Beginning on
April 12th 2006
"......the Transportation Security Administration is preparing to deploy a slightly revised version of CAPPS II. If you ever visited the old Soviet Union, you'll see CAPPS II for what it really is: internal border controls Galileo International, a subsidiary of the Cendant Corporation, has signed-up to assemble dossiers on anyone flying in these United States of America and share the information with the Feds....... Homeland Security gave Galileo a huge financial incentive to collaborate.....Galileo's new profit center wouldn't be possible without CAPPS II demanding your full name, date of birth, home address, telephone number, and government-issued ID be entered into a privately-owned database. The Feds think this information will help them figure out who's a terrorist: it won't. It will, however make Galileo a lot of money and you a lot less free.
Righties say;
"As Americans pay their taxes, millions are benefiting from the much needed tax relief that was championed by President Bush and Republicans in Congress. In a few short years, however, this tax relief could expire, and middle class families could be hit with a huge tax increase.Democrats have repeatedly obstructed efforts to make our tax relief permanent, and if they regain control of Congress in the 2006 mid-term elections they will roll back these vital tax relief measures. With some of these tax cuts set to expire in a few years, we cannot allow the Democrats to run out the clock and raise taxes on every taxpayer.With tax relief for every American on the line, as my elected representative, I urge you to act now to make my tax relief permanent." Republican National Committee
But they tend to forget to tell the whole truth....which is, only the wealthiest people benefit from the tax reliefs and Repubs want to make this permanent.
Here is a pol on President Bush's Job Approval
for all the world to see;
Approve: 37.9%
Disapprove: 57.4%
Spread: 19.5%
Our Constitution (pdf) is a remarkable document. And even though it's over 200 years old, it remains well equipped to protect our natural rights even as our leaders protect us from our enemies, foreign and domestic. This union, our contract with each other, is bigger than any one of us. As citizens our allegiance must be to the Constitution, and not to partisan politics. Our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms are not hollow rhetoric to win votes or silence critics. They are a fundamental right and absolute expression of our energy and dynamism as a people. Even in troubled times, we must never allow ourselves to be led down a path that might snuff our rights. Any challenge to the Constitution, however critical to our peace and security, must be given a fair and public hearing, in everyday language, so we the people can balance what is right against what is necessary. It is the role of Congress to provide for our common defense. And it is up to Congress and the Judiciary to oversee, and if necessary, regulate the actions of the executive branch. We call on them to stand up on our behalf.
The Day of Silence takes place April 26, 2006. For more information on what you can do and to register go to Day of Silence.org and/or call the Outright Vermont office today: 802-865-9677.
Cheap fur, including the pelts of cats and dogs, is flooding into the European Union from China, an animal welfare charity warned overnight
If people were to eat more vegetable proteins instead of animal proteins, this would result in multiple - and much-needed - benefits. Such a "protein transition" would positively affect sustainable energy production, sustainable water use, biodiversity, human health and animal welfare. Collective vegetarianism is not required, but good-tasting, high-quality meat substitutes ought to be used more
With health care costs rising dramatically year after year, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Americans to afford health insurance - and unfair tax laws make it even more difficult for GLBT families to do so. Under federal law, legally married employees do not pay taxes on their own or their employers' contribution for health insurance benefits, but lesbian and gay employees do. Our families need tax fairness, too. Tell your Senators to support legislation to end this discrimination.
In wars and armed conflicts world-wide, more than 90 percent of casualties are civilians, and half of them children. We cannot continue to support candidates that will not work to bring about a speedy and prompt resolution to the war in Iraq. As the war becomes more deadly, costly and counter-productive each day, a growing majority of citizens want to see a change of course in Iraq and U.S. foreign policies that better reflect American values. With mid-term elections approaching the occupation of Iraq and other key foreign policy issues are certain to be at the forefront of the electoral debate. We must demand our elected officials put their commitment to a more responsible foreign policy for our country on the record. We'll do this by making peace the top priority in 2006. This November, let's hold Congress accountable to the rising tide of public opinion that's urging an end to the war in Iraq and a new direction for U.S. relations with the world. It's time to vote for peace
"I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign."
