World-News

http://ga3.org/ct/y120pgF1PzZT/

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A Conservative's Garden of False Narratives

By Phil Rockstroh

A generation has inherited power who are devoid of the concept of causation and consequence. Ergo, we have developed a political class who rule by narratives of denial and shallow self-justification. An example of this is the blaming of the people of Iraq for the blood-drenched debacle that has resulted from the illegal and immoral invasion of their nation.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18433.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Larry+Beinhart
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Phil+Rockstroh

http://tinyurl.com/3bmlod

Boeing announces DEW weapon
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/18/boeing_laser_avenger_/


Informant: Susan Clarke

http://groups.google.com/group/mobilfunk_newsletter/t/4addaff6f6e02935



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/21/3993/



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/21/4000/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Olbermann
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=hypocrisy

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/21/3986



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/21/3994/

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The Jena Six



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuoiZnr4jLY

The Jena 6 taken from michaelmoore.com


Informant: Cal

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Judge Denies Request to Free Jena Teen

According to The Associated Press, "A judge on Friday denied a request to release a teenager whose arrest in the beating of a white classmate sparked this week's civil rights protest in Louisiana. Mychal Bell's request to be freed while an appeal is being reviewed was rejected at a juvenile court hearing, effectively denying him any chance at immediate bail."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092307E.shtml



White Supremacist Backlash Builds Over Jena Case

Howard Witt reports for The Chicago Tribune: "Rev. Jesse Jackson told the Tribune that he had grown so concerned about white extremists' threats against the Jena 6 families and perceived injustices in the town that he called the White House over the weekend to ask for immediate federal intervention. Jackson said the acting head of the US Justice Department's civil rights division phoned him Monday to say that the agency had begun investigating the Jena situation."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092507L.shtml



The Jena Six and US History

In an Opinion piece for Truthout, Paul Ortiz writes: "in Jena, as throughout the rest of the US, we are supposed to believe that 'race is no longer an issue' and that justice is colorblind. California fits the pattern perfectly. Out here, Martin Luther King Jr. commemorations have become exercises in remembering how bad racism used to be [in the South] but thank God almighty we are free at last! I am really, really glad that tens of thousands of demonstrators who descended on Jena on behalf of the six young black men ignored what has embarrassingly become the 'common sense' position on race relations in this nation."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092707P.shtml

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Preventing Another Jena 6

by Alan Jenkins, TomPaine.com

Here are some ways to address racial inequality in our criminal justice system.
http://ga3.org/ct/Bp20pgF1TRKr/

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Is Jena America?
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/26/4120



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jesse+Jackson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Alan+Jenkins
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Laura+Flanders
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Paul+Ortiz

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/21/3999/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=private+armies
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Blackwater

Ohio Republicans have blocked a proposal to test electronic voting machines prior to the 2008 presidential primary.

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2800


Informant: NHNE



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=voting+machines

Der Präsident des Bundesverfassungsgerichts, Hans-Jürgen Papier, hat mit Blick auf das bevorstehende Verfahren zu Online-Durchsuchungen eine strenge Prüfung angekündigt. Es spiele auch die Frage eine Rolle, ob und inwieweit der "Kernbereich privater Lebensgestaltung" durch solche heimlichen Durchsuchungen von Computern tangiert werde, sagte Papier der "Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung". Das Gericht verhandelt am 10. Oktober über mehrere Verfassungsbeschwerden gegen das Verfassungsschutzgesetz von Nordrhein-Westfalen. Nach der Neuregelung vom 30. Dezember 2006 darf der Landes-Verfassungsschutz im "Kampf gegen den Terrorismus" über das Internet heimlich auf private Computer zugreifen.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16643



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Online-Durchsuchung

Der gewerkschaftspolitische Sprecher der Linksfraktion, Werner Dreibus, hält weiterhin einen gesetzlichen Mindestlohn für erforderlich, um einer breiten "Armutsbeschäftigung" zu begegnen. Branchenmindestlöhne seien zwar gut für die Beschäftigten der jeweiligen Branche. Wer aber wie die Regierung allein auf diese setze, ignoriere "die Dimension des Problems" und die "hohen Hürden für Branchenlösungen". Und selbst dort, wo die Voraussetzungen – ein bundeseinheitlicher Tarifvertrag und eine Tarifbindung über 50 Prozent – gegeben seien, "springen die Schwächen von Branchenmindestlöhnen ins Auge: Bei den Briefzustellern konnte sich Verdi nicht mit der Forderung nach gleichen Löhnen in Ost und West durchsetzen." Auch sei es nicht gelungen, den Widerstand der Arbeitgeber gegen die Einbeziehung von Paketzustellern und Zeitungsboten in den Mindestlohn-Tarifvertrag zu brechen. "Hier hilft nur ein Existenz sichernder gesetzlicher Mindestlohn."

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16640



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

Zahlreiche Bürgerrechtler und Bürgerrechtsorganisationen haben die Nase voll vom täglichen Gerede über Terror, den ständig neuen Ankündigungen über die Einschränkung von Freiheitsrechten. Sie rufen auf zu einer Demonstration am 22. September "gegen die ausufernde Überwachung durch Wirtschaft und Staat". Ihr Motto: "Freiheit statt Angst - Stoppt den Überwachungswahn". Ihre Kritik: "Egal, was wir tun, mit wem wir sprechen oder telefonieren, wohin wir uns bewegen oder fahren, mit wem wir befreundet sind, wofür wir uns interessieren, in welchen Gruppen wir engagiert sind" - der "große Bruder" Staat und die "kleinen Brüder" aus der Wirtschaft wüssten es immer genauer. Es werde registriert, überwacht und kontrolliert.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16645



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

http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/:Ex-Politiker-Schr%F6der-%26-Co-Polit-Rentner/598354.html?cp=1
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/bildstrecke/336/75261/p0/
http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=1764

Erica Werner reports for The Associated Press: "A federal grand jury has subpoenaed House records connected to a one-time aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay who has been caught up in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal....A House official said that the subpoena sought payroll records and e-mails written by Buckham when he was DeLay's chief of staff."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092107O.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=DeLay
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Abramoff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=subpoenas

Robert Raggio quit his $97,000-per-year government job as a financial manager for the Iraq reconstruction effort in September 2005. That same day, Raggio's newly formed company, Reviewer Management International, received a US contract to audit $7.3 billion in Iraqi reconstruction spending, according to Army documents obtained by USA Today under the Freedom of Information Act. The $1.5 million contract was designed to help investigators fight fraud in Iraq. Now, Raggio is under investigation.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092107P.shtml

http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/27031


From ufpj-news



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sam+Provance
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Abu+Ghraib
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Swanson

http://www.gsinstitute.org/mpi/archives/000332.html

John Burroughs, Executive Director
Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy
U.S. affiliate of International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
675 Third Avenue, Suite 315
New York, NY 10017-5704 USA
tel 212 818 1861; fax 212 818 1857
johnburroughs @lcnp.org
http://www.lcnp.org


From ufpj-news



http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/

Stephanie Singer of PA created a great one-pager supporting "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" (HR811) which you can fax to your US House Representative:

Don't Let This Happen to You http://campaignscientific.com/Downloads/DontLetThisHappenToYou.pdf

along with these other one-pagers I've mentioned previously:

Response to National Assoc. of Counties Concerns About HR811 http://electionmathematics.org/VoteYesHR811.pdf

Common Sense Voting http://electionmathematics.org/CommonSenseVoting.pdf

Find your Rep's fax number here http://www.house.gov You can always send a fax at a copy center if you do not have access to one.

