung, ein solches Verfahren zu regeln", sagte Bayerns Innenminister Günther Beckstein (CSU) am Mittwoch auf dem 10. Europäischen Polizeikongress in Berlin.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=15348



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

Handwerksverband lehnt Job-Programm für Langzeitarbeitslose ab

02.01.07

Der Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH) hat sich entschieden gegen Pläne der Bundesregierung gewandt, schwer vermittelbare Langzeitarbeitslose mit öffentlich geförderten Jobs zu versorgen. "Die Handwerksbetriebe leiden zunehmend darunter, wenn kommunale Dienstleistungen nicht mehr an reguläre Unternehmen vergeben werden", sagte ZDH-Präsident Otto Kentzler der Chemnitzer "Freien Presse" zur Begründung. Mit der inzwischen auf 313 000 gestiegenen Zahl der Ein-Euro-Jobber würden bereits jetzt immer mehr Tätigkeiten über das staatlich geförderte Lohndumping aus dem ersten Arbeitsmarkt gedrängt.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15015

"Hemmungslose Atompolitik": "Dinosaurier 2006" für RWE-Chef Roels

02.01.07

Der Vorstandsvorsitzende des Energiekonzerns RWE, Harry Roels, ist Ende Dezember mit dem ungeliebten Umweltpreis "Dinosaurier des Jahres" ausgezeichnet worden. Der Präsident des Naturschutzbundes Deutschland (NABU), Olaf Tschimpke, sagte zur Begründung, Roels habe sich die Trophäe "mit seiner hemmungslosen Atompolitik und dem provozierenden Antrag auf Laufzeitverlängerung für Deutschlands ältesten und störanfälligsten Reaktor Biblis A" mehr als verdient. Roels habe einen erneuten Streit um die Fortführung der Kernenergie ausgelöst und durch die Hintertür versucht, den Weg für den Ausstieg aus dem Ausstieg zu ebnen.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15023

Obrigkeitsstaat: Schaar warnt vor Internet-Überwachungsstaat

02.01.07

Der Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragte Peter Schaar warnt vor einer generellen Internet-Überwachung durch die Polizei. "Eine generelle Internet-Überwachung darf es nicht geben", sagte Schaar im Interview mit der "Berliner Zeitung". Polizisten dürften nicht alle möglichen im Internet geäußerten Meinungen kontrollieren und speichern. Vielmehr müssten die Sicherheitsbehörden auch im Internet ihr Handeln rechtsstaatlich begrenzen. "Nur wenn es konkrete Anhaltspunkte auf Straftaten oder Gefährdungen gibt, dürfen sie im Internet fahnden", sagte Schaar.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet: http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=15012

Iraq War Lie Detector Test

Dean Baker writes: "There has been no shortage of deceptions surrounding the prosecution of the Iraq war, beginning with the original justification - Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, supporters of the war continue to use deception to advance their agenda. The latest lie is that Congress doesn't have the ability to end the war, because if they cut off funding they would jeopardize the safety of our troops."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010207A.shtml

Speak Out Against Five Years of Lawlessness

http://tinyurl.com/tpfgv



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Murat+Kurnaz
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detention

Der Trend zum "functional food" birgt mehr Risiken als Vorteile

Das Essen der Zukunft

Der Trend zum "functional food" zeigt die Virtualisierung der Ernährung und birgt mehr Risiken als Vorteile.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24245/1.html

PNR-Daten als Ausgangspunkt zum Ausspionieren

Die EU-Kommission war trotz angeblichen Unwissens spätestens Anfang
2004 mit der Verknüpfung der Flugpassagierdaten von Europäern mit weiteren Daten für eine Risikobewertung durch US-Behörden einverstanden.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24350/1.html

The Endgame, Homeland Security’s Detention Plan, and PNAC’s Role in all this

http://tinyurl.com/wmcjv


Informant: Neo Mulder



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

Nancy Pelosi's politics and style are not revealed by looking at her clothes

A Speaker, Not A Model
http://ga3.org/ct/Zp20pgF1tRnH/



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

November voting was not enough: Progressives must continue to pressure lawmakers

Round-The-Clock Voting
http://ga3.org/ct/V720pgF1tRn-/

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Activists seek bolder approach to war, spying