National Archives Signed Deal with Air Force to Disguise Re-review of Open Files and Mislead Researchers on Reasons for Withdrawing Previously Open Records. “March 2002 Memorandum of Understanding Released Through FOIA Request, After Grilling of National Archivist During Congressional Hearing March 16.”
Here are a few well-known representatives of the Right-wing crap-heads;
Accusing the Democratic Party of using the immigration debate as a "vehicle" to gain voters, Rush Limbaugh proclaimed: "[I]f you're Al Qaeda, come on in over the southern border! The Democrats will take your votes as well!"
Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that "[m]ost Republicans didn't want" the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was signed by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In fact, in both the House and the Senate, congressional Republicans voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement.
Michael Savage referred to the woman who alleged she was raped at a party attended by members of the Duke University lacrosse team as a "Durham dirt-bag" and "dirty, verminous black stripper" because, according to Savage, she "lied when she said she was raped at a party." Savage added that "[t]his is the radical, feminist, lesbian agenda being acted out on our campuses in a witch-hunt manner against these white boys, very much like the socialist communist agenda being acted out on the American stage by the extras called the illegal aliens," whom he also referred to as "brown supremacists."
On his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly claimed that on the April 11 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, guest Charles Barron, a New York City councilman, had revealed the "hidden agenda" behind the current immigration debate. O'Reilly told his listeners: "[T]he bottom line is Charles Barron said last night is there is a movement in this country to wipe out 'white privilege' and to have the browning of America." But in the April 11 interview, Barron at no point claimed that he and other advocates for immigrant rights are motivated by a desire to force white Americans into the minority -- despite O'Reilly's repeated efforts to provoke such an acknowledgment.
Another Tax Day, Still No Comprehensive Reform
President Bush has stepped up his calls to make permanent his tax cuts and right-wing advocacy groups have aggressively promoted a repeal of the estate tax. But so far, conservatives' efforts have been limited to rhetoric and infighting. In 2005, Bush promised to "to give this nation a tax code that is pro-growth, easy to understand, and fair to all." Yet he has ignored the Sept. 2005 recommendations of his bipartisan task force on tax policy, and last week Congress "abandoned [its] efforts" at tax reform and left for a two-week vacation. Conservative congressional leaders have promised to pick up the issue when they return, but their proposals would largely benefit only the wealthiest Americans.........Many conservatives try to portray the estate tax as a "death tax" on small, family-owned businesses. "It's just about penalizing success, and that's why it's unfair and wrong," notes the Free Enterprise Fund (FEF). But in reality, the estate tax is a progressive inheritance tax, affecting only the heirs to the wealthiest Americans.
In past decades we have removed animals from pastures, sunshine and fresh air to stack them on top of each other in petri-dish-like buildings.
Our health is being put at risk by our demand for low food prices. In the past decade consumers have chosen low prices over quality in the products and services we purchase — but animals aren’t products that can be endlessly manipulated for lower food costs.
Defenders of Wildlife is asking for your help again as we continue our efforts to prevent a remarkable bird from becoming extinct. As you may already know, there’s a serious crisis that threatens the very survival of the red knot. If government officials don’t act soon, this bird could become extinct as soon as 2010. It's critically important that you personalize your message. Add some of your personal views on why it's important the red knot be protected from extinction. You can also use some helpful talking points we have provided.
Earth Day is April 22
Here are a few websites tp check out for information;
Gay and lesbian parents hoping to take their families to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll will start lining up Friday evening for tickets.
A Minneapolis United Church of Christ congregation votes to stop performing civil marriages for straights because same-sex couples
can't have them.
Sen. Russ Feingold, possible presidential candidate, took a big risk to support marriage equality. Will the LGBT community support him?