If you cannot fax something, simply take a few minutes to call your Representative's office and tell a staffer that you want your Rep to "Vote YES on HR811 and NO on any amendment which would delay the 2008 implementation of manual election auditing."

The groups opposing HR811 are partially supported (and some were founded) by their corporate members, including voting system vendors: http://electionmathematics.org/em-legislation/anti-HR811-groups.pdf

Thank you. Below is Stephanie Singer's email.

Kathy


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephanie Singer's PA Politics List
Date: Sep 19, 2007 8:40 AM
Subject: Action Alert: call your Congressional Rep today

It looks as if HR 611, the Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act of 2007, will likely be up for a vote tomorrow. Please CALL or FAX your Congressional Rep today to urge a "YES" vote on HR611.

The bill is not perfect, but it will put some important safeguards in place, probably in time for the 2008 elections. Passage of this bill is important for Pennsylvania in particular, because our state government has failed to protect us from paperless DRE's.

Here are links to two one-page messages you might like to fax (with your signature) to your US Congressman:

http://campaignscientific.com/Downloads/DontLetThisHappenToYou.pdf
http://campaignscientific.com/Downloads/CommonSenseVoting2.pdf

Today is the day!


Stephanie Frank Singer


We are at a very critical turning point in the history of America at this moment and need your help and assistance to protect America's and the world's future. Kathy Dopp The material expressed herein is the informed product of the author Kathy Dopp's fact-finding and investigative efforts. Dopp is a Mathematician, Expert in election audit mathematics and procedures; in exit poll discrepancy analysis; and can be reached at P.O. Box 680192 Park City, UT 84068 phone 435-658-4657 http://utahcountvotes.org http://electionmathematics.org http://electionarchive.org


An Analysis of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (HR811) http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Analysis-HR811-Aug2007.pdf

Amendment Suggestions for the Ballot Integrity Act http://electionmathematics.org/em-legislation/S1487Amendments.pdf

Voters Have Reason to Worry - Response to Those Who Encourage Voters to Trust http://utahcountvotes.org/UT/UtahCountVotes-ThadHall-Response.pdf

The Diebold Bombshell - Discovered in Utah http://votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1567&Itemid=51


"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

--------

House Paper-Trail Bill Stalled

"House Paper-Trail Bill Stalled" according to Roll Call:

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_30/politics/20083-1.html

"House Democratic leaders . . . keep . . . paper ballot bill in the freezer this week . . .continued opposition from local elections officials, . ."

"Other states would have to have a voter-verifiable paper ballot or paper printout by next year's presidential election. That has drawn opposition from state and local elections officials who are concerned about the costs and risks in changing their systems so close to the elections."


Information your House Representatives' staffers may need:

Rebuttal to the argument that "There is not enough time to Replace Paperless Voting Systems" http://electionmathematics.org/em-voting-systems/VotingSystemChange.pdf

Rebuttal to National Association of Counties Concerns about HR811 http://electionmathematics.org/VoteYesHR811.pdf

Common Sense Voting http://electionmathematics.org/CommonSenseVoting.pdf

Don't Let This Happen to You http://electionmathematics.org/em-legislation/DontLetThisHappenToYou.pdf

Some Anti-Election Reform Groups (with corporate voting system members) http://electionmathematics.org/em-legislation/anti-HR811-groups.pdf

Short Analysis of HR811 http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Analysis-HR811-Aug2007.pdf

Transcript - CA Secretary Bowen Explains Exploit of Touch-screen DREs http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0709/S00368.htm

Short list of electronic-ballot DRE voting machine problems: http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/NEDA-S1487-Testimony.pdf

Some DRE problems, John Hopkins University Computer Scientist Avi Rubin http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-nobody-wants-to-buy-diebold.html

E-Voting Ballots Not Secret; Vendors Don't See Problem, Princeton Computer Scientist Ed Felten http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1189

Cost Comparisons between Optical Scan versus DRE Voting Systems: http://electionmathematics.org and select "Voting Systems"


Your US Representative's Contact Information http://www.house.gov

Please act now at this crucial juncture in history - to protect our future. Contact your US House member.


Kathy Dopp
Executive Director, National Election Data Archive http://electionarchive.org


Please forward this widely. Thank you.



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=HR811
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kathy+Dopp

By Juliet Perry

Residents were not given 'appropriate notice' by the council before allowing a mobile phone mast to be put up in Stone Cross, according to a local woman.

Nicola Walker, of Ifield Mill Close, arrived home from work on September 5 to find a mast had been put up near her home, on the junction of Patcham Mill Road and Lion Hill.

The 32-year-old mother is angry because she said she knew nothing about any planning applications.

Nicola says she phoned the council to raise her concerns and was told that 39 properties were sent letters and only seven had objected.

Read More...
http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/Mother39s-anger-at-mobile-phone.3208340.jp

AlterNet
by Joshua Holland

09/20/07

Today, Senate Democrats took the time to join their Republican colleagues in condemning an ad produced by MoveOn.org that — accurately — pointed out Petraeus’ previous spin about progress in Iraq and warned that the general would ‘Betray Us.’ The resolution passed by a vote of 72-25. Among the presidential contenders in the senate, Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd voted against the resolution and Barack Obama and Joe Biden abstained. … The fact that 25 Democratic Senators voted for the resolution is an indication of how deeply disconnected they are from the values that most Americans share. After all, polls taken after General Petraeus’ testimony revealed that his show had barely changed public opinion on Iraq. Before he testified, a majority expected him to paint a rosier picture than reality — to lie before Congress about the effectiveness of the surge, just as the MoveOn ad accused him of doing...

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/63160/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=MoveOn.org
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=troop+surge
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Joshua+Holland

by Arthur Silber
http://tinyurl.com/36ewzl


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

The New Republic
by Drew Westen

The way to win the center on national security is not to try to craft centrist positions on national security. Particularly in the post-9/11 era, Americans want leaders who will decisively pull the trigger. But ‘pulling the trigger’ today doesn’t mean rattling our sabers almost as loud as the GOP, or complaining that we don’t have the votes when we have the majority. Americans may not understand the subtleties of cloture, but they get the gist: that they handed the ball off to the party that’s now in the majority, who they expected to run with the ball instead of consistently playing defense. The way to project strength on national security and to win back the Reagan Democrats who voted for Bill Clinton (despite his draft record) and flirted with the Democratic Party again in 2006 is to exude strength, particularly in the face of aggression, whether that aggression is from al Qaeda or from a bully in his bully pulpit...

