Michael Isikoff, reporting for Newsweek writes: "Bush may have stopped short of a full pardon precisely to keep Libby and other White House aides away from Democrats on Capitol Hill. Investigators in Congress are eager to call Libby to testify about the Plame case and prewar Iraq intel - an invitation Libby can continue to resist by claiming he can't talk as long as his appeal remains alive in the courts."
Bob Herbert of The New York Times writes: "With no end yet in sight for the long dark night of the Iraq war, The Nation magazine is coming out this week with an article that goes into great and disturbing detail about the brutal treatment of Iraqi civilians by some US soldiers and marines. Based on interviews conducted on the record with dozens of American combat veterans of the war, the authors address what they describe as frequent acts of violence in which US forces have abused or killed Iraqi civilians - men, women and children - with impunity."
Mike Soraghan and Jackie Kucinich writing for The Hill report, "House Democrats are planning a series of votes this month on Iraq that they hope will ratchet up pressure on the White House and Congressional Republicans to change course on the unpopular war or suffer political consequences."
Martha Raddatz of ABC News has been told the White House is "in panic mode" over the recent defections of Republican senators on the President's stay-the-course policy in Iraq.
Die Umweltschutzorganisation Greenpeace hat beim Europäischen Patentamt in München Einspruch gegen ein Patent auf Sonnenblumen eingelegt. Der US-Konzern Pioneer hatte im Oktober 2006 latu Greenpeace ein Patent auf "normale" Sonnenblumen erhalten, die nicht gentechnisch verändert worden seien (EP 1465 475 B1). Die Pflanzen würden aufgrund natürlicher Erbanlagen eine Resistenz gegenüber Wurzelschädlingen aufweisen. Der Einspruch von Greenpeace erfolge "vor dem Hintergrund einer geplanten Grundsatzentscheidung darüber, ob normale nicht gentechnisch veränderte Tier- oder Pflanzenarten patentiert werden dürfen", so die Organisation. "Wenn ganz normale Pflanzen wie Sonnenblumen oder Brokkoli zu einer Erfindung erklärt werden, kann in Zukunft jedes Tier oder jede beliebige Pflanze patentiert werden. Die Agrokonzerne werden sich dann über ihre Patentanwälte die komplette Kontrolle über alle Stufen der Nahrungsmittelerzeugung verschaffen", kritisiert Christoph Then, Patentexperte von Greenpeace.
The most intriguing secrets of the "war on terror" have nothing to do with al-Qaeda and its fellow travelers. They're about the mammoth private spying industry that all but runs U.S. intelligence operations today.
Think of why you are opposed to the war. Is it not largely because of all the unspeakable suffering brought down upon the heads and souls of the poor people of Iraq by the American military? Hillary Clinton couldn't care less about that, literally. She thinks the American military has "succeeded". Has she ever unequivocally labeled the war "illegal" or "immoral"?
These are the stories of three veterans of this war, told in their voices, edited for flow and efficiency but otherwise unchanged. They bear out the statistics and suggest that even those who are not diagnosably impaired return burdened by experiences they can neither forget nor integrate into their postwar lives.
THE former American secretary of state Colin Powell has revealed that he spent 2½ hours vainly trying to persuade President George W Bush not to invade Iraq and believes today's conflict cannot be resolved by US forces.
Online-Durchsuchung? Finaler Todesschuss im Anti-Terror-Kampf? Im stern.de-Interview bezichtigt Ex-Innenminister Gerhart Baum seinen Nachfolger Wolfgang Schäuble, an den Grundfesten der Verfassung zu rütteln. Gleichzeitig rügt der FDP-Mann die Strategie von Parteichef Guido Westerwelle.