For the first time ever, every state in the nation has a comprehensive plan for conserving wildlife. Defenders recently reviewed these plans, which are designed to focus conservation efforts on animals and plants before they end up on the endangered species list. “Overall, states did a good job, and there were a number of excellent models for conservation planning,” says Jeff Lerner, director of conservation planning for Defenders. Twelve states stood out as leaders. More information: Defendders of Wildlife http://www.defenders.org/
Goes inside the military-media complex, exposing the war the world saw but Americans didn't. There may have been no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, but there were media Weapons of Mass Deception. This is the website that connects you with a way to order and learn more about Danny Schechter's film, WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception). Its all here: the DVD, the reviews, essays, photos and promotional tools. Help us get the word out. The democracy we save may be our own.
Vast swaths of coral reefs in the Caribbean sea and South Pacific Ocean are dying, while the recently-discovered cold-water corals in northern waters will not survive the century--all due to climate change. The loss of reefs will have a catastrophic impact on all marine life.One-third of the coral at official monitoring sites in the area of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have recently perished in what scientists call an "unprecedented" die-off.
We couldn't stop the last war but we must stop the next one, says CodePink, asking you to speak out against the Bush Administration's threats of violence against Iran.
Africa Action strongly rejects the Washington Post claim that "prolonging the life of an HIV-positive adult is expensive and difficult," as well as several other aspects of its coverage indicating that "AIDS was overstated" on the continent where 12 million children have already lost one or both parents to the disease.
A gay rights group has asked Kentucky's governor to veto state funding for a private Baptist university. They say a student was expelled from the school for being gay.
The Washington Post's editorial page has been printing blatantly false statements about the White House's Iran-is-buying-uranium hoax and Ambassador Joseph Wilson's exposure of the fraud.
Thirty-four members of Congress have signed onto House Resolution 635.
Two dozen gay-rights activists were arrested Tuesday and cited for trespassing on the campus at Brigham Young University while protesting what they consider discrimination by campus officials.
The Republican Party is reaching out to African-American voters with a pitch that hones in on their presumed homophobia. The party’s blatantly antigay “misinformation campaign” is detailed in a new report from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Send an email to your Representative calling for the passage of comprehensive reform.
There couldn't be a better time to join the Clean Up Washington campaign.
The Cape Wind project—a 130-turbine wind farm proposed for federal waters in Nantucket Sound—is under attack. If built, this source of clean, renewable energy would be the first of its kind in the United States. However, a last-minute provision inserted in the Coast Guard bill may put an end to this critical project. Cape Wind has already undergone five years of exhaustive reviews and has passed regulatory muster by state, regional, and federal authorities. America needs clean energy sources that do not deplete our natural resources or destroy our environment. Please urge your senators and representative to oppose provisions in the Coast Guard bill that would stifle much needed development of clean, renewable offshore wind power.
Don't Let Uncle Sam Pass the Buck on LGBT Civil Rights
Every day, the U.S. government fires two people for being lesbian, gay or bisexual. They do it through the only federal law that sanctions discrimination. This law is “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and our tax-dollars pay for it—at a tune of at least $364 million since 1993. According to a new study examining the costs of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” that number may just be the tip of the iceberg. Our government has “passed the buck” to U.S. tax payers—you and me—to pay for their discriminatory law.
Please ask your Congress members, as 20 Senators already have, to support Farm to Cafeteria funding
In particular, ask them to support $5 million funding for Section 122 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. Congress is in recess, and legislators are in their home offices, until April 23rd. They need to hear from you that Farm to Cafeteria programs are important for children’s nutrition and small farmers! Go visit your legislators or phone them! Call 202-224-3121 or visit www.senate.gov and www.house.gov to find your Senator and Representative’s information.
Kentucky Fried Chicken said PETA is misrepresenting the company's practices.
Dear President Bush and Vice President Cheney,
We write to you from all over the United States and all over the world to urge you to obey both international and U.S. law, which forbid aggressive attacks on other nations. We oppose your proposal to attack Iran. Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, just as Iraq did not possess nuclear weapons. If Iran had such weapons, that would not justify the use of force, any more than any other nation would be justified in launching a war against the world's greatest possesor of nuclear arms, the United States. The most effective way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons would be to closely monitor its nuclear energy program, and to improve diplomatic relations -- two tasks made much more difficult by threatening to bomb Iranian territory. We urge you to lead the way to peace, not war, and to begin by making clear that you will not commit the highest international crime by aggressively attacking Iran.