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w070917&s=westen092007


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Hawaii Reporter
by Dan Lips and Evan Feinberg

09/20/07

Congress is considering the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, but parents and taxpayers shouldn’t get their hopes up. An early draft of the new NCLB bill suggests that congressional leaders are working to make the already flawed program worse. The House Education and Labor Committee’s plan would allow states to incorporate ‘multiple indicators’ into their testing systems. Schools that fail to meet state benchmarks on reading and math tests could earn ‘extra credit’ — and escape school reform requirements — if their students perform well in other areas, such as graduation rates and college preparation...

http://tinyurl.com/3befyz


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=no+child+left+behind

Liberty For All
by Sergei Borglum Hoff

Each day, they rape the Constitution and molest our unalienable rights. Our disingenuous Legislators, Attorney Generals, and Supreme Court Justices (federal and state) now belittle and dishonor the memory, intent, and integrity of our Founding Fathers. Citizens are quite capable of accurately interpreting the Constitution and Bill of Rights. However, these self-perceived ethical scholars of law have bastardized the Constitution with their convoluted and ambiguous interpretations of our unequivocal Bill of Rights. Virtue by virtue, liberty by liberty, they are eroding our cherished Constitutional Republic... (written 2003; posted 09/20/07)

http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=946


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sergei+Borglum+Hoff

AntiWar.Com
by Doug Bandow

09/21/07

Other than an increasingly beleaguered band of administration factotums and neoconservative propagandists, few Americans defend the decision to invade Iraq. The mistakes have been too catastrophic and too many for the rest of us to take seriously more of the same promises about the coming new millennium in Iraq. But the crisis of U.S. foreign policy runs deeper. The neocon cabal’s incompetence was truly astonishing, but its ideas were even worse. The idea that America could reengineer the globe, running roughshod over religions, traditions, ethnicities, nationalities, cultures, and histories turns out to be the foreign policy equivalent of phrenology. Its practitioners should be consigned to the footnotes of international relations texts as the prime example of what not to do. It is not enough for the rest of us to run screaming from the room whenever a neocon armchair warrior walks in, however. We must engage in the burgeoning policy battle over what is to follow Iraq...

http://www.antiwar.com/bandow/?articleid=11652


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neocons
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Doug+Bandow

Roseburg News-Review

09/21/07

Senate Democrats defiantly charged ahead Thursday with legislation ordering troops home from Iraq, still lacking the votes to win but armed with the mantra that Republicans, along with President Bush, now own the war. ‘They want this war more than they want to protect our soldiers,’ Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters. ‘When I say they want the war, they want to protect their president more than they want to protect our troops’...

http://tinyurl.com/39k4su



Long-term US plan for Iraq would cost additional billions

MSNBC

09/20/07

The cost of a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq similar to the peacekeeping role American troops have played in South Korea would range from $10 billion to $25 billion a year, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. A Korea-like presence of 55,000 troops would cost about $25 billion a year in a ‘combat’ scenario similar to the current mission, the nonpartisan CBO said in a report...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20891236/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Harry Reid: War Now Belongs to GOP

Anne Flaherty reports for The Associated Press: "Democrats are unable to pass legislation that would challenge President Bush on the Iraq war, despite public opinion polls that show the war remains deeply unpopular with voters. Failing to muster the support, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the war now belonged to Republicans and vowed they would have to go on record again and again as siding with President Bush."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092107L.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harry+Reid
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP

USA Today

09/20/07

Federal prosecutors Thursday charged Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu with violating campaign-finance laws and conducting a fraud scheme that swindled investors out of $60 million. The criminal complaint says that Hsu — a major fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton — contributed tens of thousands of dollars to federal candidates in the names of other donors. Under federal law, an individual donor cannot give more than $4,600 to a candidate for the primary and general elections...

http://tinyurl.com/36g3nb


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

by Pastor Chuck Baldwin

Yes, Rudy Giuliani is a nightmare all right. But not just for liberals. He is a nightmare for conservatives, Christians, independents, constitutionalists, and for people the world over. Furthermore, Rudy Giuliani is a threat to freedom, constitutional government, the rule of law, traditional morality, and to national sovereignty and independence. As I said, Rudy Giuliani is everyone's worst nightmare.......

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin400.htm



Dobson is Right About Giuliani

by Pastor Chuck Baldwin

It even grieves me to say that should the presidential race next year come down to Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, many conservative Christians would support Giuliani. This is in spite of the fact that Giuliani is not only as bad as Clinton in virtually every area of significance, but, in many ways, is actually worse. Any Christian who would argue that his or her convictions would not allow them to vote for Clinton would have to turn around and surrender those very same convictions in order to vote for Giuliani. In other words, in a Clinton-Giuliani race, there is no "lesser of two evils."......

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin401.htm



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

Wild horses at the Sheldon-Hart Mountain Wildlife Refuge are again in peril of being captured and removed from their home range. Please don’t wait! Your comments are needed by Wednesday, September 26.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has created a revised Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) in an apparent move toward continuing roundups of wild horses at the Sheldon refuge, despite the fact that they still have not justified the necessity or prudence of removing horses at this time, and whose list of alternatives far from assures the safety of the animals during or after capture.

Since before the Refuge was established, the antelope, sheep and other wildlife have shared this area with herds of wild horses and burros. Although the revised report puts the count of wild horses at about half of the number on they based last year's roundup, they want to continue nevertheless.

See the revised EA (PDF).
http://www.fws.gov/sheldonhartmtn/sheldon/Sheldon_Horse_EA_draft_revised.pdf

In Defense of Animals (IDA) recently succeeded in halting this roundup in its tracks by threatening a lawsuit to force the agency to comply with regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Now the agency is again trying to sidestep the NEPA requirement to perform a full EIS.

IDA, along with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), has requested that the comment period be extended in order to more fairly accommodate public opinion and consideration, but we can’t count on that—please write today.

Photographs from last year’s Sheldon roundup showed frantic horses being chased by helicopters and trampled. Some foals who couldn’t keep up were tackled, hog-tied, and left behind, alone out on the range for days, and some died in the process. Some members of Congress, including Nick J. Rahall, II, Chairman of the Committee of Natural Resources submitted a letter calling for the roundup to be halted. But the pressure is on once again.

IDA, along with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), has requested that the comment period be extended in order to more fairly accommodate public opinion and consideration, but we can’t count on that—please write today.

Please "Take Action" and urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to follow "Alternative A- (no action)" and not round up any more horses at the Sheldon refuge until a thorough, scientific Environmental Impact Statement is performed to determine the sustainable carrying capacity of the Refuge.

Such drastic action as capture and removal should not be allowed, in the absence of an exhaustive, scientific evaluation, after which the public should be fairly allowed the opportunity for input.