Washington Post

01/03/07

Democratic leaders set to take control of Congress tomorrow are facing mounting pressure from liberal activists to chart a more confrontational course on Iraq and the issues of human rights and civil liberties, with some even calling for the impeachment of President Bush. The carefully calibrated legislative blitz that Democrats have devised for the first 100 hours of power has left some activists worried the passion that swept the party to power in November is already dissipating. A cluster of protesters will greet the new congressional leaders at the Capitol tomorrow. They will not be disgruntled conservatives wary of Democratic control, but liberals demanding a ban on torture, an end to warrantless domestic spying and a restoration of curbed civil liberties...

http://tinyurl.com/y4nlu5


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Communitarianism: The Dictatorship of Everything

by Nancy Levant

Consider ourselves lucky to be living in the most frightening and fascinating time in American history. We are experiencing the exact moment in time where America stands or permanently falls to pure and unadulterated treason and betrayal by the elected. With a whole lot of us and a smidgeon of them, we have to make the determination as to the kind of lives we choose to live. Today, and as we speak, you must.....

http://www.newswithviews.com/Levant/nancy74.htm



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

Human liberty trumps any religion

Orange County Register
by Tibor R. Machan

01/01/07

Islam is not explicitly a political system but it has strong implications about political economy, as most religions do. Something will be forbidden in a human community where Islam dominates, while something else will be seen as acceptable by those in charge. This is so with Christianity, too, of course, as well as with any other religion. Some religions, however, do not aspire to rule everyone, not at least by coercive force. Islam, as it is apparently understood by many Muslims, does consider the use of coercive force acceptable for certain vital purposes, notably the purpose of converting people to Islam. Now the real community value that we all should prize, regardless of our faiths, is allowing people to live a freely chosen moral life. But this is something impossible if coercive force is used in any realm of human affairs. Only in defense of liberty is the use of force justified -- because in such cases the force is defensive, not coercive...

http://tinyurl.com/ycc3xo


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Executive pay: Corporate scandal

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
by staff

01/01/07

This is the way it works for you and me: You buy a stock and hope it goes up. If not, you might cuss a bit, but ultimately you take the loss. Such is life. But this is the way it has worked for some company chief executives: They bought a stock, it went down, so they went back and found a better date. If you think about it, any stock (or more accurately, an option to buy a stock) can be profitable if you manipulate the date of purchase. Such a deal. What's troubling about this year's option scandal is that it began as a 'reform' measure; the idea was to tie executive performance to the price of the stock. That way the interests of shareholders and managers would be aligned. 'At many companies, options morphed into the biggest executive bonanza yet, pouring out cash like a stuck ATM, sorely disappointing those who thought options would moderate executive pay,' The Wall Street Journal said last week...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/297760_corppay1ed.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Find freedom friend

Strike the Root
by Retta Fontana

01/01/07

There's a tremendous temptation to falter in the face of the truths of life in America today. Some days it's almost more than I can bear. It's painful as h... to see the rule of law disintegrate and the erosion of our civil liberties march off like buckets of water that the sorcerer's apprentice put irrevocably in motion...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/71/fontana/fontana1.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Bush: best friend of instability and Islamism

Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

12/29/06

As 2006 comes to a close, the world is in flames and George W. Bush's foreign policy is both directly and indirectly to blame. He has caused a civil war by invading Iraq, continued an occupation of Afghanistan that motivated a revival of the deposed radical Islamist Taliban movement, pushed for elections in Palestine that elected the Islamist group Hamas, cooperated with Israel's failed attack on Lebanon that enhanced the status of the Islamist group Hezbollah in that country's politics, and created an al Qaeda-friendly Islamist threat to Somalia by supporting unpopular warlords. What other foreign policy disasters can George W. Bush perpetrate in his last two years in office?

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1884


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Will America go the way of Mongolia?