On December 20, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new limits on how much particle pollution can be in outdoor air. Unfortunately, despite a strong scientific consensus that both the annual and daily limits on particle pollution need to be tighter to protect public health, EPA failed to propose adequate standards.
Help us expose whether the new House Majority Leader Boehner and the conservatives he leads are ready to do something concrete to help America's students, or whether they've sold out to wealthy special interests lobbying for still more tax giveaways. Please, petition House Majority Leader Boehner to endorse the Reverse the Raid Act and lead the House toward making college affordable.
"According to the scriptures, it's the government's job to enforce God's law...and the Bible talks about how [homosexuals] are put to death."
—Michael Marcavage of Repent America, in the February 3-9 issue of Philadelphia's City Paper. Marcavage later said he'd been speaking off the record and quoted out of context and does "not desire that homosexuals be put to death"
Keep in mind...he only elaborated on his words after he was bombarded with negative attention for what he said. I am all for free speach, but usually when you say something as black and white as "God's law" and "homosexuals are put to death", it leaves little space for any gray areas. He meant what he said in other words. Similar to Hitler, who believed he was doing good by cleansing certain people from the human race. Hence my remarks that fundamental christians resemble Hitler in almost every way.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the U.S. Air Force Reserves' discharge of a decorated major and flight nurse who had been in a lesbian relationship for several years. Major Margaret Witt, 42, of Spokane, Wash., was discharged last month, about a year and a half after the Air Force placed her on unpaid leave, telling her she could no longer take part in any military duties.......During her 18-year career, Witt served in the Persian Gulf and received various honors, including the Air Force Commendation Medal for saving the life of a Department of Defense employee who had collapsed aboard a government-chartered flight from Bahrain.
First, he declared Tuesday "Diversity Day" in US state Kentucky, and then, on the same day, Governor Ernie Fletcher eliminated discrimination protection for public employees who are gay. Fletcher announced the new Diversity Day as he signed the executive order in front of hundreds of children attending a diversity forum in the state Capitol.
Democratic lawmakers immediately denounced the move, which reversed an executive order signed by Democratic Governor Paul Patton in 2003. Fletcher signed the order while facing legal investigation into corruption in his own hiring practices and in the face of sagging poll numbers
For more than two decades, most of America's splendid coastline has been off-limits to oil and gas drilling.Unfortunately, anti-environment Senators and Representatives have recently introduced a flood of proposals to open our nation’s priceless coastline to oil and gas drilling, benefitting wealthy oil giants like ExxonMobil in the process. Expansion of offshore drilling would put our beautiful beaches at risk and hurt marine wildlife including dolphins, sea otters, manatees, and sea turtles.
Tell the Chinese government that allowing the World Buddhist Forum in China will appear as an empty gesture if it does not release the Panchen Lama and allow religious practice to peacefully flourish in Tibet. Please act now to help us free the Panchen Lama!
They are subject to the largest class action lawsuit in American history involving over 1.6 million former female employees. They have also tried to legislate from the store aisles by refusing to stock and distribute "Plan B" contraception in some of their 3,200 stores. Women be wary -- Wal-Mart wants your business. But what will you supporting by shopping there? Source: Wal-Mart Watch a group who is committed to exposing Wal-Mart for their bad labor standards, political corruptness and overall bad citizenship. It's getting a lot of attention in the press.
And Katie Couric says Walmart is as American as "apple-pie". I wonder if she means ala mode or she has her head so far up her butt she can't see the truth......and she is moving into a "real" news anchor job at CBS.....