Bosbach findet gezielte Tötung von Terroristen mehr als problematisch
Unions-Fraktionsvize Wolfgang Bosbach (CDU) hat die neuen "Anti-Terror-Vorschläge" von Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) kritisiert. Eine gezielte Tötung von Terroristen halte er für mehr als problematisch, sagte Bosbach am 10. Juli im Deutschlandradio Kultur. Dafür gebe es im innerstaatlichen Recht keine Grundlage. Auch bei einem Terroristen wie Osama bin Laden müssten die rechtsstaatlichen Grundsätze mit Anklage und Aburteilung eingehalten werden. Die Todesstrafe sei schließlich aus guten Gründen abgeschafft worden.
My answer is no. But there is worst : if bees disappear, humanity will follow in the next 4 years (Einstein dixit). The problem is that scientifics are looking at the wrong way. It's clear that diseases, wax moths, fungus, insecticides or other chemical cause even GMO have an action on CCD. But the worst is the EMF (electromagnetic fields) proliferation all around the world. Some studies prove it, like the Koblenz one in attached file [ http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1493541/ ]. Now, other studies show that this is the same problem for the disappearance of : Sparrows (attached [ http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1147135/ ]), starlings, house-swallows, pigeons, white storks (attached [ http://omega.twoday.net/stories/2003421/ ]), butterflies, moths, insects, etc. On an other hand, EMF has affected human health since the EMF crazy increase from the fifties. All forms of Cancer, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Autism between hundred of other symptoms. And it's coming every day worst with new applications and installations for wireless technologies. WE ARE IN A GLOBAL PROCESS OF ALL LIFE DISAPPEARANCE. Refusing the evidence that facts coincide with the EMF increase reveal either a total ignorance or a criminal spirit. As journalists, you should investigate urgently to inform the public with the truth which could have the necessary impact for authorities to take measures right now. Hope the present letter will pay your best attention.
Best Regards.
Philippe Hug
Chairman of ARA CP 17
1454 L Auberson
Switzerland
"Sixty-two immigrants have died in US jails since 2004 for lack of medical care, human rights groups told members of the US Congress Monday. 'Deficient medical care in immigration detention is a systematic problem and needs to be addressed,' said Tom Jawetz, of the American Civil Liberties Union, the largest US group defending civil rights," reports Agence France-Presse.
John Solomon of the Washington Post reports: "As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. 'There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse,' Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005. Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act."
The trail of psychiatric drugs is littered with dollar signs. The truth regarding the connection between pharmaceutical companies and doctors, especially psychiatrists, seems to be coming out with increasing frequency of late. Millions of otherwise unsuspecting people are slowly beginning to learn that the drugs they’ve been prescribed are the result of a multi-billion dollar advertising and marketing campaign, not necessarily because they will help them...
Debate starts today in the Senate on a defense bill that will show whether the Republican Party is in full revolt against President Bush over the Iraq war. Key members of the GOP have already broken with the President over the war. More than a dozen others have signaled they could demand a new plan after a September status report from the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus. … Six Republicans — many facing reelection in 2008 — also have signed on to a bill that does not set a deadline for withdrawal, as Democrats would like, but aims to lay the groundwork for leaving by March next year. That bill and others are expected to be offered as amendments to the $670 billion defense spending bill the Senate plans to start debating this afternoon...
President Bush directed former aides to defy congressional subpoenas on Monday, claiming executive privilege and prodding lawmakers closer to their first contempt citations against administration officials since Ronald Reagan was president. It was the second time in as many weeks that Bush had cited executive privilege in resisting Congress’ investigation into the firings of U.S. attorneys...
The Army failed to meet its recruiting goal in June, raising concern that the unpopular Iraq war and strong economy could wreak even more havoc on enlistments. Army officials acknowledged Monday that the service missed its recruiting target for the second month in a row, but would not provide exact numbers...
Writing in Crosscut, Dick Lilly says, "The US Supreme Court has ruled against Seattle Public Schools' use of race to determine assignments to oversubscribed high schools. But by setting race aside, the court's decision may serve to focus educators on the common denominator among children our public schools are failing to serve: poverty."
In the wake of the Iraqi cabinet's approval of part of a controversial oil law, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviews Faleh Abood Umara, general secretary of the Federation of Oil Unions and a founding member of the oil workers union in Iraq, and Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the Electrical Utility Workers Union and the first woman to head a national union in Iraq.
