World-News

Truthout contributor Marjorie Cohn writes: "In light of stepped-up violence in Afghanistan and for political reasons - following Obama's lead - Bush will be moving troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. Although the US invasion of Afghanistan was as illegal as the invasion of Iraq, many Americans see it as a justifiable response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the casualties in that war have been lower than those in Iraq - so far. Practically no one in the United States is currently questioning the legality or propriety of US military involvement in Afghanistan. The cover of Time magazine calls it 'The Right War....' The invasion of Afghanistan was not legitimate self-defense under article 51 of the Charter because the attacks on 9/11 were criminal attacks, not 'armed attacks' by another country. Afghanistan did not attack the United States.... Those who conspired to hijack airplanes and kill thousands of people on 9/11 are guilty of crimes against humanity. They must be identified and brought to justice in accordance with the law. But retaliation by invading Afghanistan is not the answer and will only lead to the deaths of more of our troops and Afghans."

http://www.truthout.org/article/end-occupation-iraq-and-afghanistan



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Marjorie+Cohn

Susan Schmidt and Glenn R. Simpson, of The Wall Street Journal: "Influential former Pentagon official Richard Perle has been exploring going into the oil business in Iraq and Kazakhstan, according to people with knowledge of the matter and documents outlining possible deals. Mr. Perle, one of a group of security experts who began pushing the case for toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein about a decade ago, has been discussing a possible deal with officials of northern Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, including its Washington envoy, according to these people and the documents."

http://www.truthout.org/article/perle-linked-kurdish-oil-plan

--------

Richard Perle mischt bei Ölgeschäften mit Irak mit

Einer der maßgeblichen Antreiber zum Irak-Krieg scheint nun zu bestätigen, dass es beim Irak-Krieg um das Öl und die Geschäfte ging.

http://www.heise.de/tp/blogs/2/113561




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

David Stout of The New York Times: "Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican senator in United States history and a figure of great influence in Washington as well as in his home state, has been indicted on federal corruption charges. Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received."

http://www.truthout.org/article/senator-stevens-indicted-corruption-inquiry



Is the King of Pork Dead?

Winslow T. Wheeler, writing for Truthout, says: "When a member of Congress is indicted, the usual practice of the pols in Washington is to tread lightly, declare the accused innocent until convicted and studiously ignore what is really going on. Such is the case with the newly indicted Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Everyone is playing their appointed role."

http://www.truthout.org/article/is-king-pork-dead



Prosecutors: Stevens Helped Oil Contractor

Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post: "Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) quickly turned a $5,000 Florida condo investment into a profit of more than $100,000 in a questionable transaction that federal prosecutors would like to introduce as evidence at his trial next month on charges that he lied on financial disclosure forms. The investment and other details of investigators' case were disclosed late Thursday in a flurry of court papers filed by prosecutors and defense lawyers gearing up for the first trial of a sitting US Senator in more than two decades. The trial is tentatively scheduled to start September 22."

http://www.truthout.org/article/prosecutors-stevens-helped-oil-contractor



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ted+Stevens+Alaska
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=corruption
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Stout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Winslow+T.+Wheeler
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Del+Quentin+Wilber

July 29, 2008

In talking with my daughter-in-law the other day, she mentioned her pre-teen daughter's request for her own cell phone. "Everyone else has one."

Mom worries about declining social skills among young cell-phone users, witnessing teens standing side-by-side and text messaging instead of talking. In emphasis, a Dr. Phil episode a while back showcased a teenage girl who preferred hanging out with her virtual friends created on the Internet to spending time with real people.

Read More...
http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/OPINION/807290328

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 9:11 PM on 28th July 2008

Health concern: Wi-fi in schools should be suspended pending a safety inquiry, says a union chief

The rush to install wireless computer networks in schools may be jeopardising children's health and should be suspended pending a full safety inquiry, a teachers' chief said yesterday.

Philip Parkin said he is worried about reports linking wireless technology with loss of concentration, fatigue, reduced memory and headaches.

Read More...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1039235/Suspend-wi-fi-schools-says-union-chief-following-reports-causes-ill-health.html



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

AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

07/28/08

The left treats imperialism as the logical outgrowth of capitalism, but what we are seeing instead is the destruction of functioning markets as a direct consequence of imperialist policies — a reality that bothers our aspiring elite not in the least. Given the experience of the past eight years — and the prospect of worse yet to come — the leftist analysis of imperialism as merely capitalism gone wild is giving way to a more nuanced psychological critique, one that sees power-worship rather than money-worship as the energizing factor that keeps the motor of Empire humming...