Conservative politicians often have strong feelings about other people's private medical decisions
Conservative politicians often have strong feelings about other people's private medical decisions. Case in point: Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) yesterday attacked his political opponent, retired Adm. Jim Sestak, over Sestak's "decision to continue owning a home in Virginia while only renting in Pennsylvania," questioning "why Sestak did not move back to Pennsylvania when he was working at the Pentagon." Sestak had a good reason to stay in Virginia: his five-year-old daughter Alexandra was "diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last summer and given three to nine months to live," and while her condition has improved, Sestak chose to have her stay with her doctors in Washington D.C. Weldon wouldn't have it. He told reporters that "Sestak should have sent his daughter to a hospital in Philadelphia or Delaware, rather than the Washington hospital." In a statement yesterday, Sestak said that any implication "that I should have sent my daughter to a hospital in Delaware or Pennsylvania for political purposes is beyond the pale." He emphasized that "medical choices should be left in the hands of parents and family members throughout the country and not in the hands of bureaucrats, special interests and especially not in the hands of politicians like Curt Weldon." Weldon's office had no comment .
Now the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing a bogus study. Why let negligent corporations off the hook for putting dangerous and deadly products on the market?
Corporate propaganda has infiltrated local TV newscasts, with disguised product advertisements posing as genuine news reports. This represents a breach of the trust between broadcasters and their viewers. Take action to stop fake news today. Demand that the Federal Communications Commission investigate, strengthen disclosure requirements and punish stations that air fake news.
It’s become something of a ritual at the Bush administration’s EPA: dribble out some industry-friendly news on a Friday afternoon to minimize news coverage and public attention. And last Friday was no exception: the agency declared that no further pollution controls were needed for cancer-causing chemicals from four industries. This declaration came only weeks after the agency quietly reported that most of us are exposed to abnormally high cancer risks from breathing chemicals in the air. But that wasn’t EPA’s only good news for industry last Friday. The agency also announced that chemical and other smokestack industries could restrict public access to corporate plans to spew toxic pollution in the air during factory “malfunctions.” These new limits on the public’s right to know were sought by ExxonMobil and other oil and chemical companies.
Climate Change - Administration Continues to Muzzle Scientists
Last week, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced new guidelines that would allow NASA scientists to speak more freely on topics such as climate change. Griffin said the new policy "guarantees that NASA scientists may communicate their conclusions to the media, but requires that they draw a distinction between professional conclusions and personal views." The move was meant to quell complains from scientists such as NASA's climate change expert James Hansen, who said, "In my more than three decades in the government, I’ve never witnessed such restrictions on the ability of scientists to communicate with the public." But the Washington Post reports today that the administration is still stifling other agencies when its scientists discuss climate change with the public. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say "administration officials have chastised them for speaking on policy questions; removed references to global warming from their reports, news releases and conference Web sites; investigated news leaks; and sometimes urged them to stop speaking to the media altogether." One scientist said administration officials "purged key words from the releases, including 'global warming,' 'warming climate' and 'climate change.'"
War Cabinet infighting
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not know what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was talking about when she said last week that the U.S. had made "thousands" of "tactical errors" in Iraq. "[Y]ou have to constantly adjust and change your tactics. … If someone says, well, that's a tactical mistake, then I guess it's a lack of understanding, at least my understanding, of what warfare is about."
The amount the pharmaceutical industry spent over a two-year period on lobbying state officials “to fight proposals that would have reduced prescription drug costs.” The Center for Public Integrity has a full report http://www.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=794%20.
The record-high amount Congress spent on pork-laden pet projects this year, according to a new report.
What if AT&T blocked you from viewing your favorite podcasts and blogs? Verizon cut off your net phone because you weren't using their service? Comcast forced you to download MP3s from their store while slowing other music sites? This threat is more real than you might think. Right now, the major communications companies are planning to discriminate against the online content and services that they don't yet control. Their executives want to boost profits by playing gatekeeper, giving preferential treatment to their own high-end services while blocking or slowing access to everyone else's. If these media giants get their way, they'll shut down the free flow of information and dictate how you use the Internet forever. Tell the CEOs and Congress to Defend Net Freedom Now!
Reports of DeLay's political death are greatly exaggerated, if a number of recent news stories are any indication.