Address your comments to:
Paul Steblein, Project Leader
Sheldon-Hart Mountain Wildlife Refuge

Written comments can be e-mailed to:
sheldon-hart@fws.gov

or mailed to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
P.O. Box 111,
Lakeview, OR 97630

Act Quickly! Comments on the revised draft EA need to be submitted no later than Wednesday, September 26th to be counted in the public record.

International travelers concerned about being labeled a terrorist or drug runner by secret Homeland Security algorithms may want to be careful what books they read on the plane. Newly revealed records show the government is storing such information for years.

http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/09/flight_tracking


From Information Clearing House



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

The nation's biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve a measure wiping out all private lawsuits against them for assisting the U.S. intelligence community's warrantless surveillance programs.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20884696/site/newsweek/from/ET/


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=warrantless
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=surveillance

Subprime Borrowers to Lose Homes at Record Pace as Rates Rise

As many as half of the 450,000 subprime borrowers whose mortgage payments increase in the next three months may lose their homes because they can't sell, refinance or qualify for help from the U.S. government.

http://snipurl.com/1qzik



US expert warns of fresh shocks

Fresh economic shocks on the scale of the current credit squeeze will occur if US house prices continue to fall, one of the country's leading housing experts warned on Wednesday.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31d8aba4-66b6-11dc-a218-0000779fd2ac.html


From Information Clearing House



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

The U.S. military has introduced "religious enlightenment" and other education programs for Iraqi detainees, some of whom are as young as 11, Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, the commander of U.S. detention facilities in Iraq, said yesterday.

http://snipurl.com/1qzi0


From Information Clearing House



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

More then 20,000 Iraqis were pouring across the border every day, compared to 2,000 a day normally.

http://snipurl.com/1qzhz


From Information Clearing House



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

$333 million a day, $14 million an hour, $231,000 a minute and $3,850 a second. Even for the world's richest country, this is serious money.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP125382.htm


From Information Clearing House

By Mike Whitney
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18437.htm



The Naked Fist of Empire

By Jim Kirwan

To coordinate this perfect storm of financial turmoil with another illegal pre-emptive strike over something that according to the International Atomic Energy Agency is not even a remote possibility: Is a cynical bid to take down the US monetary system, (for private financial gains) and to cripple our leadership as a power in the world, in one massive single stroke-The clock is ticking and this time there will be consequences!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18432.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Whitney
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jim+Kirwan

By Carolyn Baker
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18426.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=police+state
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Carolyn+Baker

Lose The First War and Win the Second

By Michael Nenonen

The soldiers who descend into this moral hell are dangerous to their victims in foreign countries, but also to themselves and to their own people. Once hatred begins to burn, it's hard to put it out. The violence and rage ignited on foreign shores can immolate families and scorch civil societies back home.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18425.htm

The Korea Model Rationale for Staying in Iraq

By Zoltan Grossman

This is one of the historic moments when Americans have to decide whether our country will be a republic, or continue to function as an empire. Our failure to make that fundamental decision today will ensure future imperial wars and occupations.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18427.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperial
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Zoltan+Grossman

Julio Godoy for Inter Press Service reports that "Instead of providing positive incentives to tropical nations to conserve their rain forests and so reduce greenhouse gases emissions, the world indirectly gives 'perverse incentives' to destroy them by demanding goods produced by intensive logging, a leading environmental activist says."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/092007EC.shtml

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



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

Stephen Leahy for Inter Press Service reports that the US continues to use the banned pesticide, methyl bromide, despite the fact that its use in developed countries was supposed to have been completely phased out by January 1, 2005, under the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/092007EA.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=methyl+bromide
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=pesticides

Microfinancing has been hailed as a breakthrough in combating global poverty by giving small loans to impoverished people in the hopes of transforming their lives. But one very profitable Mexican lending program is now under intense scrutiny.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007U.shtml



http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&q=microfinancing&btnG=Google+Search

Ken Herman for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that "organizers of minority-oriented debates are not buying GOP presidential contenders' claims that scheduling conflicts are keeping them away from candidate forums targeted at Hispanic and African-American voters."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007T.shtml



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

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Telegraph, UK reports: "The Saudi central bank said today that it would take 'appropriate measures' to halt huge capital inflows into the country, but analysts say this policy is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to the collapse of the dollar peg."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007S.shtml



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

The Associated Press reports that "the World Health Organization on Thursday confirmed the first cholera case in Baghdad, raising fears the disease is spreading."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007R.shtml

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/september2007/200907_dollar_meltdown.htm



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

By: Marilyn Moss, Special to the Bulletin

09/20/2007

WOODBRIDGE - Plans to build a new cell phone tower in town continue to generate unrest among residents. At the Sept. 17 Board of Selectmen meeting, residents showed up in force to oppose building a cell phone tower on private land owned by the Arnold family. Verizon has been actively seeking a site for a cell tower to improve local coverage but has made no definite decisions.

Read More...
http://groups.google.com/group/mobilfunk_newsletter/t/e89399f154a61878

Congressman Dennis Kucinich: New Study Shows 1.2 Million Iraqi Civilians Died In War; Resolution Will Ask House To Investigate, Prefer Criminal Charges If Necessary.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0919-21.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/20/3981/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=habeas+corpus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gitmo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detainees

The media needs to get the story right
http://ga3.org/ct/rp20pgF10XKD/



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

John DeFore, writing for Reuters, reports, "A matter-of-fact but pointedly critical commentary on the Iraq War, "Body of War" focuses on how soldiers got sent to Iraq and the shape in which they're coming back.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007F.shtml

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"Body of War" a disturbing Iraq war critique

Tomas Young joined the Army on September 13, 2001, after seeing President Bush stand in front of Ground Zero rubble and promise to hunt down those who attacked us. He expected to go to Afghanistan in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, but eventually found himself shipped off to Iraq. For about five days -- after which his unarmored vehicle was attacked, and an AK-47 round pierced his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed.

http://snipurl.com/1r53c


From Information Clearing House

George Lakoff, writing for Truthout, states: "Think about what it means for our troops and for the people of Iraq. Our troops were told, and believed because they trusted their president, they were in Iraq to protect America, to protect their families, their homes, their friends and neighbors, our democracy. But they were betrayed. Those troops fought and died and were maimed and had their marriages break up for oil company profits."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007B.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=George+Lakoff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Oil

http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=m3lxkzWAqk6zF0rEG_dhzA..



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

Der Streit um die Terrorabwehr hat zum offenen Krach in der großen Koalition geführt. Die SPD kritisierte am 20. September im Bundestag gemeinsam mit der Opposition in scharfer Form die Warnungen von Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) vor Nuklearterrorismus. Schäuble hatte am Wochenende davor gewarnt, dass Terroristen einen Anschlag mit nuklearem Material vorbereiten könnten, zugleich aber betont, es habe keinen Zweck, sich schon vorher in "Weltuntergangsstimmung" zu versetzen. Schäuble verteidigte am 20. September im Deutschen Bundestag seine Aussagen und berief sich dabei auf Al-Qaida-Terroristen Osama bin Laden und den Chef der UN-Waffenkontrolleure, Mohammed el-Baradei. Bin Laden habe schon 1998 Islamisten dazu aufgerufen, nach Atom-, biologischen oder chemischen Waffen zu streben.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=16632

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Gefahr des Atomterrorismus: Atomausstieg jetzt statt Panikmache!