Calum MacDonald of The Herald UK writes: "The UK could cut carbon emissions to zero in 20 years, but only if people accept a virtual end to air travel and stop using fuel-driven cars, a report claimed yesterday."
The Associated Press's Andrew Taylor writes, "The boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war there and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month, and the total for Iraq alone is nearing a half-trillion dollars, Congressional analysts say."
Florida the site of so many national election debacles already has moved to ban touch screen voting (Direct Record Electronic or DRE). Without an actual paper ballot record we can never be secure in our votes.
You can't audit a memory chip, especially where its contents can be secretly changed at any time. Congress should follow Florida's lead and outlaw this fundamentally flawed technology.
The proposed Holt bill H.R. 811 [text of bill], does not go nearly far enough, and in fact as it currently stands would endorse the worst of the current problems. It is not just the open invitation to fraud. Election after election, thousands of reports show that DRE voting machines are disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters across the country. Voters are confused over how to use them. They stand in line for hours because the machines are broken down, or they leave because they don't have time to wait. Poll workers, even with careful training, don't know how to help when something goes wrong, and something often does.
There will be a critical vote on this bill this week. Please write your members of Congress and tell them to fix H.R. 811 now.
KUCINICH REMAINS OPPOSED TO H.R. 811
Dennis Kucinich, our hero on so many issues, maintains his declared position that he cannot support H.R. 811 unless it does something to address the real problems with electronic voting. Please consider making a donation to encourage him to continue standing strong.
On Tuesday, July 10, the house plans 40 minutes of testimony on HR.2900 (the companion to S.1082 which has already passed the Senate), followed by a forced vote. House democrats are seeking to ramrod this legislation through without allowing any debate or amendments. Immediate consumer action must be taken on or before the morning of July 10 to stop this bill from moving forward with its attack on your right to have access to a wide variety of dietary supplements......
David E. Sanger reports in The New York Times, "White House officials fear that the last pillars of political support among Senate Republicans for President Bush's Iraq strategy are collapsing around them."
The Associated Press reports that President Bush has again invoked executive privilege denying requests by Congress for testimony from two former aides about the firings of federal prosecutors.
"500 Konzerne kontrollieren heute die Hälfte des Weltsozialproduktes. Die Zusammenballung wirtschaftlicher Macht untergräbt die Demokratie", so Linksfraktions-Chef Oskar Lafontaine in einem Gastbeitrag für die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Macht, die demokratisch nicht legitimiert sei, dürfe aber die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse nicht bestimmen. "Die Linke will das Primat der Politik. Stark konzentrierte Wirtschaftsbereiche müssen entflochten werden", fordert Lafontaine. "Aus diesem Grund wollen wir die Kartellgesetzgebung verschärfen. Markt und Wettbewerb führen nicht nur zu einer effizienten Wirtschaft, sondern ebenso zu Dezentralisierung wirtschaftlicher Entscheidungen und damit zur Einschränkung wirtschaftlicher Macht."
Im Weser-Kurier einige Tage vorher wurde auf der 1. Seite berichtet,
dass die Jacobs University (wo Prof. Lerchl angestellt ist) eine Spende
von der Metall- und Elektroindustrie in Höhe von 10 Millionen Euro
erhalten hat. Ein Schelm, wer Böses dabei denkt...
Siegfried Zwerenz widerlegt fachlich den extra angereisten Professor Alexander Lerchl (Int. Universität Bremen), der pro Mobilfunk argumentiert und von der Stadt Soltau als "Gegenpart" eingeladen worden war.
Cole Moreton and Geoffrey Lean of the Independent UK report, "Live Earth was watched by two billion people on a day when 20 million tons of carbon were emitted, a square kilometre of the Antarctic ice shelf was lost and a major new study, exclusively revealed by the Independent UK's Sunday Edition, shows the damage we are doing worldwide."