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13213


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperialism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=capitalism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/justin

CNN

07/28/08

President Bush has approved the Army’s request to execute a soldier convicted of rape and murder, the White House announced Monday evening. Pvt. Ronald Gray has been on the military’s death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since 1988. His execution would be the first for the U.S. military since 1961, but the White House said it expects further appeals before the sentence is carried out...

http://tinyurl.com/5qlpaj


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Death+Penalty+-+Todesstrafe/

Indianapolis Star

07/28/08

Republican John McCain said Monday that drilling for oil off the U.S. coast is an essential part of any plan to lower gas prices and reduce dependence on foreign sources, and he criticized Democrat Barack Obama for opposing it. ‘We all know that a comprehensive solution is wind, tide, solar, all the other things all of us believe in,’ McCain told reporters after touring San Joaquin Facilities Management, an oil company in the California desert that yields 1,100 barrels a day...

http://tinyurl.com/5o5lb8


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

McCain Bets on Offshore Drilling

In The Washington Independent, Sherry Jeffe writes: "On a January afternoon in 1969, Paradise was violated and the modern environmental movement was born. Six miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., a 'blowout' erupted below a Union Oil Co. platform, spewing crude oil from drilling-induced cracks in the Santa Barbara Channel floor. It took almost two weeks to cap the leak and, before it was plugged, the oil spill had grown to more than 3 million gallons. It spread across 800 square miles of ocean, spoiling more than 35 miles of Southern California's coast.... In the wake of Santa Barbara's calamity, the U.S. president, a Republican and a California native, observed, 'What is involved is the use of our resources of the sea and of the land in a more effective way and with more concern for preserving the beauty and the natural resources that are so important to any kind of society that we want for the future. The Santa Barbara incident,' Richard M. Nixon concluded, 'has frankly touched the conscience of the American people.'"

http://www.truthout.org/article/mccain-bets-offshore-drilling



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drilling
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=gas+price
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Oil

We really need increased participation! Please send and forward! This alert continues 15 years of successful EI activism on the matter.


ACTION ALERT UPDATE

Clayoquot Sound, Canada's Ancient Temperate Rainforest Valleys to Again Fall to Logging

By Forests.org, http://forests.org/ and EcoEarth.Info, http://www.ecoearth.info/

July 28, 2008

TAKE ACTION

These ancient forests must be fully protected and all industrial development ended to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem health, focusing upon employment from standing trees and fully intact ecosystems, and failure to do will lead to a renewed "War of the Woods" and global anti-B.C. markets campaign

http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=canada_clayoquot_logging

Canada's precious temperate rainforests are again threatened with industrial logging. Clayoquot Sound, which lies along the West coast of British Columbia (B.C.), is a spectacular mosaic of lush coastal rainforests, fjord-like inlets and islands covering 850,000 acres. Such intact coastal temperate rainforests are globally rare, covering only about one-fifth of one percent of the Earth’s land area, half of which has already been destroyed. They are amongst the most biologically productive temperate ecosystems in the world. Clayoquot Sound is the most magnificent expression of temperate rainforest in North America.

There is no such thing as ecologically sustainable industrial logging or other industrial activities in a fully intact ancient forest ecosystem. Ancient forest logging must end worldwide to solve climate change, protect all biodiversity and achieve global ecological sustainability. Encourage all involved in British Columbia's forest policy to commit themselves fully to developing methods for employment and community advancement based upon standing forests and fully intact ecosystems. Or else promise you support a return to the blockades and protests that halted logging in Clayoquot in 1993, as well as a massive overseas campaign targeting B.C.'s markets. Surely rich Canada can find a way to spare these locally and globally vital ecosystems.

TAKE ACTION NOW: http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=canada_clayoquot_logging

DISCUSS THIS ALERT: http://forests.org/blog/2008/07/alert-war-of-the-woods-ii-retu.asp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ancient+forest
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=rainforest
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=logging

Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post: "Under a subpoena threat from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Environmental Protection Agency late Wednesday sent the panel a copy of its December 5 proposal to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act - as a brief loan."

http://www.truthout.org/article/epa-white-house-greenhouse-gases-endanger-health



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Environmental+Protection+Agency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=greenhouse+gas
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=subpoena
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Barbara+Boxer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Juliet+Eilperin

Agence France-Press: "A Nobel-prize-winning rights group said US officials committed war crimes by ordering what the group says was torture of detainees, and called for them to be probed and prosecuted."

http://www.truthout.org/article/rights-group-wants-us-officials-probed-ordering-torture



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=war+crimes
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detainee

http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt347.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=militarism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/engelhardt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Chalmers+Johnson

http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan92.html



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gutzman/gutzman17.html

The Surge Is Working!
http://www.lewrockwell.com/eddlem/eddlem23.html

Who Killed the Constitution?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/gordon/gordon43.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Constitution
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/eddlem
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/gutzman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/gordon

http://www.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken126.html



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff212.html



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

Hedge funds and other investors are buying up farms, farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators, shipping equipment and other necessities for producing food.

http://tinyurl.com/55z7cr


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=speculators
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hedge+funds
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=food+supply

Forthcoming failures(?)
http://news.aspects.cc/economy/bank-failures-so-far



U.S. deficit to hit record US$490-billion next year

The U.S. budget deficit will widen to a record of about US$490-billion next year, an administration official said, leaving a deep budget hole for the next president.