DeLay, who has long worn his conservative religious beliefs on his sleeve, (his understanding of ethics resides elsewhere), is now claiming that he resigned from Congress not because of indictments, a federal probe, or the possibility of losing an election, but because "God wanted him to… and that He has bigger plans for DeLay," plans that apparently involve reshaping the federal government to meet his fundamentalist Christian worldview. An op-ed in the Washington Times agrees DeLay is heading in this direction, noting that he “might be just the fellow to organize a genuine grass-roots conservative evangelical political movement with the clout to advance its issues within the GOP,” whether the Republicans like it or not. DeLay is now planning to hit the pulpits (and bank accounts) of conservative evangelical congregations around the country, and his sketchy past, problems with his own family, and record of ethical misconduct (if not actual crime) in Congress seem to be no impediment. As the Rev. Rick Scarborough, DeLay's pastor, said while introducing him to a Christian conference just last week – we kid you not – “This is a man, I believe, God has appointed ... to represent righteousness in government." For a somewhat lighter take on the DeLay-as-religious-leader story, check out the op-ed in Pennsylvania’s York Daily Record, the title of which expresses this blogger's thoughts exactly: “Tom DeLay as Jesus? Oh-My-God”
In search of water ice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to crash an impactor satellite onto the moon early in 2009. In a press briefing at NASA headquarters Monday, NASA officials explained the space agency's concept for the mission, designed as a prelude to placing humans on the moon by the year 2020.
William Kristol attacked special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the 2003 leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity as "absurd" and a "politically motivated attempt to wound the Bush administration." He also asserted that Fitzgerald is "out to discredit the administration." However in 1998, Kristol attacked as "Nixonian" critics of independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who sought and obtained authorization to expand the scope of his original mandate to investigate the Whitewater deal, which yielded no charges of wrongdoing by Clinton, into an investigation of the Monica Lewinsky controversy.
"Among the record numbers of punters at Aintree this year were protesters from the Animal Aid campaign group, who say 375 horses are 'raced to death' each year. Of these they claim that 110 deaths occur on race courses. But that is less than the figure revealed to this newspaper by Peter Webbon, chief executive of the new Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA), which took over the running of the sport last week... with Dr Webbon confirming ... 180 horses dying at the courses during or as a result of racing, an average of more than three a week."
"In a new report, entitled Fowlplay: the poultry industry's central role in the bird flu crisis, the group claims that the "epicentre" of the pandemic can be traced back to Asian units housing millions of birds. Such intensive conditions have provided ideal breeding grounds for the new strains of highly pathogenic bird flu, it is claimed. The disease is spread not only by migrating birds, but along the highways and railway lines of the transnational poultry trade...".
Cleaning Up Corruption in the Statehouses
At the core of many voters' frustrations with government is the sense that, too often, politics is for sale. High-priced lobbyists offering "gifts" to lawmakers swarm state legislatures; companies looking for public contracts get too cozy with those handing out public money; and corporate campaign contributions grease the wheels as public policy is auctioned to the highest corporate bidder.
More information:
Among the 16,000 guests at next Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll will be some 200 gay families, who are attending the annual event as part of an effort by Family Pride Coalition to show President Bush that families like theirs exist. Although the group claims they are not making a protest, some conservatives disagree, saying they're "crashing" the party, reports The New York Times. "We're not protesting the president's policies on gay families," Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the coalition, told the Times. "We are, however, helping him understand that gay families exist in this country and deserve the rights and protections that all families need." Countered Mark D. Tooley of the conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy: "It's facetious and not very persuasive for Family Pride to say they're not making a political statement." Although first lady Laura Bush, the hostess of the egg roll, would not give her personal take on the matter, her press secretary told the Times that "all families are welcome to attend...provided they comply with the rules." The gay families plan to wear rainbow leis to distinguish themselves.
The Bush Administration's focus on promoting abstinence and fidelity to prevent HIV infection around the world has been criticised by a US Government Accountability Office report.
Environmental activists are urging food suppliers to take an active role in tracking their products and how they are produced.
That's the reality for many of the poorest people in the world, says the Institute for Policy Studies, explaining why debt forgiveness helps not only those in impoverished counties, but people in the U.S. as well.