John S. Koppel writes for the Denver Post: "As a longtime attorney at the US Department of Justice, I can honestly say that I have never been as ashamed of the department and government that I serve as I am at this time. The public record now plainly demonstrates that both the DOJ and the government as a whole have been thoroughly politicized in a manner that is inappropriate, unethical and, indeed, unlawful. The unconscionable commutation of I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby's sentence, the misuse of warrantless investigative powers under the Patriot Act and the deplorable treatment of US attorneys all point to an unmistakable pattern of abuse."
"Iraq fails to meet key US political and security benchmarks in an upcoming report to Congress that seems certain to increase calls from lawmakers and the restive public to withdraw US troops," reports Agence France-Presse.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee may seek testimony from prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald about the obstruction of justice case against vice presidential aide Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, two senators said on Sunday," reports Reuters.
"Congressional Democrats return from a short recess this week plotting to further undermine Bush's waning political sway. Even as Bush's signature immigration reform bill was strangled in the Senate last month, Democratic leaders were mapping out new misery for a president beset by rock-bottom poll ratings, the three bloodiest months for US troops in Iraq since the war began in 2003 and a fraying Republican support base," reports Stephen Collinson of Agence France-Presse.
Im Anhang habe ich einen Brief von Frau Marion Hahn aus Alzey, die bis zum 13. August 2007 um Unterschriften bittet, damit der dortige Bürgermeister tätig wird.
Und wieder einmal hängt alles mit dem Gift von Monsanto zusammen.
Bitte lesen Sie den 3seitigen Brief sowie auf Seite 4 die Forderung von Frau Hahn, dass die Spritzmittel auf ihre gesundheitliche Verträglichkeit hin, geprüft werden sollen.
Vielleicht ist es Ihnen möglich, in Ihrem Bereich einige Unterschriften hierfür bis zum 13. August zu sammeln und an Frau Hahn zu senden, per Brief oder Fax oder auch an mich.
Außerdem wird auf Seite 5 noch auf einen interessanter Film am 12.7. um 7.50 Uhr hingewiesen: "Die Genverschwörung"
A MOBILE phone mast earmarked for Yatton High Street has been refused the go ahead after objections from concerned residents.
Phone giant T-Mobile submitted an application for a 12m mast to be erected in the Market Industrial Estate, opposite the Market Inn on the High Street. But following letters of objection about the position and appearance of the mast from residents, North Somerset Council has turned it down.
In America, we enjoy a measure of freedom. However, we are not nearly as free as we think we are; millions of Americans are willing to relinquish what is left of their liberty...
In the world of ‘1984,’ thorough records were kept on each and every citizen, and paranoia and fear alone ensured that Big Brother’s control was absolute even when his technological eyes might randomly be turned elsewhere. Those few who dared rail against such things were re-educated using tools ranging from mere propaganda to outright torture. Is it any wonder, then, that more and more people are talking about Big Brother these days? (written 12/05; posted 07/07/07)
Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G. Hornberger
07/04/07
The Fourth of July celebrations will undoubtedly bring forth pronouncements that U.S. troops in Iraq are defending the freedoms expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, most of the ‘freedoms’ that Americans will be celebrating today are antithetical to the genuine principles of freedom enunciated in the Declaration...
U.S. leaders need to face the reality that interventionist U.S. foreign policy has consequences on the nuclear proliferation front. Those who encouraged and supported America’s post-Cold war military interventions — Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals — need to ask themselves whether increasing the incentives for nuclear proliferation was worth the price of intervention when U.S. national security was not at stake. Especially when that price is now the potential threat of nuclear terrorism...
Rather than beginning at the beginning of the discredited ’save the world from WMD’ invasion of Iraq, step back one year ago, when Bush went on the offensive to help Republicans win midterm elections. Back then, Bush claimed the capture of al-Zarqawi (remember him?) was ‘the turning point’ in Iraq and the tide was turning in favor of the U.S. Not the first time for a tidal change since the infamous aircraft carrier ‘victory speech,’ but a starting point for an evaluation. … Despite horrifically bad news pouring in from Iraq, the president and the GOP declared the U.S. would be ‘victorious’ because the troops knew ‘their cause was noble.’ GOP House Speaker Hastert declared, Democrats lacked ‘the will to win,’ suggested they were unpatriotic, and guaranteed that 2006 was ‘a year of significant transition’ in Iraq...