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=685851



Dollar Falls Against Euro, Yen on Widening Bank-Loss Concern

The currency dropped a second day against the euro after Gary Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, was cited by the Financial Times as saying the U.S. credit crunch will worsen.

http://tinyurl.com/6r4w6v



Crunch Time

By Mike Whitney

The impending global recession has nothing to do with crafty mortgage lenders, opportunistic loan applicants, dodgy rating agencies, or crooked home appraisers. That's like blaming Lindy England for Abu Ghraib. The source of the troubles is the Federal Reserve and monetary policies that are designed to rob people of their life savings.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20595.htm


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=budget+deficit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Fannie
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dollar+falls
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=credit+crunch
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Federal+Reserve
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=global+recession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage

The database is known as "Main Core." It reportedly collects and stores vast amounts of personal and financial data about millions of Americans.

http://tinyurl.com/5g22wh


From Information Clearing House



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

Former US President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski criticized US officials in Senator McCain's camp for pushing the presumptive Republican nominee toward a radical foreign policy on issues such as Iran.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=64855&ionid=3510203


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Brzezinski
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreign+policy

Recent talks the United States held with Iran are aimed at creating legitimacy for a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, defense officials speculated on Sunday as Defense Minister Ehud Barak headed to Washington for talks with senior administration officials.

http://tinyurl.com/5d5e5w



Paul: US would back Israeli strike on Iran

"No matter what they do, it is our money, it is our weapons, and they are not going to do it without us approving it," said the 72-year-old Republican.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=65029&sectionid=351020104


From Information Clearing House



The war between the United States and Iran is on

By Scott Ritter

American taxpayer dollars are being used, with the permission of Congress, to fund activities which result in Iranians being killed and wounded, and Iranian property destroyed. This wanton violation of a nation's sovereignty would not be tolerated if the tables were turned and Americans were being subjected to Iranian-funded covert actions which took the lives of Americans, on American soil, and destroyed American property and livelihood.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20377.htm



Plan Facts About Iran's Military

By Eric Margolis

Given these facts, we can see how false are claims trumpeted by the west that Iran is a dangerous military power that is about to eradicate Israel. The facts are quite the reverse.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20376.htm



George Monbiot: We lie and bluster about our nukes - and then wag our fingers at Iran

By failing to disarm and breaking the rules when it suits, nuclear states are driving proliferation as much as Ahmadinejad.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/29/nuclear.defence


From Information Clearing House

--------

Iran Should Sue US in World Court to Stop Threats of Attack
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/29/10672/



http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Francis+Boyle
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=nuclear+facilities
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=taxpayer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Naiman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Scott+Ritter
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Margolis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Monbiot

Government Inspector Estimates: Bowen estimated up to 20 percent "waste" _ or more than $4 billion _ from the $21 billion spent so far in the U.S.-bankrolled Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.

http://tinyurl.com/5wws36



Military Wasted Millions in Iraq, Inspector Bowen Says

Parsons Corp., one of the largest construction contractors in Iraq, and the Pentagon wasted millions of U.S. tax dollars because of poor oversight and building practices, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said in a new report.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=awLWws6g.cwA&refer=us



U.S.-Iraq memo opens door to future turmoil

The United States is moving into legal no-man's land because the president refuses to ask the U.N. Security Council to renew the annual resolution that provides the legal foundation for the presence of our troops in Iraq. If this resolution is allowed to expire Dec. 31, it would create a legal vacuum — a vacuum that can't be filled by a presidential memo.

http://tinyurl.com/6ans9u


From Information Clearing House

--------

Audit Find Millions Wasted in Iraq Reconstruction Contract

Agence France-Presse: "Millions of dollars were likely wasted on a $900 million army contract to build courthouses, prisons, police and other security facilities in Iraq, an audit released Monday has found."

http://www.truthout.org/article/audit-finds-millions-wasted-iraq-reconstruction-contract



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

The statement — which called the man and two women killed "law abiding citizens of Iraq" — reversed earlier military claims that they were suspected militants who shot at a parked American convoy.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/27/africa/ME-Iraq-Civilians-Killed.php


From Information Clearing House



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

President Pervez Musharraf Saturday said he is concerned over the Nato forces attack in Pakistani tribal areas and warned a U-S think-tank that no such attacks will be tolerated in future, and Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate.