The Price of Liberty
by Doug Newman

01/01/07

Empires don't last. The Mongol Empire was a case in point. The Babylonian, Persian, Assyrian, Greek, Egyptian and Roman Empires are all gone. Spain is no longer a world power. Neither is Portugal. The Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires were carved up after World War I. The French, Italians, Dutch and Belgians have cut their colonies loose. What is left of Britain's overseas possessions has a combined population of about 200,000. The Soviet Empire is a goner. Japan got into the empire business in 1931 and got out of it aboard the USS Missouri in 1945. Hitler's Thousand Year Reich came up 988 years short. America -- 'the last superpower' -- has all the trappings of an empire. Our troops are stationed in 130 countries. We act as if we have the right to determine how other countries must govern themselves. We have no inhibitions about bombing the crap out of countries to enforce our will. If this is not an empire what is?

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/07/01/01/newman.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Doug+Newman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire

Reyes: US intelligence was "manipulated"

MSNBC

01/01/07

Incoming House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes says he'd rather figure out how to stabilize Iraq and bring the troops home than get bogged down investigating what went wrong. Despite that pledge, he does plan to revisit one bit of history: What he sees as the government's improper classification of a letter he wrote during the congressional debate on the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16390653/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Ohnmacht gegenüber der Entsozialisierung unserer Lebensräume

Durch die Verschmelzung der Gewerkschaften mit dem Unternehmertum, verlieren wir den Gewerkschaftsschutz.

“Angesichts der Ohnmacht gegenüber der Entsozialisierung unserer Lebensräume, sollte man den Sinn von Partnerschaften untersuchen. Beginnen wir mit der Zeit, in der die Idee der Sozialpartnerschaft aufkam…“ Ein Diskussionsbeitrag von Gilbert Karasek, Personalvertreter bei Wienstrom, nicht nur an österreichische GewerkschaftskollegInnen http://www.labournet.de/internationales/at/karasek.html


Aus: LabourNet, 2. Januar 2007

Unsichere berufliche Zukunft drückt auf die Seele

Krankenstand und Anwesenheit im Krankheitsfall

2006 erstmals wieder leichter Anstieg der Krankentage - nach wie vor Zunahme psychischer Störungen

„Laut Erhebungen des BKK Bundesverbandes sind die Krankentage der beschäftigten BKK Versicherten in den ersten zehn Monaten des Jahres 2006 leicht gestiegen. In diesem Jahr fehlten die Beschäftigten von Januar bis Oktober durchschnittlich 10,6 Kalendertage. Im gleichen Vorjahreszeitraum waren es 10,3 Tage und im Jahr 2004 fehlten sie 10,7 Tage in zehn Monaten…“ Pressemitteilung des BKK Bundesverbandes vom 22.12.2006 http://www.bkk.de/bkk/pressemitteilungen/powerslave,id,338,nodeid,15.html

Siehe dazu:

BKK Gesundheitsreport 2006 - Demografischer und wirtschaftlicher Wandel - gesundheitliche Folgen (pdf, 4 MB) http://www.bkk.de/ps/tools/download.php?file=/bkk/psfile/downloaddatei/13/BKK_Gesund452cf8e90332b.pdf&name=BKK%20Gesundheitsreport%202006.pdf&id=1103&nodeid=1103


Stress und psychische Belastungen

Unsichere berufliche Zukunft drückt auf die Seele. Gesundheitsrisiken jenseits des "Normalarbeitsverhältnisses"

„"Flexibilität" ist Hauptanforderung und Hauptbelastungsfaktor für Beschäftigte, die als Zeitarbeiter, Teilzeitkräfte oder mit befristeten Verträgen unter besonderem Stress stehen. Sie müssen Arbeitgeber, Tätigkeitsbereiche oder Einsatzorte mehr oder weniger regelmäßig wechseln. Dabei ist davon auszugehen, dass Brüche in der Berufslaufbahn, fehlende Karriereperspektive und unklare Zukunftspläne spezifische Belastungen darstellen. Ziel eines von der Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (BAuA) initiierten Forschungsprojekts war, ein Fragebogen-Instrument zu entwickeln, um solche Fehlbelastungen zu erfassen. Damit sollen sich die charakteristischen Beanspruchungen in so genannten atypischen Beschäftigungsformen abbilden und vergleichen lassen…“ Pressemitteilung der Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin vom 01.12.2006 http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news?print=1&id=187697

Siehe dazu:

Atypische Erwerbsverläufe und wahrgenommene Fehlbelastungen

Studie von D. Hecker, N. Galais, K. Moser (pdf) http://www.baua.de/nn_38666/sid_A0326A713E09BC21A1A55A24B6026A75/nsc_true/de/Publikationen/Forschungsberichte/2006/Fb1075,xv=lf.pdf


Burnout. Stillstand im Hamsterrad

Das Risiko an Burnout zu erkranken, nimmt dramatisch zu. Besonders gefährdet sind die engagierten Mitarbeiter, die mit Spaß bei der Arbeit sind. Artikel von Nicola Holzapfel in Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 20.12.2006 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,mucm5/jobkarriere/erfolggeld/artikel/662/95567/


"Initiative für eine neue Qualität der Arbeit"

Eine bessere Arbeitswelt ist machbar

Mehr als 300 Teilnehmer diskutierten Anfang Dezember 2006 auf dem Kongress des IG Metall-Modellprojekts "Gute Arbeit" über Perspektiven einer humanen Gestaltung der Arbeitswelt. Die IG Metall hat jetzt die Themen und Diskussionsergebnisse der Foren online gestellt. http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A342C90-0B727220/internet/style.xsl/view_15518.htm


Aus: LabourNet, 2. Januar 2007

--------

Burnout-Syndrom: Die Selbstverbrenner

„Die 60-Stunden-Woche: kein Problem. Noch ein Projekt durchziehen: auch kein Problem. Alles zu schaffen, befriedigt schließlich auch. Magenschmerzen und Schlafstörungen können ausgeblendet werden, solange bis die Psyche streikt. Viele Berufstätige merken erst viel zu spät, dass sie ihre Grenzen überschritten haben. Die Diagnose lautet dann: Burnout-Syndrom…“ Artikel von Christine Hunger im Handelblatt vom 26. Januar 2007 http://www.handelsblatt.com/news/Karriere/Arbeit-Geld/_pv/_p/200813/_t/ft/_b/1214914/default.aspx/die-selbstverbrenner.html


Aus: LabourNet, 30. Januar 2007

Zielvereinbarung«, Partizipatives Management, Balanced Scoreboard, der Trend hat viele Namen

Partizipativer Januskopf

„»Zielvereinbarung«, »Partizipatives Management«, »Balanced Scoreboard« – der Trend hat viele Namen. Seit etwa 15 Jahren halten auch in deutschen Betrieben neue Personalmanagement-Systeme Einzug, die darauf zielen, die Kreativität der Arbeiter zu nutzen und ihre Motivation zu steigern. (…) Es ist löblich, dass Oskar Lafontaine kürzlich den Vorschlag machte, einen Gesetzentwurf gegen die »schleichende Individualisierung von Arbeitnehmerrechten« im Bereich sogenannter Zielvereinbarungen zu entwickeln. Auch die Gewerkschaften sollten sich an der weitereren Diskussion beteiligen.“ Artikel von Dr. Rolf Geffken in ND vom 29.12.06 http://www.nd-online.de/artikel.asp?AID=102654&IDC=42


Aus: LabourNet, 2. Januar 2007

Klimawandel: Brief von Frank Bsirske an Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel

„Klimawandel - dein Brief an Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel vom 11.12.2006“

„Lieber Kollege Bsirske, mit tiefem Bedauern, ja großem Erschrecken haben wir als Gewerkschafts-Mitglieder dein Schreiben (pdf) http://www.soerenjanssen.de/media/2006-12-12-merkel-zuteilungsgesetz-2012.pdf
an Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel zum Thema "Emissionshandel, Zuteilungsgesetz 2008-2012" gelesen. Du forderst die Bundesregierung darin auf, sich den Auflagen der EU-Kommission, den deutschen Allokationsplan nachzubessern, zu widersetzen. Die Argumentation, die du in dem Brief zum Ausdruck bringst, ist nicht nur falsch, sie ist auch gefährlich. Denn einmal lässt du den alten Hut des angeblichen Widerspruchs zwischen Ökonomie und Ökologie wieder aufleben, und zweitens treibst du einen Keil zwischen Gewerkschaften und Umweltbewegung. Aus diesen Gründen halten wir dein Vorgehen für inhaltlich haltlos und strategisch verheerend. Wir fordern dich dringend zu einer Kurskorrektur auf…“ Offener Brief von Gewerkschaftern an den Vorsitzenden der Vereinigten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, Frank Bsirske, vom 20. Dezember 2006 (pdf) http://www.soerenjanssen.de/media/Klima-Brief-verdi.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 2. Januar 2007