Among the site's features is a Food Security Analysis toolkit, which provides access to tools for early warning, food insecurity and vulnerability mapping, conducting nutritional surveys, harmonizing statistical databases, needs assessments, policy analysis and formulation and more.
However, concerns associated with the current system have begun to grow, writes internet law professor Michael Geist.
The Red Knot is dependent on horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay to survive. With declining numbers of horseshoe crabs due to overfishing, populations of this and other shorebirds are crashing. Biologists believe that the rufa subspecies of the Red Knot could be extinct in five years unless significant steps are taken to stem the take of horseshoe crabs.
Aveda is known as a company committed to sustainability. Every April, Aveda celebrates "Earth Month" by educating it's customers about environmental issues and donating money to good environmental causes. Unfortunately, Aveda and parent company Estee Lauder have yet to confirm this commitment through joining the more than 300 companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to never use toxic chemicals that harm our health, build up in our bodies and environment and harm our children's development, and to only use safer alternatives.
Wal-Mart Blocks Port Security
Wal-Mart and its Washington, D.C., lobbyist, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), have systematically undermined America’s security by working to defeat or weaken new rules to make America’s seaports and supply chains safe from terrorist attacks. A new report by the AFL-CIO’s Jason Judd, Unchecked: How Wal-Mart Uses Its Might to Block Port Security, documents the company's efforts since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to ensure that “security requirements should not become a barrier to trade.”
Some hear echoes of the pre-Iraq-war gameplan in the recent bellicose rhetoric from the Bush administration. Or is it just part of an elaborate psych-out? Jim Lobe reports...........Bush himself insisted Monday that the latest reports constituted "wild speculation" and that his administration remained committed to "diplomacy". At the same time, White House spokesman Scott McClellan insisted that military force remained an option.
Three years after the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, Washington is abuzz about new reports that the administration of Pres. George W. Bush is preparing to attack Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons.
Magistrate: “The charge is that you assaulted a person.”
Accused: “But it wasn’t a person sir, it was my wife.”
- Quote presented by a police commander to the Seminar on Violence against Women and the Law, held on 31 March 2005.
In France, a woman dies every four days after being beaten by her partner....French law does see domestic violence as a criminal offence and the offence is aggravated if the perpetrator is a spouse or cohabiting partner, but judicial processes are not far-reaching enough. “Repeated assault” is not qualified as an offence. Lodging a complaint is a long and complex procedure. And although legal tools do exist, courts remain half-hearted. If a court decides on ‘penal mediation’, as in many cases it does, the aggressor is not punished.
Rising nitrogen emissions from developing nations will soon threaten plant life in some of the most biodiverse parts of the planet, warn researchers.
For a highly revealing CBS news article describing how the Pentagon "cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions:"
That's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America—2.3 trillion of our tax dollars which no one can account for. So why isn't this in the front page headlines? See http://www.WantToKnow.info/mediacover-up for a possible answer. Thanks to the amazing power of the Internet, you can help play the role at which the media is so sadly failing by spreading this critical news to your friends and colleagues. Let us insist that we be informed of how our tax dollars are being used. Take care and remember that together, we can and will build a brighter future.
"Until the problems discussed in GAO's audit report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements are adequately addressed, they will...hinder the federal government from having reliable financial information to operate in an economical, efficient, and effective manner. The federal government's fiscal exposures now total more than $46 trillion, representing close to four times gross domestic product (GDP) in fiscal year 2005 and up from about $20 trillion...in 2000."