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/July08/26/02.htm



George Bush blasted by Pakistan PM

PAKISTAN'S Prime Minister lashed out at George W. Bush during talks in Washington yesterday, "reproaching" the US President over a US Hellfire drone missile strike inside Pakistani territory only hours before the leaders met.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24097692-2703,00.html



Pakistan: US warned against missile strikes

"Expressing concern over repeated cross-border missile attacks/firing by coalition and Afghan forces, General Tariq said that our sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected," a Pakistani military statement said.

http://tinyurl.com/6b5wt7


From Information Clearing House

--------

Pakistani PM Warns Bush Against "Unilateral" Action

According to Agence France-Presse: "Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held talks with US President George W. Bush here Monday and called on the United States not to act 'unilaterally' against Islamic militants in Pakistan. Gilani, whose new government has been facing intense US pressure to crack down on Pakistan-based militants, told reporters after his meeting with Bush at the White House that Pakistan was committed to fighting extremists. 'We are committed to fight against those extremists and terrorists who are destroying and making the world not safe,' he said. 'This is a war which is against Pakistan, and we'll fight for our own cause.'"

http://www.truthout.org/article/pakistani-pm-warns-bush-against-unilateral-action



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pakistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Musharraf

By Brent Budowsky

Before leaving office George W. Bush will issue a mass pardon, the largest collection of presidential pardons in American history. Bush will pardon himself, Vice President Cheney, and a long list of officials involved in torture, eavesdropping, destruction of evidence, the CIA leak case and a range of potential crimes.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20368.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=pardon
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Cheney
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=eavesdropping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=leak+case
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Brent+Budowsky

Bush Forced al-Maliki to Back Down on Pullout in 2006

Analysis by Gareth Porter

It appears that Bush is making the usual dominant power mistake in relations to al-Maliki. He may have been a pushover in mid-2006, but the circumstances have changed, in Iraq, in the U.S.-Iraq-Iran relations and in the United States.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20372.htm



Iraq, US agree no foreign troops after 2011: PM

By Salam Faraj

Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday Washington and Baghdad have agreed there will be no foreign forces in Iraq after 2011, setting a timeline for a US withdrawal from the war-torn country. Maliki stressed however that despite "significant progress", there are "still points of disagreement crucial to both sides" in the proposed security pact that will decide the future of US forces in Iraq. The White House, too, stressed on Monday there was no final accord with Baghdad on the controversial issue.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20617.htm



Iraq's Maliki Says U.S. Pact Must Include Pullout Date

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said there can be no security agreement with the U.S. unless there is a "specific deadline" for the withdrawal of American troops. Mr. Maliki also said that unless some clauses in the draft agreement under discussion are changed, it will be "difficult" for the pact to be adopted. He didn't identify all those clauses. But the prime minister told tribal leaders Monday that he cannot grant "open immunity" to Iraqis or foreigners because that would violate the "sanctity of Iraqi blood."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20613.htm

--------

Maliki Demands "Specific Deadline" for US Troop Pullout

Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers: "Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said Monday there would be no security agreement between the United States and Iraq without an unconditional timetable for withdrawal - a direct challenge to the Bush administration, which insists that the timing for troop departure would be based on conditions on the ground."

http://www.truthout.org/article/maliki-demands-specific-deadline-us-troop-pullout



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Maliki
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+withdraw
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=troop+pullout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=security+pact
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=security+agreement
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gareth+Porter
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leila+Fadel

By Charley Reese

We really have neither a republic nor a democracy. We have a war state and an empire. We should pull the plug on both.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20367.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=war+state
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Charley+Reese

By Mike Whitney

So, while your bank still has money and can process your checks, it may be time to pay down debts, pay quarterly taxes and mortgage payments in advance, and think of having money outside of banks (gold, foreign currencies), etc., before your money is inaccessible or even evaporates!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20373.htm



America on the Couch

By Mike Whitney

America is a country badly in need of therapy. We don't know who we are anymore; everything is topsy-turvy. It's like we're suffering a national identity crisis and need a turn on the couch. There's just been too much change too fast and no one really knows what's going on. Even stanch conservatives are in a daze from the daily overload of bad news.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20541.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=banking+system
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Whitney

Matt Yancey, The Associated Press: "Republicans on Saturday blocked the Senate from considering a bill next week that would nearly double federal aid to help the poor pay heating and air-conditioning bills."

http://www.truthout.org/article/senate-republicans-block-heating-aid-bill

Lara Jakes Jordan, The Associated Press: "Top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales broke the law by letting politics influence the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges at the Justice Department, says an internal report released Monday."

http://www.truthout.org/article/doj-illegally-discriminated-against-non-republicans



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=DOJ
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gonzales
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Lara+Jakes+Jordan

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/28/10659/

The Real News Network: Iraq Events Moving Out of US Control
http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0728-06.htm



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

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/28/10645/

--------

The Military-Industrial Complex: It's Much Later Than You Think

By Chalmers Johnson

Successive administrations and Congresses have made no effort to alter the CIA's role as the president's private army, even as we have increased its incompetence by turning over many of its functions to the private sector. We have thereby heightened the risks of war by accident, or by presidential whim.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20370.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=military-industrial
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Chalmers+Johnson