Herausforderung für 2007: Armut nicht nur erkennen, sondern bekämpfen

#Die Linkspartei.PDS: Pressemitteilungen

http://sozialisten.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/view_html?zid=34883

02. Januar 2007

Zu Beginn des Jahres 2007 fordert die stellvertretende Parteivorsitzende Katja Kipping (MdB) die Abgeordneten der anderen im Bundestag vertretenden Parteien auf, sich endlich den realen Auswirkungen ihrer Politik zu stellen. Sie erklärt:

Für 2007 besteht eine zentrale Herausforderung darin, die Ursachen und Auswirkungen von Armut nicht nur zu erkennen, sondern Armut erfolgreich einzudämmen und zu bekämpfen. Die Einführung einer sozialen repressionsfreien Grundsicherung, die jedem ein Leben in Würde ermöglicht, wäre dafür ein wichtiger Schritt. Dieser Schritt böte zudem eine gute Grundlage für die weitere gesellschaftliche Debatte über ein bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen, die 2007 forciert werden muss. Offensichtlich lebt die Mehrheit der deutschen Parlamentarier unter einer Käseglocke, die sie sicher vor den Realitäten der Erwerbslosen und Geringverdienern in diesem Land abschirmt. Anders lässt es sich nicht erklären, dass einer Studie der Bertelsmannstiftung zufolge 60 Prozent aller Parlamentarier die Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung für gerecht halten. In der Bevölkerung teilt noch nicht einmal jeder Dritte diese Einschätzung. Der Irrglaube, die Einkommen und Vermögen in diesem Land seien gerecht verteilt, deutet auf eine chronische Unfähigkeit hin, sich kritisch mit den Auswirkungen der eigenen Politik auseinandersetzen. Hat doch die Steuer- und Sozialpolitik der letzten Jahre die Umverteilung von unten nach oben beschleunigt. Die Wahrnehmungs-Käseglocke, welche die herrschende politische Klasse vor den realen Problemen und Schicksalen der Erwerbslosen, Geringverdienern und sozial Benachteiligten in diesem Land abschirmt, muss weg! Eine kürzlich erschiene Untersuchung des statistischen Bundesamtes zu Armut besagt, dass 22 Prozent der Armen in diesem reichen Land in einer feuchten, die Gesundheit gefährdenden, Wohnung leben müssen. Und reichlich jeder fünfte Arme konnte sich aus Geldmangel keinen Arztbesuch leisten. Damit werden Krankheiten verschleppt oder sogar chronisch. Armut macht krank!
2006 stand eine Vielzahl von Verschärfungen von Hartz IV auf der Agenda der herrschenden politischen Klasse, für 2007 wurden weitere angekündigt. Dieser Kurs muss gestoppt werden. Die Zumutbarkeitsgrenze für diejenigen, die die unsoziale Politik der Großen Koalition ausbaden müssen, ist längst überschritten.



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

America's Red Ink

To put the figures in perspective, $50 trillion is $440,000 per American household and is more than nine times as much as the median household income.

http://tinyurl.com/yjqm7p


From Information Clearing House

Americans Predict Attacks in 2007

Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster. These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007.

http://tinyurl.com/twwng


From Information Clearing House

US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers

Britons flying to America could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the United States authorities following a deal struck by Brussels and Washington.

http://tinyurl.com/ylycp8


From Information Clearing House

Americans Want a Rapid Exit from Iraq but Elected Leaders Aren’t Even Considering It

Ending the occupation will reduce violence, immediately save more than $100 billion and respect the wishes of the American people. Why is Washington, DC ignoring the obvious?

http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/122906ZEESE.html


From Information Clearing House

Economic Hit Man

Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins

“We Have Created the World’s First Truly Global Empire”: Most of the people in the United States have no idea that we've created this empire and, in fact, throughout the world it's been done very quietly, unlike old empires, where the army marched in.