For Democrats, this little episode highlights the promise and peril of a Hillary Clinton presidency. On the one hand, President Clinton spoke for many in the party who are furious about the Libby decision. As Hillary Clinton’s team is quick to point out, she and her husband know how to fight. This is proof of it. On the other hand, Clinton has given the White House and Republicans an opportunity to muddy the issue by dredging up his past. Whatever you may think about the merits of the Rich pardon versus the Libby commutation, the debate is one the Bush team wants. The White House would rather have everyone debating the relative merits of the two than debating the inconsistencies in the Libby decision alone. If Hillary Clinton is elected president, how often will this phenomenon be repeated? With each piece of legislation Hillary Clinton proposes or each assertion she makes, Republicans will offer an analog from the Clinton years...
It was predictable that endangered Republicans in the Senate, fearing punishment by angry Americans for their complicity in the Iraq war, would seek to escape the political vortex created by the sinking Bush administration. They gaze upon the abandoned shipwreck of the once invincible presidential campaign of their colleague John McCain, and suddenly realize that they too can no longer ignore the grim message of the pollsters. Even entrenched figures such as Pete Domenici, R-N.M., with decades of seniority, know they can no longer continue to support President Bush’s escalation and expect to be reelected...
Slowly but surely quite a few early supporters or fellow travelers joined in and by now many conservatives such as Senator Chuck Hegel and William F. Buckley, Jr. have gone on record opposing President George W. Bush in his refusal to relinquish his irrational objective of building a functional constitutional democracy in Iraq. These are, it bears keeping in mind, not a bunch of America hating Leftists. These are men and women who came to realize that there is no rational justification for America to be fighting this completely mad war, a war against an enemy that amounts to, as I recently put it, a deadly heavy fog with no clearly identifiable substance that could be construed as a disposal enemy...
A government that spies upon its citizens, evades the courts and feels no compulsion to explain itself beyond vague warnings of security threats must be brought into check. The damage caused by terrorists on 9/11 begins to pale against the havoc wreaked upon America by America itself.
Ali-Reza Asghari, the Iranian general who went missing in Turkey nearly half a year ago, is currently being held in a secure US intelligence facility, it was reported on Sunday.
Watch Dick Cheney's impeachable crimes, then sign the petition demanding Congress begin impeachment hearings. 14 Representatives currently support H. Res 333, 3 articles of impeachment outlining Vice President Dick Cheney's crimes.
So-called "oil contracts" have been on the table of the Iraqi Parliament for months, and the fluff of lies printed about them in U..S. media is nauseating.
In order to fund further wars for resources, capitalists need the resources of Land and Labor. Imagine a SUPERSTATE a single economic and military government that stretches from Canada to the ends of South America. This nightmare is the "Free Trade Area of the Americas" or (FTAA.)
Der Bericht diskutiert mehrere mögliche Fragen im Zusammenhang mit drahtlosen Technologien, z.B. eine mögliche Verbindung zwischen Hirnschädigungen sowie einigen Krebsarten und Mobiltelefonen, durch Sendeanlagen und WiFi-Technologien verursachte gesundheitliche Risiken, besondere Empfindlichkeit gegenüber elektromagnetischen Feldern und Störungen zwischen drahtlosen Geräten und medizinischer Ausrüstung. Obwohl der Bericht keine abschließende Bestätigung oder Verneinung der Behauptung enthält, es existierten mögliche gesundheitliche Risiken infolge der Nutzung drahtloser Technologien, nimmt er Bezug auf mehrere Studien, die einen Hinweis dafür enthalten.