Korruptionsbekämpfung

15. Juli 2008

Die Bundestagsfraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen hat auf ihrer letzten Sitzung vor der parlamentarischen Sommerpause einen Gesetzentwurf zur Schaffung eines Bundes-Korruptionsregisters beschlossen, der nun in den Bundestag eingebracht wird. Problem: Die linke Hand weiß nicht, was die rechte tut

Öffentliche Aufträge dürfen nur an "zuverlässige" Unternehmen vergeben werden; das sieht schon heute das Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen vor. Doch in der Praxis sind den Vergabestellen anderswo vorhandene Erkenntnisse über solche Unzuverlässigkeit der Bieter oft nicht zugänglich. Ohne bundeszentrales Register er­fahren die existierenden Länderregister (Berlin, [zeitweise] Hamburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz und -- schon seit 1997 -- Hes­sen) sowie öffentlichen Auftraggeber vielfach nicht von auffällig gewordenen Unternehmen oder Personen in jeweils anderen Bundeslän­dern.

Der grüne Gesetzentwurf will nun die Bedingungen verbessern, dass durch Korrupti­on und andere Wirtschaftskriminalität auffällig gewordene unzuverlässige Unterneh­men tatsächlich keine Steuerfinanzierten öffentlichen Aufträge mehr erhalten und sich nicht mehr an entsprechenden Ausschreibungen beteiligen dürfen. Um dies si­cherzustellen, müssen dahingehende, bisher nur regional verfügbare Erkenntnisse bundeszentral zusammengeführt und allen öffentlichen Auftraggebern in Bund, Län­dern, Kommunen, öffentlich-rechtlichen Anstalten etc. zugänglich gemacht werden. Lösung: alle Erkenntnisse für alle Vergabestellen

Hierfür soll dem grünen Gesetzentwurf zufolge ein zentrales Register beim Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle geschaffen werden. Dorthin sollen öffentliche und auch nicht-öffentliche Stellen gesicherte Erkenntnisse über wirtschaftskriminell auf­gefallene Unternehmen und für diese handelnde Personen melden: etwa über Bestechungs-, Betrugs-, Untreue- und Insolvenzdelikte, verbotene Preisabsprachen oder gewichtige Fälle von Schwarzarbeiter-Beschäftigung. An der Täterschaft darf kein vernünftiger Zweifel mehr bestehen: etwa aufgrund einer Verurteilung, eines Haftbe­fehls oder Geständnisses. Rechte betroffener Unternehmen bleiben gewahrt

Diese Mitteilungen speichert das Zentralregister nur, wenn das betroffene Unterneh­men nach vorherigem Angebot einer Stellungnahme keine vernünftigen Zweifel an dem Sachverhalt glaubhaft macht. Die Notierungen im Zentralregister sind bei nach­träglich bekannt werden Zweifeln zu löschen, spätestens jeweils nach 5 Jahren. Vergabestellen entscheiden weiter autonom über Ausschluss von Bietern

Vor Vergabe eines oder mehrerer zusammenhängender Aufträge über 25.000 € net­to müssen, darunter dürfen öffentliche Auftraggeber von Bund, Ländern und Kommu­nen beim Zentralregister erfragen und erfahren, ob BieterInnen bzw. BewerberInnen dort ge­speichert sind und mit welchen Erkenntnissen. Die anfragende Stelle entscheidet so­dann selbständig, ob sie auf Grund der übermittelten Daten einen Bieter vom Verga­beverfahren um einen öffentlichen Auftrag ausschließt. Zweckbindung, Verwendung und der Schutz der genutzten Daten werden durch prä­zise Verfahrensregelungen sichergestellt. Der Gesetzentwurf wurde von der Dienststelle des Bundesbeauftragten für den Datenschutz fachlich geprüft und gebilligt.

Die anderen Fraktionen des Bundestages sind nun aufgefordert, diese Initiative gegen Korruption und andere Wirtschaftskriminalität zügig mit umzusetzen. Bisherige grüne Initiativen für Zentralregister durch Union ausgebremst

Die bündnisgrüne Fraktion setzt sich seit langem für ein solches Zentralregister ein: einen erstmal 1995 eingebrachten grünen Antrag lehnte die damalige schwarz-gelbe Mehrheit des Bundestages 1998 ab. Ein 2002 von der rot-grünen Koalitionsmehrheit im Bundestag bereits beschlossenes Gesetz ließ die Union im Bundesrat scheitern. Ein darauf aufbauender weiterer Entwurf des Bundeswirtschafts- und Arbeitsministeri­ums konnte 2005 parlamentarisch nicht mehr umgesetzt werden, weil der Bundes­kanzler vorzeitige Neuwahlen veranlasste. In der aktuellen Wahlperiode hat die Bun­desregierung - entgegen mehrfacher bündnisgrüner Anträge -- bisher keinerlei An­stalten gemacht, einen Gesetzentwurf für ein Korruptionsregister vorzulegen, obwohl dies seit langem auch die Innen- sowie FinanzministerInnen von Bund und Ländern unisono fordern.