http://tinyurl.com/y6j25j



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=John+Perkins
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://tinyurl.com/ybmk3r

Accounts Vary Over Deadly U.S. Military Raid In Baghdad

In an interview with Reuters, Al-Mutlaq is quoted as saying a family of four was killed in an adjacent building during the raid, including two children, as well as two of his security guards.

http://tinyurl.com/y2bpuf


From Information Clearing House

THE FASTEST WAY TO BRING TO TROOPS HOME FROM IRAQ IS TO IMPEACH BUSH

IMPEACHMENT ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net/impeachment_now2.php

Before the coming of George Bush and his shadow president Dick Cheney, the greatest military blunder in American History was thought to be Custer's Last Stand. It did not take a lot of hindsight to know that general Custer's vain assault on a much larger force of better-armed native Americans would come to no good end. His own turncoat Indian scouts told him the encampment at Little Bighorn was far too large to be attacked. They were changing back into their native clothes en masse so as not to be associated with the white man. But in his supreme arrogance Custer believed that HE knew better than his own best sources of intelligence. We all know the result of that one.

How uncanny are the parallels to the current situation in Iraq? The neocon ideologues who seized dictatorial control of our government brushed off all contrary advice and manufactured intelligence to support their case. They dismissed any challenge to their vision of the absolute power of American military dominance as a matter of right. They fired any underling who dared to try tell them the truth, that deposing Saddam would lead directly and inexorably to an Islamic theocracy, if not a sectarian civil war. They used the power of their crony associates in the corporate media to smear any public critic. And they are still doing it.

In case you had not noticed, the very first act of new secretary of defense was to order more troops to Kuwait to enable sending more of those serving there to guess where . . . Iraq. In other words, the self-anointed "decider" has already decided, to defy the will of the American people, their Congress, and the entire rest of world, for all it matters to him. In his mind, this is another one of those "done deals". The only thing that's taking so long to make the official announcement is the difficulty of yet another con job on us, with public opinion moving ever more forcefully in the opposite direction. Most of the remaining rubber stamp members of Congress are already coming down with a major case of cold feet, thanks to your voices, but George Bush does not care.

They've even had problems this time finding tinfoil hat strategists to sign on to this surge of stupidity. The best they could come up with was some chest pounder talking about "choosing" victory, as if this was just some kind of personal motivation seminar, and the Iraqi people themselves were to have no say at all in the matter. Why don't we have George Custer tell us that the number of Indians was of no consequence? The primary difference between him and what Bush has done is that Custer did not wreck the ENTIRE U.S. Army, Custer did not mortgage our whole economy for generations to come, and unlike Bush, he actually had the courage to enter mortal combat himself even one time.

You see, our child king has already declared that as long as he is president he is not budging an inch from Iraq. Take him at his word. You heard him say it. He is determined to take this country down with him in a pique of stubborn ignorance. He will not go out without a final surge of insanity and horror, and the only thing that can possibly save us all, and our future, is to finally stand up and hold him accountable for his high crimes and misdemeanors, enough to impeach every president who has ever served.

IMPEACHMENT ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net/impeachment_now2.php

It is impossible to read the Constitution and not see George Bush's name writ large in every reference to the salvation of impeachment. If the founders had known his actual name it certainly would have been expressly stated there, just as they enumerated the many outrages of their own king George. And all that is required for it to happen is for enough of us to all speak out at the same time, to our members of Congress, in letters to the editor our newspapers, and it WILL be so. When Custer's Crow scouts told him in unison that he was out of his mind he let them go. It's not only time to let George Bush go, we must MAKE him go. NOW.