Die Ärzteorganisation IPPNW gratuliert Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble zu seiner Einsicht hinsichtlich der akuten Gefahr von terroristischen Atomanschlägen.

http://sonnenseite.kjm4.de/ref.php?id=d8741682258ms65



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

20 September 2007

A head teacher in Lincolnshire has voiced anxiety about plans to put up a mobile phone mast near to his school.

T-Mobile has sought planning permission to erect a mast on West Street in Horncastle, near the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, the BBC reports.

The mobile operator insists that there is no evidence that masts pose a public health hazard.

Read More...
http://tinyurl.com/2gvq8b



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

Irak: Premier Maliki zur Blackwater-Affäre
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/26/26238/1.html

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Maliki Blasts Blackwater Firm

Leila Fadel of the McClatchy Newspapers reports, "Blackwater security guards who protect top U.S. diplomats in Iraq have been involved in at least seven serious incidents, some of which resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said Wednesday."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007A.shtml

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All the essential elements of governance in the Bush era come together in the Blackwater episode

http://ga3.org/ct/5p20pgF10XZA/

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Victim claims Blackwater killings unprovoked
http://therealnews.com/c.php?c=070921A&i=449



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Maliki
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Blackwater
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leila+Fadel
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Marie+Cocco

http://therealnews.com/c.php?c=070920A&e=52



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Abu+Risha
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pepe+Escobar

Nancy Scola writes for AlterNet: "Anyone hearing about central India's ongoing epidemic of farmer suicides, where growers are killing themselves at a terrifying clip, has to be horrified. But among the more disturbed must be the once-grand poobah of post-invasion Iraq, US diplomat L. Paul Bremer. Why Bremer? Because Indian farmers are choosing death after finding themselves caught in a loop of crop failure and debt rooted in genetically modified and patented agriculture - the same farming model that Bremer introduced to Iraq during his tenure as administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007N.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Paul+Bremer
http://tinyurl.com/25hbha
http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Genetic+Engineering+-+Genmanipulation/

David M. Herszenhorn and Carl Hulse report for The New York Times, "A proposal that Democrats put forward as their best chance of changing the course of the Iraq war died on the Senate floor on Wednesday, as Republicans stood firmly behind President Bush."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007K.shtml

ISIS Press Release 20/09/07

ISIS Letter to Nature Biotechnology

Please circulate widely and write your own letter to Nature Biotechnology

To: Andrew Marshall, Editor, Nature Biotechnology
a.marshall@natureny.com
Richard Charkin, Chief Executive, MacMillan Ltd
c/o exec@nature.com
Annette Thomas, Managing Director of Nature Publications,
London
c/o exec@nature.com
Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, Nature Publications,
London
c/o exec@nature.com and p.campbell@nature.com

We are writing on behalf of the Institute of Science in Society* to express our deep concern over your recently published article about Dr Irina Ermakova and her work (“GM soybeans and health safety - a controversy re-examined”, Marshall, A. Nature Biotechnology 25, 981 – 987, 2007, http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v25/n9/abs/nbt0907-981.html ). The article is grossly unfair to Dr Ermakova and certainly not in the best traditions of scientific publishing.

We have been told Dr Ermakova was given to understand that she would be the co-author of an article describing her work. What actually appeared was one written by you, containing comments by a panel composed entirely of people linked to the biotech industry. These comments were never shown to Dr. Ermakova before the article was published, and she was given no right of reply.

There are journals that routinely publish criticisms of papers along with the papers themselves. This can be an effective way of drawing attention to important but possibly controversial work, while not allowing it to go unchallenged. These journals generally adhere to some important rules. The target paper is written by the researcher(s); not by a journalist.

Comments from other scientists are published along with the paper, followed by a general reply by the author(s). Some of the commentators may be known to be critical of or even hostile to the author’s point of view, but the panel will include others who are not. That is quite different from what you have done.

You were wrong not to make it clear to Dr Ermakova how you proposed to use her contribution, even to the extent of not showing her the proofs of what would actually appear in your journal. Such practice is more appropriate to a tabloid newspaper than to a serious scientific journal, and a public acknowledgement of the oversight from you would be in order. You were also wrong not to allow Dr. Ermakova to reply to the criticisms. She must now be given the appropriate platform in your journal to respond fully to the criticisms of her work, without further comment either from you or from your panel of committed biotech supporters.


Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
Professor Peter T. Saunders, Institute of Science in Society
PO Box 51885
London NW2 9DH
http://www.i-sis.org.uk
e-mail: m.w.ho @I-sis.org.uk
Tel: 44-(0)20-7272-5636


*The Institute of Science in Society is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing critical and accessible information on cutting-edge science and to promoting social accountability and ecological sustainability in science

Read the rest of this article here http://www.i-sis.org.uk/LetterToNatureReErmakova.php



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mae-Wan+Ho

http://tinyurl.com/3bpdnj



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Condoleezza+Rice
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Blackwater
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=CodePink

I posted the following on the SFGate website in response to their article "Google a victim of EarthLink woes with cancellation of S.F. Wi-Fi"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BUT6RSDTU.DTL

I find it a bit perplexing why there is no mention of the dangers posed by WiFi. But then again if one thinks about the money and power the cell phone industry possesses, then it is possible to also imagine the cause of this media blackout. Having said that, the German government has recently warned its populace against using WiFi - and that of cell phones only in emergencies. In Austria, the Vienna Physician's Association has issued similar warnings. A recent report - called the BioInitiative - issued by a group of internationally renowned scientists, researchers, and public health professionals has clearly stated that present levels of ambient radiation are dangerous and 1000 times what they should be. The European Environmental Agency has also highlighted the risk on its website. Over forty million Americans take sleep medication for insomnia. A recent British report has stated one in forty children now suffer from Autism. Brain tumors are now the number one cause of death in children.