Daher nehmen Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen die Angelegenheit nun wieder selbst in die Hand und unterbreiten einen ausformulierten, schnell verabschiedungsfähigen Regelungsvorschlag.

http://www.gruene-bundestag.de/cms/innenpolitik/dok/242/242414.schaffung_eines_bundeskorruptionsregiste.html



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

I have just received an email from Daniel Kawczynski MP (Bicton mast) which (via his website) leads to this page: http://www.daniel4shrewsbury.co.uk/popups/news_template.php?dataID=2056. A little good I think – particularly the EDM.


Simon


Proposed Airwave Mast at Bicton is Rejected

A unanimous decision was recorded by Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council's Development Control and Environmental Protection Committee (DCEPC) last night rejecting controversial proposals for the erection of an Airwave Communications mast in the vicinity of schools and houses. A large group of local residents watched the debate from the public gallery in the Guildhall, Shrewsbury, and were absolutely delighted with the decision of the committee.

Read More...
http://www.daniel4shrewsbury.co.uk/popups/news_template.php?dataID=2056

"Nicht nur in Deutschland wird wie im Bundeswirtschaftsministerium über Aktivierungsstrategien für Arbeitslose nachgedacht. Auch in Großbritannien werden angesichts wachsender Arbeitslosenzahlen von der Regierung Maßnahmen vorgeschlagen, nach denen Langzeitarbeitslose oder Sozialhilfeempfänger nach zwei Jahren ohne Arbeit nur noch Geld erhalten sollen, wenn sie dafür soziale Dienste leisten…“ Artikel von Florian Rötzer auf Telepolis vom 22.07.2008 http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/28/28376/1.html


Sozialhilfe: Wer nicht spurt ...

Der Soziologe Kurt Wyss über die Scham, aufs Sozialamt zu gehen, die Aufhebung des Existenzminimums, Monatslöhne unter 3000 Franken und lasche Gewerkschaften. Artikel von Mischa Suter in der WOZ vom 17.07.2008 http://www.woz.ch/artikel/2008/nr29/schweiz/16615.html


Globalisierung in der Krise, Keynes Rückkehr am Horizont

Die weltweite Finanzkrise des Kapitalismus ist – gegenteiligen Hoffungen und Schönredereien zum Trotz – längst nicht zu Ende, wie u.a. der Zusammenbruch der beiden gigantischen US-Hypothekenbanken Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, die galoppierende Inflation sowie die Einbrüche an den internationalen Börsen in den vergangenen Tagen bewiesen haben. Für den marxistischen Sozioökonomie-Professor Christian Marazzi aus dem Tessin keine wirkliche Überraschung, wie er in dem folgenden Interview erläutert. Eine gekürzte Fassung erschien im „Neuen Deutschland“ vom 22.7.2008. Hier das komplette Interview von Rosso Vincenzo (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/wipo/finanz/marazzi.pdf


Der magersüchtige Exportweltmeister. Die globale Wirtschaftskrise wird die exportfixierte deutsche Wirtschaft besonders hart treffen

„Dominosteinen gleich fallen immer mehr Volkswirtschaften der globalen Wirtschaftskrise zum Opfer, die durch das Platzen der Spekulationsblase auf dem Immobilienmarkt der USA ausgelöst wurde. Neben den Vereinigten Staaten selbst ist auch Großbritannien betroffen, das einen ähnlichen kreditfinanzierten Immobilienboom erlebte und nun auf eine Rezession zusteuert. Selbst das von einem dekadenlangen, atemlosen Wachstum ergriffene China meldet eine Verlangsamung seines Wachstumstempos. Die exportorientierte japanische Volkswirtschaft kommt inzwischen nahezu zum Erliegen. Das "neueste Opfer" der Krise ist aber Spanien, das sich mit der größten Pleite der Wirtschaftsgeschichte des Landes konfrontiert sieht…“ Artikel von Tomasz Konicz in telepolis vom 26.07.2008 http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/28/28395/1.html


Hauptsache, die Katze fängt Mäuse. Wenn Unternehmensberater ethnische Vielfalt als Konkurrenzvorteil verkaufen, dann heißt das Diversity Management