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



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

US practicing guilt by association in Guantanamo kangaroo courts

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5499/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Military+Commissions+Act

The poorest deserve the best

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5500/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

--------

"It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.": Leo Buscaglia, author and university professor (1924- 1998)

The 'Appeal for Redress' has a rendez-vous with history on Jan. 15

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5501/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news



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

Analysis of Curtis-Feeney race in Florida District 24

IMPORTANT BREAKING NEWS: National Election Data Archive January 2, 2007

http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/FL/2006/Analysis-FL-CD24-ElectionResults-2006.pdf

Analysis of Curtis-Feeney race in Florida District 24 shows that:

The official Diebold reports of vote counts in the Curtis-Feeney U.S. Congressional District 24 2006 election significantly misreport the number of voters who voted and the number of under-votes. The pattern of votes counted in Florida's US Congressional District 24 is unusual and consistent with a pattern that would be caused by vote fraud or innocent miscount. Further investigation is warranted.

http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/FL/2006/Analysis-FL-CD24-ElectionResults-2006.pdf

The National Election Data Archive is urging people to contact their U.S. House Representative and ask them to investigate Florida's U.S. Congressional Elections!

http://www.house.gov/

On Tuesday, January 3, the U.S. Senate and House will be swearing in new members. Several of the nation's foremost election integrity experts have spent the last several months grappling with some of these issues and have come up with 14 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF OUR DEMOCRACY.

In light of the continuing problem of questionable election outcomes in jurisdictions all over the country, where tens of thousands of votes appear not to have been recorded correctly, these recommendations are crucial to reestablishing trust in U.S. elections. Just five of these recommendations would prevent the wrong candidate being sworn into office as it appears may be happening in Florida's House District 13 election. Due to the untimely release of complete vote count data, investigators are just now turning up statistically improbable vote outcomes and election challenges are still underway. Those five recommendations, with just the briefest of definitions, are:

• Manual Audits, enough votes have to be manually hand counted to ensure that the machine counts are not outcome-altering;

• Auditable Voting Systems, the system must provide a voter-verified permanent paper copy of the vote that is sturdy enough for handling in recounts and/or storage;

• Public Election Records, rapid access to paper and electronic election records, and detailed vote counts in all vote types to ensure that over or under votes in different vote types don't cancel each other out and thereby obscure vote irregularities, before a race is called;

• Public Right to Observe, genuine observation, not just presence in the room is vital to the maintenance of fairness and transparency;

• Teeth in the Legislation, civil and/or criminal penalties or a reduction of funding for failure to live up to the standards of a fair and open election process, do not swear in until election contests are satisfied.

To read the recommendations with details in full go to http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/EI-FederalLegislationProposal.pdf

This highly qualified group of election integrity authorities is comprised of attorneys, election law specialists, state election officials, computer scientists, mathematicians, a designer of systems for people with disabilities, and a public administration and election policy expert. The complete list of experts, including their qualifications, is available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/ExpertsList.pdf


Kathy Dopp
http://electionarchive.org
National Election Data Archive
Dedicated to Accurately Counting Elections


"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day," wrote Thomas Jefferson in 1816

--------

Election Data Mixed Up Thoroughly in Florida

NOTICE: NEDA may have made a "faux pas".

The previous analysis of Florida's Curtis-Feeney U.S. Congressional District 24 race has been temporarily withdrawn to verify the consistency of the data we were asked to analyze (i.e. were apples [ polling + early votes] being compared to apples [polling + early voters] to calculate number of under-votes?). Information will be released as soon as it becomes available.

We have learned that Florida's election data reporting practices make it impossible to compare its voter history files directly with its official precinct vote count reports because:

1. the two files aggregate different vote types (eg. one combines early Optical Scan and DRE votes by precinct, the other file separates early DRE votes by precinct and combines all early Optical Scan votes in one number for the entire county), and

2. several types of votes are not broken out by precinct in Florida's official precinct vote count reports, but they are broken out by precinct in the voter history file!

Arduous examination of paper records must be performed to obtain basic vote count comparisons!

There is an urgent need for election reform legislation requiring counties to release detailed vote count data like that the experts in its voter history and official vote count files. (See press release below). Without timely data release, it is impossible for the public to exercise oversight over the election integrity until AFTER election results have been certified and "winners" sworn into office. And even that only if resources and time are available. This is unacceptable!

Preliminary examination of Volusia county summary data only shows that there are at least 1,000 phantom votes in the Diebold official vote count files for which no voters are recorded in the voter history file, in addition to at least 1000 under-votes. Obtaining the vote counts needed to thoroughly uncover how many voters were disenfranchised or how many phantom votes exist in FL US House district #24 may take weeks.