In einer Pressemitteilung vom 4. Juli 2007 greift Sylvia Kotting-Uhl, umweltpolitische Sprecherin der Partei, die aktuelle Diskussion über die Fortführung des Deutschen Mobilfunk Forschungsprogramms (DMF) auf.
Rechtsstaatswidrige Vorschläge: Harrsche Kritik an Bundesinnenminister Schäuble
Jedes Mal, wenn Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) einen neuen Vorstoß für "mehr Sicherheit" unternimmt, gibt er anderen Politikern die Gelegenheit, sich als gute Demokraten zu profilieren. Es ist fraglich, ob Schäuble insoweit nur eine bestimmte Funktion im verteilten Rollenspiel einer Bundesregierung einnimmt, nicht zuletzt um auch Wählerstimmen am so genannten rechten Rand abzugreifen, oder ob er mit gezielten Tabubrüchen den Wegbereiter in eine andere Republik spielt. Jedenfalls stoßen die "Pläne" von Schäuble für ein weiteres Gesetzespaket im "Kampf gegen den Terrorismus" auf harsche Kritik. Schäuble hatte gewarnt, dass die Bekämpfung des Terrorismus mit den klassischen Mitteln der Polizei nicht zu meistern sei. Es sei zu überlegen, was man etwa mit so genannten Gefährdern mache, die nicht abgeschoben werden könnten. Man könne "beispielsweise einen Straftatbestand der Verschwörung einführen, wie in Amerika". Die "rechtlichen Probleme" reichten bis zu Extremfällen wie der gezielten Tötung von Verdächtigen durch den Staat, so Schäuble.
„Der Innenminister sagt gern, dass Deutschland „zu den sichersten Ländern der Welt gehört“. Trotzdem unterbreitet er ständig neue Vorschläge, ohne die sich der Kampf gegen Terroristen angeblich nicht gewinnen lasse. Alle zusammen ergeben das gespenstische Bild eines Staates, der niemandem mehr vertraut…“ Eine Galerie von Kai Biermann bei die Zeit online (ohne Datum) http://www.zeit.de/online/2007/28/bg-schaeuble?1
Darin wird aus seinem (nicht online verfügbaren) Interview im Spiegel zitiert: „Wo die Grenze sei, wurde er in dem Spiegel-Interview gefragt. Seine Antwort: Es gibt keine. "Die rote Linie ist ganz einfach: Sie ist immer durch die Verfassung definiert, die man allerdings verändern kann.““
"Die Sicherheit ist die Voraussetzung für die Freiheit"
„Der rechtspolitische Sprecher der CDU/CSU-Fraktion Norbert Geis hat die Vorschläge von Schäuble zur gezielten Tötung und Sicherheitsverwahrung ohne Prozess mit üblichen sicherheitspolitischen "Argumenten" unterstützt, die man sich hin und wieder einmal genauer ansehen sollte..“ Artikel von Florian Rötzer in telepolis vom 10.07.2007 http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/25/25673/1.html
Mit neuen Vorschlägen mischt Schäuble die Sicherheitsdebatte auf
„Selbst Fachleute können allmählich den Überblick verlieren. Welche Anti-Terror-Maßnahmen sind noch geplant, welche bereits beschlossen? Es sind lange Listen…“ Artikel von Henning Otte und Norbert Klaschka bei heise news vom 10.07.2007 http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/92437
Der Schäuble von Nottingham … und weit und breit kein Löwenherz
Trump and His Allies...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/06/21/trump-and-his-allies-are-clear-and-present-danger-american-democracy?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_op
rudkla - 22. Jun, 05:09
The Republican Party...
https://truthout.org/articles/the-republican-party-is-still-doing-donald-trumps-bidding/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=804d4873-50dd-4c1b-82a5-f465ac3742ce
rudkla - 26. Apr, 05:36
January 6 Committee Says...
https://truthout.org/articles/jan-6-committee-says-trump-engaged-in-criminal-conspiracy-to-undo-election/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=552e5725-9297-4a7c-a214-53c8c51615a3