„In der Zuwanderungspolitik gilt das Nützlichkeitsprinzip: Qualifizierte Fachkräfte werden umworben, für "Billig-Beschäftigte" aus dem Osten bleiben die Grenzen dicht. Das alte Vorurteil vom Ausländer, der den Deutschen die Arbeit wegnimmt, erhält so neue Nahrung. Dabei sieht die Wirtschaft die Potenziale von Migranten längst als "ökonomischen Vorteil": Vielfalt als Chance, heißt eine Kampagne für Diversity Management, die von der Integrationsbeauftragten unterstützt wird. Firmen, die gezielt auf die Vorteile von Einwanderern setzten, verspricht Maria Böhmer (CDU), hätten auch "mehr Erfolg an der Börse"…“ Artikel von Bernd Mansel in Freitag vom
25.07.2008 http://www.freitag.de/2008/30/08300401.php


Aus: LabourNet, 28. Juli 2008



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sozialhilfe
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Langzeitarbeitslose
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Existenzminimum
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http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Finanzkrise
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http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Migrant

Kinder haften für ihre Eltern. Schüler sind bei Ferienjobs stark benachteiligt. Wenn Schüler aus sogenannten Bedarfsgemeinschaften in den Ferien jobben gehen wollen, ist dies kaum lukrativ. Wenn die Eltern von Hartz-IV Sozialleistungen abhängig sind, müssen die Kinder von ihren Jobs das Geld an die Argen wieder abgegeben. Lediglich 100 Euro sind anrechnungsfrei. Schüler, deren Eltern ein regelmäßigen Einkommen aus selbstständiger oder nicht-selbstständiger Tätigkeit haben, müssen keine Sozialabgaben oder Steuern bezahlen. Lesen Sie weiter: http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/0344e19ae4107e912.php



Kürzungen bei Hartz IV-Kindern finanzieren das höhere Kindergeld

Die neu gründete Bündnisplattform «Kinderarmut durch Hartz IV» wirft Finanzminister Peer Steinbrück vor, seine im Haushaltsentwurf 2009 eingestellten Mittel für Familien mit Kindern in Höhe von einer Mrd. Euro würden zur Hälfte durch Einsparungen bei Hartz IV-Kindern gegenfinanziert. Mit Einführung von Hartz IV im Jahr 2005 sei Kindern und Jugendlichen ab sieben der Wachstumsbedarf aberkannt worden, und die Bundesregierung sei bis heute nicht bereit, diese Kürzung wieder zurück zu nehmen.

Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel: http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/0344e19ae00f05f07.php

Werden ALG II Empfänger um ihre Unterkunftskosten betrogen? Nach dem derzeitigen Informationsstand kann man sagen: Ja, viele!

Lesen Sie den ausführlichen Bericht:
http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/0344e19ae90830b04.php



Hartz IV Heizkosten-Pauschalen widersprechen Sozialgesetz

Um heil über den Winter zu kommen, müssen ALG II - und Sozialhilfeempfänger nicht selten aus eigener Kasse draufzahlen. Wenn die von den Leistungsträgern bewilligte Heizkostenerstattung den tatsächlichen Bedarf nicht deckt, landen Teile der Regelleistung zweckentfremdet in den Taschen des Energieversorgers.

Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel:
http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/0344e19b0611cbf04.php



ALG II Empfänger erhalten ergänzenden Sozialhilfeleistungen für Haftpflicht- und Hausratversicherung

Wer Sozialhilfe oder Sozialleistungen (ALG II Bezug) erhält, kann bei der zuständigen Arge die Kosten für eine private Haftpflichtversicherung und für eine Hausratversicherung geltent machen.

Lesen Sie weiter:
http://www.gegen-hartz.de/urteile/0344e19b040a4c80b.html



70 Prozent aller Hartz IV Bescheide sind falsch. Erwerbslosenforum kritisiert CDU Landtagsfraktion scharf.

Die CDU Landtagsfraktion in Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) hat in einer neuerlichen Pressemeldung die Streichung der finanziellen Mittel von ALG II Beratungsstellen gefordert. So sagte der arbeits- und sozialpolitische Sprecher der CDU-Landtagsfraktion, Norbert Post, dass "es nicht die Aufgabe eines Bundeslandes sein (kann), Arbeitslosenzentren zu fördern, die Bescheiden der staatlichen Argen widersprechen. Mit scharfer Kritik reagierte Martin Behrsing (Erwerbslosen Forum) auf diese Äußerungen und warf dem CDU Politiker die "Bekämpfung von Arbeitslosen und deren Ausgrenzung"...

Weiter unter:
http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/0344e19ae60aa990a.php



Das Sozialgericht Frankfurt urteilte: Amt muss "angemessene Nebenkostennachzahlung" begleichen, auch wenn die Rechnung vom Hartz IV Betroffenen selbst beglichen wurde.

Das Sozialgericht Frankfurt urteilte: Arge muss "angemessene Nebenkostennachzahlung" begleichen, auch wenn die Rechnung vom Hartz IV Betroffenen selbst schon im Vorfeld beglichen wurde. Die Arge hatte es abgelehnt für die Kosten der Nebenkosten-Nachzahlung aus dem Jahre 2006 aufzukommen, mit der Begründung, dass der ALG II Empfänger bereits die Rechnung selbst bezahlt hätte. Der ALG II-Empfänger sei damit nicht "hilfebedürftig". Außerdem sei der Antrag zu spät gestellt worden, so die Behörde.