Please help us pass these recommendations so that citizens can have effective timely oversight over elections:

PRESS RELEASE:

ELECTION INTEGRITY EXPERTS OFFER 14 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION National Election Data Archive

January 3, 2007

The question of ensuring an accurate, transparent count of the people's vote has been at the forefront of concerns of many individuals and groups, both private and governmental. How can we guarantee that the actual will of the people is carried out? This week the U.S. Senate and House will be meeting and voting on recommendations to improve the voting system. Several of the nation's foremost election integrity experts have spent the last several months grappling with some of these issues and have come up with 14 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF OUR DEMOCRACY.

In light of the continuing problem of questionable election outcomes in jurisdictions all over the country, where tens of thousands of votes appear not to have been recorded correctly, these recommendations are crucial to reestablishing trust in U.S. elections.

Just five of these recommendations would prevent the wrong candidate being sworn into office as it appears may be happening in Florida's House District 13 election. Due to the untimely release of complete vote count data, investigators are just now turning up statistically improbable vote outcomes and election challenges are still underway.

Those five recommendations, with just the briefest of definitions, are:

• Manual Audits, enough votes have to be manually hand counted to ensure that the machine counts are not outcome-altering;

• Auditable Voting Systems, the system must provide a voter-verified permanent paper copy of the vote that is sturdy enough for handling in recounts and/or storage;

• Public Election Records, rapid access to paper and electronic election records, and detailed vote counts in all vote types to ensure that over or under votes in different vote types don't cancel each other out and thereby obscure vote irregularities, before a race is called;

• Public Right to Observe, genuine observation, not just presence in the room is vital to the maintenance of fairness and transparency;

• Teeth in the Legislation, civil and/or criminal penalties or a reduction of funding for failure to live up to the standards of a fair and open election process, do not swear in until election contests are satisfied.

To read the recommendations with details in full go to http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/EI-FederalLegislationProposal.pdf

This highly qualified group of election integrity authorities is comprised of attorneys, election law specialists, state election officials, computer scientists, mathematicians, a designer of systems for people with disabilities, and a public administration and election policy expert. The complete list of experts, including their qualifications, is available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/ExpertsList.pdf

Congressional members and their staffs may go over any or all of their concerns on the recommended legislation with these experts and their associates.

This group of experts feels that enacting these recommendations will help to ensure the integrity of our democracy. They urge you to contact your US Senators and Representatives to encourage them to vote for these recommendations.

Sincerely,

Kathy Dopp
http://electionarchive.org
Dedicated to Accurately Counted Elections



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

America’s Holy Warriors

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20061231_chris_hedges_americas_holy_warriors/


Informant: Lew Rockwell

Don't Blame the Euro Blame the Congress and the Fed

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul358.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/paul

The Sway of Interests

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff126.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/rozeff

Prayer For Peace

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Could you make sure that you visit this site and let your friends and colleagues know about it.

If we can get 2,000 visitors to it in the next 24 hours, we can make the first page of YouTube's Most Viewed Music Video category. (We've got 5,700+ subscribers so we can do it.)

Thanks!

http://www.brasscheck.com/videos/iraq/iraqwar19.html

The song is "Peace" and it's one of the most intelligent and soulful anti-war songs I've heard in a very long time.

It deserves a wide listening - and you can count on it never being played on Clear Channel (the monopoly that controls what popular music is played on US radio.)

If you're a YouTube member, please give it a high rating. That helps too.

And feel free to watch the video more than. Once. I bet you'll want to...
http://www.brasscheck.com/videos/iraq/iraqwar19.html

- Brasscheck

Brasscheck TV
2380 California St. San Francisco, CA 94115


Informant: Michael Wells Mandeville

--------

"It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.": Leo Buscaglia, author and university professor (1924- 1998)

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Afghanistan
Animal Protection - Tierschutz
AUFBRUCH für Bürgerrechte, Freiheit und Gesundheit
Big Brother - NWO
Brasilien-Brasil
Britain
Canada
Care2 Connect
Chemtrails
Civil Rights - Buergerrechte - Politik
Cuts in Social Welfare - Sozialabbau
Cybermobbing
Datenschutzerklärung
Death Penalty - Todesstrafe
Depleted Uranium Poisoning (D.U.)
Disclaimer - Haftungsausschluss
... weitere
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