If anyone else is interested, please do go to their website (you have to register) and make your own comments.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BUT6RSDTU.DTL#commentform


Paul Raymond Doyon MAT (TESOL), MA Advanced Japanese Studies, BA Psychology


"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wi-Fi
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Wi-Fi
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=autism
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=autism
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=brain+tumors

20. September 2007

2,5 Millionen Kinder in Deutschland leben in Armut. Zum Weltkindertag fordert DIE LINKE kurzfristig wirksame Maßnahmen zur Überwindung der Kinderarmut. Dazu erklärt das Mitglied des Parteivorstandes Caren Lay:

In kaum einer anderen vergleichbaren Industrienation ist der Zusammenhang zwischen sozialem Status und Bildungschancen so hoch wie in Deutschland. Das ist ein Skandal. Ich freue mich, dass Vize-Kanzler Münterfering dies endlich erkannt hat und vielen Forderungen der Partei DIE LINKE folgt. Insbesondere entsprechen die Forderungen nach gebührenfreiem Mittagessen in Kita und Schule und kostenfreiem Kitabesuch genau dem, was die Linksfraktion in vielen Landtagen seit Jahren fordern. Bisher ist die Umsetzung dieser Forderungen allerdings an fehlender Unterstützung von SPD und CDU gescheitert. Feuilletonistische Betrachtungen des Vizekanzlers helfen den betroffenen Kindern nicht weiter. Arme Kinder können nicht warten, bis die neuen Erkenntnisse des Herrn Müntefering in der SPD endlich praktische Politik werden. Wir erwarten von der Bundesregierung und insbesondere von der SPD, dass sie kurzfristig wirksame Maßnahmen zur Überwindung der Kinderarmut ergreifen und vor allem folgende Forderungen der LINKE unterstützt:

kostenlose und ausreichende Kindertagesbetreuung in Ost und West, kostenloses, gesundes Mittagessen in Kitas und Schulen, Einführung einer bedarfsorientierten Kindergrundsicherung von mindestens 420 Euro.

DIE LINKE wird mit ihrer geplanten Kita-Kampagne für den flächendeckenden Ausbau von Kitas in Ost und West streiten. Denn mit einem frühkindlichen Bildungsangebot, das armen Kindern uneingeschränkt offen steht, legen wir die Grundlage dafür, dass jedes Kinder in Deutschland die gleichen Chancen bekommt. Es darf nicht sein, das Kinder in Deutschland eine Kita nicht besuchen, weil ihre Eltern die Gebühren nicht bezahlen können oder weil Kinder arbeitsloser Eltern in vielen Orten nach wie vor vom Kita-Besuch ausgeschlossen werden.

http://www.die-linke.de/presse/presseerklaerungen/detail/artikel/kinderarmut-ist-ein-skandal/



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

https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=14936526



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

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/18/140201

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The Real News Network Alert

New Item: Will Blackwater be expelled from Iraq?

After recent alleged killings of civilians by Blackwater operatives, the Iraqi Interior Minister on Tuesday said he wanted to expel the security firm from Iraq. Due to an overextended military, the Bush administration is attempting to protect Blackwater—the largest such firm in Iraq.

In a Real News interview, Jeremy Scahill author of Blackwater, says: "The United States government has gutted the Iraqi legal system and basically tried to prevent them from holding accountable mercenaries who commit crimes inside of Iraq."

Iraqi Interior Minister on Tuesday revokes Blackwater’s license.
http://therealnews.com/c.php?c=070919B&i=441


The Real News Network

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Checkbook Imperialism: The Blackwater Fiasco

Robert Scheer writes for Truthdig: "Please, please, I tell myself, leave Orwell out of it. Find some other, fresher way to explain why 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' is dependent upon killer mercenaries. Or why the 'democratically elected government' of 'liberated' Iraq does not explicitly have the legal power to expel Blackwater USA from its land or hold any of the 50,000 private contractor troops that the US government has brought to Iraq accountable for their deadly actions."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007O.shtml

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Hessians Redux: Blackwater, U.S. and England

By Dr. Sam Hamod
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18429.htm



'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors mercenaries shooting up Iraqi drivers

The video of Aegis Defence Services, shows security guards opening fire with automatic rifles at civilian cars. All of the shooting incidents apparently took place on "route Irish", a road that links the airport to Baghdad.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11157.htm



180,000 Private Contractors Mercenaries Flood Iraq

The United States has assembled an imposing industrial army in Iraq larger than its uniformed fighting force and responsible for a such a broad swath of responsibilities the military might not be able to operate without its private-sector partners.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3626620


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Blackwater
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mercenaries
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperialism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Scheer

Kann der Kampf gegen die Lohnabhängigkeit ohne BGE gewonnen werden?

„Vor Jahren (1999) schrieb ich über „Fetisch Arbeit und die Gewerkschaftslinke“. Seit dem hat sich Dreierlei geändert: Erstens habe ich gelernt, zwischen „Arbeit“ und „Lohnarbeit“ zu unterscheiden und würde es heute Fetisch „Lohnarbeit“ nennen. Zweitens hat sich meine Position zum BGE geändert, das ich zwar als Alternative zu diesem „Fetisch Lohnarbeit“ begrüßte, aber damals wegen m.E. mangelnder Auswirkungen auf bestehende und künftige Arbeitsverhältnisse kritisierte. Drittens schließlich hat sich bei vielen der Gewerkschaftslinken etwas verändert…“ Artikel von Mag Wompel vom September 2007 http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/existenz/wompel.html

Dieser Artikel erscheint, leicht gekürzt unter dem Titel „Realisierbar ist, wofür wir kämpfen! Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen (BGE) – eine unkapitalistische Forderung gegen den Fetisch Lohnarbeit“ in Graswurzelrevolution 322 vom Oktober 2007


Aus: LabourNet, 20. September 2007



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

Tennessean
by David Clark

09/19/07

When I think of all the reasons put forth for going to war in Iraq, I think of the little clown car at the circus. How did the Bush administration and the Pentagon get so many phony reasons out of one little war? Now the number of ways to get out of war in Iraq is approaching clown-car status with the latest report on how the surge is working or not working, depending on whom you talk to. There have been 762 U.S. soldiers killed since the start of the surge. Every political way forward raises more questions as well as casualties...

http://tinyurl.com/2hqnsu


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=casualties
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=troop+surge

Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter

09/20/07

We have heard Bush administration officials express optimism for a reduction in the U.S. military presence many, many times before. Indeed, the Pentagon’s original plan envisioned — quite astonishingly — having no more than 50,000 to 60,000, and perhaps as few as 30,000 troops remaining in Iraq by the end of 2003. Periodically thereafter, U.S. officials indicated that a partial withdrawal of troops was likely in the not-too-distant future. In December 2005, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld informed reporters that adjustments ‘will reduce forces in Iraq by the spring of 2006 below the current high of 160,000 during the [Iraqi] election period to below the 138,000 baseline that had existed before the most recent elections.’ Six months later, Gen. George Casey, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq stated: ‘I am confident that we will be able to continue to take reductions over the course of this year.’ But the promises of troop drawdowns were always set months into the future — and the future never seemed to arrive...