audit, 2/3/05
For the full 20-page GAO report on the sad state of U.S. government finances:
Recent coverage fails to note administation's creation of secretive Iran group
Remarking on the recent coverage by the Washington Post and the New Yorker on the Bush administration's preparations for a military strike against Iran, Lawrence Kaplan, a senior editor at The New Republic, writes that "absent from either account...is any mention of the State Department's ramped-up campaign for regime change in Iran ( Iran-Syria Operations Group )-- a campaign that intensifies by the day." According to Kaplan, the administration has formed what it calls the Iran-Syria Operations Group (ISOG), a body headed by Vice President Cheney's daughter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Liz Cheney, and whose purpose is to encourage regime change in Iran. The State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs is disgruntled by the Bush team's efforts to run its own Iran shop and skirt the traditional bureaucracy. The administration's pre-Iraq war creations of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) and the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans (OSP) may suggest one possible answer for why the administration feels the need to set up a secretive Iran operating group. OSP was created to cull intelligence to make the strongest possible case for war with Iraq, while WHIG helped market the war based on the selective intelligence the administration collected. Cheney is operating with more than $75 million at her disposal to ostensibly promote democracy in Iran.
Colin Powell reminisced this weekend on the failures of the Iraq war
Colin Powell reminisced this weekend ( Powell: U.S. mistakes hurting Iraq now ) on the failures of the Iraq war effort and pinned the blame on fellow architect Donald Rumsfeld. Powell said, "We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad. We didn't have enough troops on the ground. We didn't impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and...it got out of control."
Government agencies paid inflated prices for goods and services
-- between 17 and 42 percent too high -- "in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in a system riddled with waste," three government inspectors general testified yesterday.
Pentagon Releases Documents Acknowledging Surveillance of Gay Groups
“The Department of Defense has now confirmed the existence of a surveillance program monitoring LGBT groups,” said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of SLDN. “Pentagon leaders have also acknowledged inappropriately collecting some of the information in the TALON database. That information should be destroyed and no similar surveillance should be authorized in the future. Free _expression is not a threat to our national security.”
Have a Safe and Healthy Lawn This Year
Every year homeowners apply at least 90 million pounds of pesticides to their lawns and gardens--pesticides which have been shown to pollute our rivers and streams. The Pesticide Action Network shows you how can get involved and spread the word about safe lawn care today! Download the pesticide information door-hanger today! Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
Salah 'Ali Qaru finally emerged free from detention around midnight on 27 March. In nearly three years, the 27-year-old Yemeni was tortured in Jordan, flown from country to country, held for over a year in an unknown location and denied access to the outside world. Salah 'Ali Qaru became one of probably hundreds of people caught up in the secretive and illegal US programme of "rendition". The CIA has used private aircraft operators and front companies to preserve the secrecy of their rendition flights, but nearly 1,000 flights have been identified as being directly linked to the CIA.
Months after U.S. troops stormed into Iraq, the Pentagon drafted a top-secret document using classified intelligence to spell out Baghdad's involvement with Al Qaeda. It supported one of President Bush's stronger arguments for the war. Within days, parts of the classified report appeared verbatim in a conservative magazine, The Weekly Standard, complete with the paragraph numbers that are a telltale feature of Defense Department documents. The article said the intelligence left no doubt that Hussein had been in league with Al Qaeda. It was a classic leak--the kind of national security breach that the Bush administration often has reacted to with indignation. But this time, instead of complaining, officials began holding up the article as proof of the Hussein-bin Laden nexus.
The Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) held a hearing today on allegations that Halliburton and its KBR subsidiary have knowingly exposed thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq to hazardous levels of unhealthy water from the Euphrates River, including human fecal matter. The allegations, made bycurrent and former Halliburton employees involved in water quality maintenance, were first disclosed by HalliburtonWatch last September. "Everyone knows that drinking, or washing with poop is bad for you,"Jeffrey K. Griffiths, MD, Professor of Public Health and Medicine atTufts University School of Medicine, told the committee. "The reasons are so obvious we consider them common sense," he said.”
The following update has a link to vidoe footage. I watched it. I got angy. I want to scream I go sad. I cried.
WTF is the USA doing to the world?
"Director Toshikuni DOI exposes the side of the U.S. war in Iraq that Americans do not see or hear in mainstream media."
Ten days after the siege of Falluja was lifted, Toshikuni Doi, a Japanese independent journalist, went into Falluja. His documentary, investigates the causes of, conditions during, and damages from the siege.
Warning: This film contains graphic images. Viewer discretion advised.