Lesen Sie das ganze Urteil: http://www.gegen-hartz.de/urteile/0344e19b230e9f307.html

USA Today
by Anna Bahney

07/27/08

Is it a remedy for the worst housing slump the nation has suffered in decades? Or merely a taxpayer-funded bailout that will fail to reverse the plunge in home prices, the surge in foreclosures and the grave threat that overhangs the economy? The housing act, which won final approval in Congress on Saturday and which President Bush has said he will sign, is historic in its sweep and ambition...

http://tinyurl.com/6bm6wt


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Time to Address Foreclosures

Truthout contributor Dean Baker writes: "Last week Congress finally passed its long-debated housing bill. In addition to securing the multimillion-dollar salaries of the top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and protecting their shareholders from facing the full consequences of their bad stock picks, the bill also provided funds for guaranteeing new mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure. The bill allows lenders to bring failing mortgages to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), which will guarantee a new mortgage at 85 percent of the current appraised value of the home. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that lenders will bring 400,000 mortgages to the FHA over the next three years. CBO expects that 140,000 of these mortgages will go into foreclosure a second time, leaving a net of 260,000 homeowners who will hang onto their homes as a result of this program. By contrast, there are likely to be 2.5 million to 3 million foreclosures in both 2008 and 2009. This means that the housing bill will likely help less than five percent of the families facing foreclosure over the next two years, leaving 95 percent of this group out of luck."

http://www.truthout.org/article/after-housing-bill-time-address-foreclosures



Home Prices Fall in May; Consumer Confidence Is Flat

Michael M. Grynbaum, of The New York Times: "Two trouble spots in the economy showed little sign of improvement in the last few months, as home prices fell again in May and consumer confidence stagnated in July, according to a pair of reports out Tuesday. Home prices, already falling at the steepest rate in two decades, tumbled again in May, according to the Case-Shiller index, a widely watched survey that measures prices in 20 major metropolitan areas."

http://www.truthout.org/article/home-prices-fall-may-consumer-confidence-is-flat



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=housing
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=taxpayer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreclosure
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=home+price
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=consumer+confidence
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dean+Baker
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+M.+Grynbaum

Independent [UK]

07/28/08

American bank executives are braced for another volatile and dangerous week after the collapse over the weekend of two more regional lenders. First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank NA in California were taken over by the banking regulator after running short of money on Friday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which seized their assets, appeared last night to have averted a customer panic, with no reports of queues at branches. More US banks — seven in total — have failed so far this year than did in the whole of the previous four years, and it is just two weeks since the country’s third-biggest banking collapse ever...

http://tinyurl.com/6dsum7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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

Los Angeles Times

07/27/08

Although the ‘war on terrorism’ remains a consuming focus of the U.S. government, the Bush administration appears poised to leave behind a situation not unlike the one it inherited nearly eight years ago: a resurgent Al Qaeda ensconced in South Asia, training new recruits, plotting attacks against the West, and seemingly beyond the United States’ reach...

http://tinyurl.com/6s4dsr


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

By Tom Pochciol

RESIDENTS have united to oppose a plan to put a 40 ft high phone mast just yards from a primary school.

Phone company Orange plans to build the antenna at the junction of Foxes Piece and Little Marlow Road.

The site is around the corner from Foxes Piece Combined School, which has a nursery, and Brooke Furmston Place, which provides sheltered accommodation for elderly people.

Read More...
http://www.thisisbucks.co.uk/display.var.2408659.0.fury_over_phone_mast_by_school.php



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul469.html

--------

Fannie and Freddie fleece the taxpayers

Independent Institute
by William F. Shughart II

08/18/08

Readers of a certain age might remember the old newspaper cartoon of a man so down on his luck that he resorts to wearing an empty barrel held in place by suspenders. If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue on their present course, barrels may again become fashionable for US taxpayers. Criticized last week as ‘fatally flawed’ by Alan Greenspan, the two so-called mortgage giants are at the center of the current financial crisis. Owned by private investors but chartered by Congress for the purpose of supplying liquidity to mortgage lenders, thereby putting home ownership within the reach of more Americans, Fannie and Freddie aggressively participated in the booming housing market of the early 21st century. By the end of the third quarter of 2007, the two were guaranteeing — or had purchased outright — roughly half of the nation’s home mortgages, accumulating in the process $5.2 trillion worth of debt, nearly $4 trillion more than on their books in 2003. The roof then fell in...

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2298


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Fannie+Mae
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http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/paul

http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese480.html



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

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/tax-dollars-at-work.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=tax+dollars
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/rockwell

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/26/10615/



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