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8707


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=withdrawal+Iraq
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ted+Galen+Carpenter

Battle Creek Enquirer

09/19/07

President Bush said Wednesday he wants Congress to expand and make permanent a law that temporarily gives the government more power to eavesdrop without warrants on suspected foreign terrorists. Without such action, Bush said, ‘our national security professionals will lose critical tools they need to protect our country’...

http://tinyurl.com/ywrzd3


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Bush Asks Congress to Extend NSA Program

Michael A. Fletcher reports for The Washington Post, "President Bush today called on Congress to make permanent a law that gives the government broad authority to eavesdrop without warrants on phone calls, e-mail and other communication between people in the United States and suspected terrorists abroad."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007L.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spying
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=National+Security+Agency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=eavesdropping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=warrants

MSNBC

09/19/07

The United States has assembled an imposing industrial army in Iraq larger than its uniformed fighting force and responsible for a such a broad swath of responsibilities the military might not be able to operate without its private-sector partners. More than 180,000 Americans, Iraqis, and nationals from other countries work under a slew of federal contracts to provide security, gather intelligence, build roads, forge a financial system and transport needed supplies in a country the size of California...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20879227/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=contractors
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Blackwater

The House Rules Committee is still holding up "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007" (HR811). More groups join those supporting HR811.

According to Common Cause today: "For nearly two weeks now, we've been poised for a House vote on critical reform legislation that would ensure ballots are backed by paper records in the 2008 elections."

Here are two new ways you can help in just a few minutes of your time:

Back to Common Sense Voting - a new 1-page flier by SAVEourVotes.org (MD) Please fax a copy to your House Rep today http://electionmathematics.org/CommonSenseVoting.pdf

Easy-to-use email form created by Common Cause: http://www.getitstraightby2008.org/c.hnKKIINpEqG/b.3411415/k.1D6B/Help_us_Unblock_the_Holt_Bill/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?sid=177314304

Find your House member's Contact info: http://www.house.gov

Here are the Rules Cmte Members (including All fax numbers):

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules H-312 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515, 202-225-9091

Democrats

LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, NY - CHAIRWOMAN (D)
2469 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-3615 Fax: (202) 225-7822

JAMES P. McGOVERN, MA (D)
438 Cannon Building Phone: (202) 225-6101 Fax: (202) 225-5759

ALCEE L. HASTINGS, FL (D)
2353 Rayburn Office Building Tel: (202) 225-1313 Fax: (202) 225-1171

DORIS O. MATSUI, CA (D)
222 Cannon House Office Building Phone: (202) 225-7163 Fax: (202) 225-0566

DENNIS CARDOZA, CA (D)
435 Cannon Building Phone: (202) 225-6131 Fax: 225-0819

PETER WELCH, VT (D)
1404 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone:(202) 225-4115 Fax: 202-225-6790

KATHY CASTOR, FL (D)
317 Cannon House Office Building Phone: (202)225-3376 Fax: (202)225-5652

MICHAEL ARCURI, NY (D)
327 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-3665 Fax: 202-225-1891

BETTY SUTTON, OH (D)
1721 Longworth House Office Building Phone: (202) 225-3401 Fax: (202) 225-2266


Republicans

DAVID DREIER, CA (R) Ranking Minority Member
233 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Office (202) 225-2305 Fax (202) 225-7018

LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART, FL (R)
2244 Rayburn House Office Building
(202) 225-4211 Fax: 202-225-8576

DOC HASTINGS, WA (R)
1214 Longworth
(202) 225-5816 Fax: (202) 225-3251

PETE SESSIONS, TX (R)
1514 Longworth House Bldg.
(202) 225-2231
(202) 225-5878 fax

Kathy Jackson of Voting Matters/Oregon best rebuts those who want no independent election audits because some prior internal election auditing or prior financial auditing has been corrupted:

"That kind of argument is like saying we should eliminate crime by eliminating our criminal code of laws: it won't stop robbery and murder but they won't be crimes any more. H.R. 811 sets performance standards for federal elections. If you care about election integrity you can argue that the standards are not rigorous enough or that there should be stiffer penalties for violation but you cannot logically argue that there should be no performance standards and therefore no audit."

The US House should vote "Yes" for House Resolution 811 with its 2008 requirement for election audits in tact.

For a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-read analysis of H.R. 811 see: http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Analysis-HR811-Aug2007.pdf

PLEASE DONATE - WE NEED FUNDS TO CONTINUE OUR WORK

Please donate to the National Election Data Archive. We urgently need to raise sufficient funds to hire an additional staff person to keep up with the growing work-load. NEDA could accomplish a lot more if there were sufficient donations to pay just one person's salary. (Our financials are available here for your review: http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/financial/FinancialStmts2004-2006.pdf) PLEASE donate whatever amount you can by credit card, PayPal, or by mailing a check. Even $5 or $10/month would be a big help. Please donate. We need your on-going help. Thank you. See http://electionarchive.org/fairelection/donate.html

Please forward this announcement widely. We need to all contact our US Representative by this Wednesday, September 5.

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph" Haile Selassie

Please act now at this crucial juncture in history - to protect our future.

Sincerely,

Kathy Dopp Executive Director, National Election Data Archive http://electionarchive.org

P.O. Box 682556 Park City, UT 84068 phone 435-658-4657


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A newly released description of an open source paper ballot optical scan voting system which election officials may program themselves without hiring vendors to do the ballot programming http://www.openvotingsolutions.info/present/Do%20Paper%20Trails%20fail%20to%20secure%20eVoting.pdf

1-page list of groups opposing HR811 – all of them supported by corporate memberships, including voting vendors who oppose the independent scrutiny of vote counts by independent audits http://electionmathematics.org/em-legislation/anti-HR811-groups.pdf

3-page analysis of HR811 http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Analysis-HR811-Aug2007.pdf

Rebuttals to the misinformation being spread by opponents of election reform http://electionmathematics.org/VoteYesHR811.pdf http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2007/5/24/35057/3255 http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005308.php#005308 http://www.electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/FactsAboutHR811.pdf

A short, nearly exhaustive list of problems caused by using touch-screen electronic-ballot DRE voting machines: http://electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/NEDA-S1487-Testimony.pdf

A list of DRE problems by John Hopkins University Computer Scientist Avi Rubin who is an expert in the security of electronic voting, the director of the National Science Foundation's project ACCURATE Center, and is also an election judge in Baltimore County. http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-nobody-wants-to-buy-diebold.html

"Voters Have Reason to Worry – A Response to Election Officials and Others Who Urge Voters to Trust" http://utahcountvotes.org/UT/UtahCountVotes-ThadHall-Response.pdf

E-Voting Ballots Not Secret; Vendors Don't See Problem, August 20th,
2007 by Princeton Computer Science Professor Ed Felten http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1189

Cost Comparisons between Using Optical Scan versus DRE Voting Systems: http://electionmathematics.org and select "Voting Systems"



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=HR811
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kathy+Dopp

http://futurezone.orf.at/it/stories/222864/

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Mastvieh bekommt RFID
http://www.silicon.de/enid/auch_das_noch/29812



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Funkchip
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=RFID

http://ga1.org/campaign/iraq0907_Reps/86u3isb4fbie77t?qp_source=web%5firaq0907a



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Feingold
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harry+Reid

by Shane Ellison M.Sc

Commenting on the troublesome threesome, Dr. Nissen of the world renowned Cleveland Clinic stated that, "We have got a potential public health crisis. I think patients and families need to be made aware of these concerns. This is out-of-control use of drugs that have profound cardiovascular consequences. We have got a potential public health crisis. I think patients and families need to be made aware of these concerns."

http://www.newswithviews.com/Ellison/shane29.htm


Informant: Dorothee Krien



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

Amnesty International Responds to the Senate's Failure to Close Debate and Vote on Habeas Amendment.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0919-10.htm



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

Market evangelists created the wreckage, but ordinary working people will bear the greatest burden.

http://www.alternet.org/story/62787/



Almighty US dollar turns into 'American peso'

Since 2001 the dollar has lost more than half its value against the euro. It now costs nearly $1.40 to buy one euro. And it isn't just the euro that seems to be growing stronger against the US dollar. It has declined against many other major world currencies, and even including minor ones like our peso, reflecting the dollar's loss of purchasing power.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=93050



Current Foreclosure Crisis Deemed the Worst in U.S. History

According to the most recent foreclosure numbers released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the U.S. is embroiled in the worst foreclosure crisis in recorded history. More than 14 percent of subprime borrowers are defaulting, and prime borrowers are beginning to follow suit.

http://snipurl.com/1qx9d



Housing construction falls to 12-year low

Data indicate real estate slump is worsening
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20868561/



Housing layoffs

Struggling companies in the mortgage and housing sectors have cut more than 80,000 jobs this year.

http://snipurl.com/1qx9l



Paulson Asks Congress to Lift Debt Limit: The limit is $8.965 trillion

Unless Congress votes to raise it, the country would be unable to borrow more money to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070919/debt_limit.html?.v=2


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreclosure
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Paulson

The enactment in August by the Democratic Congress of new eavesdropping powers for the President was one of the worst, if not the single worst, acts of capitulation to the Bush White House.

http://snipurl.com/1qx99


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=eavesdropping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=FISA
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Glenn+Greenwald

Republicans and the Bush administration used a 'bogus' terror threat that raised specific fears of an attack on the Capitol to scare lawmakers into adopting a dramatic temporary expansion of the government's spy powers last month, a former top intelligence committee Democrat said Wednesday.

http://snipurl.com/1qx95


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=terror+threat
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=FISA
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spying

When a country speaks of using force, it should bear in mind that such a move will work only if all other options have been used and proved useless and that its implementation should be within the framework of the UN Security Council, he noted.

http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0709185739013008.htm



Rice warns U.N. arms chief on Iran offers

"It is not up to anybody to diminish or to begin to cut back on the obligations that the Iranians have been ordered to take" by the U.N. Security Council, Rice said.

http://www.adn.com/24hour/politics/story/3702047p-13124970c.html


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ElBaradei
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Condoleezza+Rice
http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/

Iran's Ambassador to Kuwait City Ali Jannati said on Wednesday that in case of any military attack on Iran, the country will target all US military bases used for Washington's attack.

http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0709192892181107.htm


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/

The U.S. is selling billions in weapons to Iraq. Is the Pentagon's plan making the country secure or arming it to the teeth for civil war?

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/09/18/weapons/


From Information Clearing House

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson on Wednesday called for the U.S. to end the war in Iraq, arguing that the troops exacerbate the sectarian violence and the billions spent could be used for health care and other needs.

http://snipurl.com/1qx86


From Information Clearing House



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

Video

When asked to clarify his statement, King did not revise his answer, saying "I think there has been a lack of full cooperation from too many people in the Muslim community.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18421.htm



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

By Cindy Sheehan

I am consistently amazed at things that right-wing nut jobs throw at me to justify their support of an unjustifiable war. Seriously, when you watch Generals, Ambassadors, Senators and Congress Reps and pundits who still cheerlead for a miserable, failed and murderous policy you can almost see the skepticism in their eyes, too. They know they are lying for their masters now, if they, like George and Dick didn't always know they were lying.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18423.htm

Click:

By Andrew Sullivan

When historians look back on the past week in Washington, I suspect they will see it as a seminal moment. It was the moment when the president and his party recommitted themselves to an indefinite, decades-long Iraq occupation, and when the Iraq war was formally handed over to the next president, with forces near the maxed-out 2006 level.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18419.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Petraeus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Andrew+Sullivan

Hazel Trice Edney, writing for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, reports that "Black people in America had less health care last year than they did in 2005 and they remained at the economic rock bottom of America - also below Hispanic-Americans."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091907LA.shtml

Reporting for The Independent, Cahal Milmo writes, "A rise of two degrees centigrade in global temperatures - the point considered to be the threshold for catastrophic climate change which will expose millions to drought, hunger and flooding - is now "very unlikely" to be avoided, the world's leading climate scientists said yesterday."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091907EA.shtml



Effort to Get Companies to Disclose Climate Risk

The New York Times's reporter Felicity Barringer writes, "Two environmental groups and the financial officers of 10 states and New York City are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to require companies to disclose the risks that climate change may pose to their bottom lines. The petition is expected to reach the SEC today, representatives of the groups said.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091907EB.shtml



African Skies Rain Death, Destruction on Villagers

Reuters correspondent Miriam Imrie reports that "more than 300,000 people [have been] driven from their homes in north Ghana alone by torrential rains and floods that have swept over East and West Africa in recent weeks, destroying homes and schools and washing away crops and livestock."

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091907EC.shtml

Reporting for The New York Times, David Stout writes "A move to give terrorism suspects the right to challenge their detentions in federal court fell short in the Senate today, even though it had majority support."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091907S.shtml

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Senate Bars Bill to Restore Detainee Rights

By Susan Cornwell

The Senate voted on Wednesday against considering a measure to give Guantanamo detainees and other foreigners the right to challenge their detention in the U.S. courts. The legislation needed 60 votes to be considered by lawmakers in the Senate, narrowly controlled by Democrats; it received only 56, with 43 voting against the effort to roll back a key element of President George W. Bush's war on terrorism.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18422.htm



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

Got Bling?

by Devvy Kidd

While cable news networks saturate their airwaves with ad nauseum coverage of O.J. Simpson's run of the mill arrest, as expected, Bernard Bernanke, Chariman of the privately owned, unconstitutional "Federal" Reserve, lowered the benchmark interest rate a full half percentage point down to 4.75 percent. The rationale is to try and stave off a recession which is already underway due to the collapse of the housing market.........

http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd304.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=housing+market
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/Devvy

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/6686/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news



http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/19/3948



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/19/3957/



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

http://ga3.org/ct/Ap20pgF1lzKM/



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

Gareth Porter reports for IPS News: "Petraeus's contradictory statements on the Quds Force are emblematic of a US administration propaganda line that has in essence fallen apart because it was so obviously out of line with reality. Nine months after the George W Bush administration declared that it was going to go after Iranian agents in Iraq who were threatening US troops, the US military still has not produced any evidence that Quds Force operatives in Iraq were engaged in assisting the militias fighting against US troops."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091907D.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Quds
http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gareth+Porter